The AP reports: After overcoming an 18-point deficit in Friday’s semifinal, Maccabi Tel Aviv doesn’t see anything stopping it from getting revenge on CSKA Moscow in the Euroleague basketball final. The two teams both enter Sunday’s game seeking a sixth title — putting it second only to Real Madrid’s eight — but the Israeli club is also trying to make up for a thrilling 73-69 loss to CSKA two years ago that gave the Russian club its first crown in 35 years. Maccabi captain Derrick Sharp said Friday’s 92-85 comeback win over Montepaschi Siena — after trailing 36-18 in the first half — has made the team confident it will lift its third trophy since 2004… CSKA held off Spanish club Tau Ceramica 83-79 Friday and knows a stronger effort will be needed against its Israeli opponent.
Author: Inside Hoops
InsideHoops.com has been a world leader in NBA basketball coverage for over 20 years. Read our blog, but also be sure to read our main website on www.insidehoops.com
May 2: Jazz 113, Rockets 91
The AP reports: The Jazz beat the Rockets 113-91 on Friday night to win the series 4-2 and avoid having to play a Game 7 on the road. The Jazz did that a year ago against the Rockets and didn’t want to push their luck again in Texas. The third quarter all but guaranteed they wouldn’t have to. Deron Williams scored 13 of his 25 points in the period, making three of four 3-pointers as the Jazz outscored the Rockets 27-11… Williams had just seven points at halftime, then took over the game in the third quarter. He was 4-for-7 from the field and pumped up his teammates as Utah pulled away on a 20-5 run. Houston had already cut a 17-point lead to four and Williams wanted the Jazz to pull away—and stay there… Houston relied almost entirely on Tracy McGrady, who couldn’t beat the Jazz by himself—even with his 40 points… Luis Scola was the only other Rockets player in double figures with 15 points. The Rockets lost point guard Rafer Alston with a sprained ankle late in the second quarter and the offense never recovered… Mehmet Okur had 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Carlos Boozer added 15 points and 10 boards. Andrei Kirilenko scored 11 points and Williams added nine assists. The Jazz found their long-range shooting and made 10 of 22 3-pointers. Utah was 2-for-23 from beyond the arc in the previous two games.
May 2: Hawks 103, Celtics 100
The AP reports: The Celtics are still the obvious favorite, having won all three games at their place by an average of 22 points. But the Hawks have lasted longer than anyone would have expected… The Celtics looked as shell-shocked as anyone. Paul Pierce fouled out and spent the final minutes on the bench with a towel draped over his head, barely able to watch… Marvin Williams led the Hawks with 18 points despite missing much of the fourth quarter with a sprained left knee. Kevin Garnett had 22 for the Celtics and Ray Allen added 20, but Pierce—the other member of Boston’s Big Three—fouled out on a disputed call with 4:44 remaining… Joe Johnson, who went to the final period with just seven points on 3-of-9 shooting, came alive in the fourth. He saved his biggest shot for the end, getting James Posey in the air with a pump fake before hitting Atlanta’s only 3-pointer of the game to make it 100-95… Atlanta got double figures from every starters. Besides Williams’ 18, Bibby had 17, rookie Al Horford 16, Johnson 15, and Smith—who played less than 30 minutes because of foul trouble—finished with 11. Off the bench, Childress had 15 points and six rebounds, while Pachulia contributed nine points and six rebounds.
May 2: Cavs 105, Wizards 88
The AP reports: LeBron James had the last word. In an NBA playoff series filled with trash talk, hard fouls, 13 technicals, one ejection, one suspension and plenty more, James was everywhere and did a little bit of everything in Game 6. And, in what’s become his personal rite of spring, he led the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Washington Wizards. James compiled 27 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for his third career playoff triple-double, all the while helping slow Caron Butler at the defensive end, and the Cavaliers beat the Wizards 105-88 on Friday night to close the contentious series… It’s the third consecutive postseason that the Cavaliers eliminated the Wizards in the first round—ending each of those series on Washington’s home floor… He was more of a passer than a scorer early, with twice as many assists (four) as shot attempts (two) in the first quarter. That allowed his teammates to get in a rhythm, and Wally Szczerbiak scored a career playoff-best 26 points, Daniel Gibson added 22, and they combined to make 10 of Cleveland’s 11 3-pointers… Antawn Jamison led Washington with 23 points and 15 rebounds. The Cavaliers were ahead 56-48 at halftime, thanks in large part to a 15-0 run during the second quarter and 7-for-12 shooting on 3-pointers. The Wizards? They were 3-for-12 on 3s to that point.
Report: Kobe Bryant will win MVP
The AP reports: Kobe Bryant has won the NBA’s MVP award for the first time, the Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site Friday night, citing anonymous sources familiar with the outcome of voting by media members. The newspaper reported that commissioner David Stern will be in Los Angeles next week to present the trophy to Bryant.
The coaching life of Pat Riley
In addition to ranking as Miami’s all-time victory leader, Pat Riley ranks third on the NBA’s all-time regular season list, compiling a 1,210-694 (.636) career mark in 24 seasons as an NBA head coach with the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Miami Heat. He also ranks second on the all-time postseason victory list, amassing a 171-111 (.606) mark. Riley, who was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame earlier this month, led his teams to five NBA championships as a head coach, nine conference championships and a league-record 18 division championships. He is the only coach in league history to capture the NBA Coach of the Year Award with three different teams and his string of 19 consecutive playoff appearances as a head coach from 1982-2001 is a league record for consecutive postseason appearances.
– NBA News
Lakers triangle offense is beautiful
The Los Angeles Times (Jonathan Abrams) reports: It’s the triangle offense, now available in version 3.0. These days, Kobe Bryant offers an alley-oop Pau Gasol’s way and the two can exchange roles the very next play. Luke Walton posts up, then drifts out for a three-point shot, or Lamar Odom ducks and dives his way to the rim for enough double-doubles to fill his heart’s content. The part-mystical, part head-scratching triangle offense is functioning quite smoothly with Gasol completing the Lakers’ trifecta. Possibly more so than . . . Michael Jordan’s championship days under Phil Jackson? “Since we’ve had Gasol, it’s a very good comparison,” said Tex Winter, a Lakers consultant and a pretty smart person to ask on the subject because, well, he is the offense’s innovator. “It’s not necessarily a guy like Kobe or Michael Jordan that oftentimes makes the difference in this. Sometimes, it is the post man or someone else.”
D-Wade says he and Star Jones are just friends
It’s the NBA playoffs and a very important question not just for basketball but all of humanity has been answered.
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade has finally spoken up about his alleged romance with Star Jones: “Star is an unbelievable woman. We have a great, great relationship. As friends.” “We’re friends, just like a lot of celebrities. We are friends,” the Miami Heat star said Thursday during a guest appearance on “Inside the NBA,” the jocular TNT show featuring Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson. “Are y’all close friends?” Smith asked. “We’re good friends,” Wade responded.
May 1: Pistons 100, Sixers 77
The AP reports: The Philadelphia 76ers got the Detroit Pistons’ attention. Then they got steamrolled. The Pistons powered into the second round of the playoffs by crushing Philadelphia 100-77 on Thursday night, winning the series 4-2 and again demonstrating how good they are when they feel they need to be. Detroit convincingly won the last two games of a series that wasn’t expected to last this long. The Pistons will host the Orlando Magic, who eliminated Toronto in five games, on Saturday in the opener of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The teams split four meetings this season… Richard Hamilton hit his first five shots during Detroit’s overpowering start and finished with 24 points, 13 in the decisive first quarter when he outscored the 76ers by himself. Chauncey Billups added 20 points and Tayshaun Prince had 12 for the Pistons, who reached the second round for the seventh straight season… Andre Iguodala scored 16 points and Andre Miller had another quiet game with 11 for the Sixers, who outplayed the heavily favored Pistons for the first 3 1/2 games of the series but never really had a chance after that… Fans booed as the Sixers walked off the court trailing 79-51 after three, but this should go down as a good season for a team that was widely expected to finish at the bottom of the Atlantic Division.
InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Pistons shot 58.2%, the Sixers just 33.8%. The Pistons nailed 9-of-16 threes, the Sixers just 3-of-13. The Sixers drew hoards of fouls and got 36 free throws, but they only hit 24; the Pistons hti 13-of-16. Rebounding was fairly close, but Detroit dished 28 assists, Philly just 12. The Sixers did get 11 steals, but only 4 for the Pistons. Andre Miller shot just 4-of-16 in the loss.
Eddie Jordan talks playoffs
Here’s Wizards coach Eddie Jordan, talking about his team’s first round playoff series against the Cavaliers, who lead the series 3 games to 2.
Eddie Jordan on playing without Gilbert Arenas in Game Five:
“Our guys responded well. I felt that we got better as the game went along. We took care of the ball in the second half. We withstood their run and we withstood their crowd. It was a great effort and we got it done.”
On sustaining momentum:
“We have to keep the momentum. It’s how you play and how you execute. It’s how you rebound. You can’t allow them to have highlight plays. Now we have to stay poised. We want to keep attacking and playing defense well and keep our offense going.”
On winning a close game:
“It was great. Finally, we got one. It’s what we had talked about. They hadn’t missed (in that type of situation). Whether it was someone in the corner, or somebody at the top, or LeBron (James)…over the years, we hadn’t experienced a miss. Hopefully, we can play better defense so he doesn’t get to that point again.”
On the game plan without Gilbert Arenas:
“It’s a different flow for us. We had the highest scoring trio in the league when Gilbert was playing and healthy. We were the best team in the Eastern Conference (last season with Arenas). Now there will be a lot more post-ups. We try to get more pick-and-rolls for our big guys and for Antonio Daniels to get to the basket. We depend on our jump shot last. We try to get Caron (Butler) his opportunities in his sweet spots at the top of the key and off the pick-and-rolls. He wouldn’t have those volumes of opportunities if Gilbert was here because Gilbert has those great drives and great threes.”
More on the team:
“We are trusting the defense and trusting the offense, as opposed to doing too much. We said from the beginning that we have to channel all this emotion, anticipation, excitement and bravado. We said from the beginning of the series that we need to channel that into being organized and it’s finally happening for us.”