Inside Hoops – Page 1363 – NBA Blog

Toronto Raptors want to hire Phil Jackson as team president

The Toronto Raptors, emboldened by the news that the Sacramento Kings apparently won’t be moving to Seattle, have ramped up their pursuit of Phil Jackson to be their new team president, according to sources close to the situation.

Sources told ESPN.com that the Raptors — now being run by former Los Angeles-based sports mogul Tim Leiweke — regarded the Seattle group that was trying to buy the Kings as the biggest threat to preventing Jackson from seriously considering their pitch.

But now that the Kings appear poised to stay in Sacramento instead of being sold to the consortium led by Jackson fan Chris Hansen, sources say that the Raptors will be pursuing Jackson aggressively this week, believing that they rank as Jackson’s most attractive current option for a new career in management now that he can reunite with Leiweke.

One source close to the situation told ESPN.com that Hansen and Jackson have “hit it off,” sparking league-wide speculation that Jackson would be offered the chance to run the new Sonics in Seattle in the Pat Riley-style role he craves. But with a 12-owner committee recommending Monday that the Kings’ move to Seattle be blocked, Toronto’s seemingly long-shot odds of winning the Jackson sweepstakes would figure to have received a boost.

— Reported by Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com

Knicks mourn death of first PR boss Jimmy Wergeles

Jimmy Wergeles, the Knicks’ first and longtime public relations boss, MSG Network’s first p.r. director and a Marine veteran of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, died, Friday, at 90.

Wergeles began with the Knicks on day one, in 1946, and retired from the Garden in 1985. He became particularly close with Willis Reed, who yesterday called Wergeles, “My go-to man, and one of my best friends.”

— Reported by Phil Mushnick of the New York Post

Rockets survive with 105-103 win over Thunder

The Houston Rockets finally found a way to close out a game in their playoff series with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

And it allowed them to escape playoff elimination with a 105-103 win over the Thunder on Monday night.

Chandler Parsons scored 27 points and Patrick Beverley added 16 points with point guard Jeremy Lin out with a bruised chest muscle. Houston avoided a four-game sweep in the best-of-seven series.

The Rockets led in the fourth quarter of each of the last two games only to end up losing.

”We felt the pain and frustration from the last two losses … and we didn’t want that to happen for the third straight time,” Parsons said.

It almost did.

Kevin Durant scored five quick points to cut the Rockets’ lead to two. James Harden missed two shots for Houston after that and the Thunder had a last chance.

Reggie Jackson missed a jump shot and Serge Ibaka grabbed the rebound, but missed a layup at the buzzer…

Durant scored 38 points in Oklahoma City’s second game without injured All-Star guard Russell Westbrook…

Harden scored 15 points, but also had 10 turnovers. He had two chances to extend Houston’s lead with less than a minute left, but missed both of them, including shooting an air ball…

Jackson finished with 18 points in his second start in place of Westbrook, and Kevin Martin added 16.

Houston got 17 points from Omer Asik and 13 from Carlos Delfino.

— Reported by Kristie Rieken of the Associated Press

Josh Smith scores 29, Hawks beat Pacers 102-91 to tie series

Josh Smith scored 29 points as the Atlanta Hawks built a 17-point lead at halftime, then withstood an Indiana comeback over the final two quarters to even the series with a 102-91 victory in Game 4 on Monday night.

After struggling much of the second half, Smith made every big play down the stretch. He swished a rare 3-pointer, came up with an offensive rebound to set up a 3 by Kyle Korver, then finished off a fast break with a right-handed dunk.

Paul George scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half as the Pacers made a game of it but couldn’t come back from a 57-40 deficit at the break.

Tied at two wins apiece, the series returns to Indianapolis for Game 5 on Wednesday night.

Korver added 19 points off the bench, most of them coming on his specialty: the 3-pointer. He knocked down five from outside the arc, including the biggest one with 2:33 remaining after Al Horford threw up a wild shot that missed. Smith snatched one of his 11 rebounds and spotted Korver lurking all alone on the outside.

Horford chipped in with 18 points.

Indiana was better offensively but still struggled to make shots, finishing at 38 percent on a 32-of-84 performance. George came alive after halftime, connecting three times from beyond the stripe, while every other starter was in double figures.

It wasn’t enough.

— Reported by Paul Newberry of the Associated Press

Nets win 110-91, cut Bulls lead to 3-2

Flourishing instead of fading in the fourth quarter, the Brooklyn Nets extended their first season in Brooklyn.

They need one more victory to set up the biggest game here yet.

Brook Lopez had 28 points and 10 rebounds, Deron Williams added 23 points and 10 assists, and the Nets beat Chicago 110-91 on Monday night, cutting the Bulls’ lead to 3-2 in their first-round playoff series.

Recovering from a collapse two days earlier that sent them home on the brink of elimination instead of tied, the Nets battered the Bulls on the boards and forced Chicago into being the team that wilted down the stretch.

”We came out very aggressive, as we have the past few games. I think the difference was just we sustained it for essentially a full 48 minutes tonight,” Lopez said.

Andray Blatche scored 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and Gerald Wallace had consecutive baskets in the finishing surge as the Nets finally pulled away in a game they led most of the way, but never by too much.

Two days after rallying for a 142-134 triple-overtime victory, the Bulls were outscored 15-1 at the finish and failed to set up a second-round series with Miami. Instead they will host Game 6 on Thursday…

Nate Robinson had 20 points and eight assists starting in place of point guard Kirk Hinrich, who bruised his left calf in Saturday’s game…

Butler scored 18 points for the Bulls, who were outrebounded 44-33 and gave up 24 second-chance points…

Wallace scored 12 points and Reggie Evans grabbed 12 rebounds as the Nets improved to 6-0 all-time in Game 5s at home. They have never lost a series when holding home-court advantage.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Celtics hoping revived offense has life in Game 5 vs Knicks

It started with a 3-pointer by Avery Bradley 16 seconds into the game. It ended with a layup by Jason Terry with 6.5 seconds left.

Yes, the Boston Celtics finally got their offense going.

”It’s coming,” Terry said. ”You can feel it.”

It was there on Sunday – for much of the game, anyway – when the Celtics beat the New York Knicks 97-90 in overtime to avoid being swept in the opening round of the playoffs.

But if it’s not there on Wednesday night in New York, the Celtics will have a very tough time forcing a sixth game Friday night in Boston.

The Celtics scored fewer than 20 points in six of the first 10 quarters in the series. They managed a meager eight points in the fourth quarter of the opener – one less than Terry scored by himself in the last 1:32 of overtime on Sunday. They scored 78, 71 and 76 points in the first three games after scoring fewer than 80 just five times during the regular season.

”We’ve got a lot of basketball in us,” Terry said, ”but there’s always something like one quarter that holds us back. So if we can put together four quarters of great Celtics basketball, ball movement, getting out in transition, then this series is going to be a long one.”

— Reported by Howard Ulman of the Associated Press

NBA Relocation Committee recommends that application by Kings to move to Seattle be denied

The NBA announced today that the league’s Relocation Committee has unanimously recommended that the NBA Board of Governors deny the application of the Sacramento Kings to relocate to Seattle.

The Board will convene during the week of May 13 to vote on this matter.

Anything can happen in the full vote, but unless something drastically changes it’s expected to that the full board will follow suit and vote to keep the Kings in Sacramento.

Steve Nash wants Dwight Howard back on the Lakers

Whenever an NBA team doesn’t win a championship, Steve Nash believes it’s inevitable changes will happen in the offseason. But the Lakers guard stated in strong terms that he hopes that doesn’t involve Dwight Howard.

“I’m very hopeful that Dwight will be back,” Nash said. “I think this is the place for him. He’s in the prime of his career. He’s got his best years ahead of him. He can play for one of the greatest franchises in sports and an amazing city. This has got to be the place for him and I’m hopeful that he sees it that way.”

Howard hasn’t publicly stated his intentions. But returning to the Lakers seems a no brainer for various reasons. Howard would earn $117.9 million with a five-year deal if he signed with the Lakers. He would earn $87.9 million over four years if he went somewhere else.

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)

Unclear if Metta World Peace will exercise player option

Although he reiterated time and again he choice to remain a Laker, Metta World Peace stayed non-committal on whether he will exercise his $7.7 million player option to return next season.

“It’s really not important to me right now,” World Peace said. “What’s important is next year coming back and starting off the right way and building some consistency early. That’s the only thing on my mind right now. Not contracts or anything like that.”

World Peace isn’t necessarily sending out conflicting messages. Marc Cornstein, World Peace’s agent, told this newspaper that he could opt out in hopes of seeking a long-term extension. Either decision carries a certain amount of risk. Should World Peace exercise his player option, the Lakers could waive him using the one-time amnesty provision in hopes of clearing space within their current $100 million payroll. Should World Peace opt out, there’s a chance the Lakers wouldn’t resign him for the same reason.

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)

Bulls PG Kirk Hinrich will miss Game 5 vs Nets

The Bulls will be without point guard Kirk Hinrich on Monday night against Brooklyn because of a bruised left calf. His absence might give Game 4 star Nate Robinson a chance to start in the potential clincher for Chicago.

Hinrich was hurt during Saturday’s 142-134 triple-overtime victory, playing through the injury to finish with 18 points and a playoff career-high 14 assists in 60 minutes.

But he was wearing a walking boot Monday, walking with a noticeable limp.

— Reported by the Associated Press