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

Apr. 26: Hawks 102, Celtics 93

The AP reports: Give Josh Smith a perfect 10 in his personal dunking contest. And give the Atlanta Hawks some credit: The team that was supposed to get swept by big, bad Boston in the opening round of the playoffs pulled off a win that was nine years in the making. The high-flying Smith scored 27 points and the Hawks earned their first playoff victory since 1999, beating the Celtics 102-93 Saturday night to cut Boston’s lead in the series to 2-1… “We’re not satisfied,” said Joe Johnson, who added 23 points for Atlanta… The Hawks took control in the third quarter, outscoring the Celtics 28-18 and limiting Boston to 5-of-21 shooting. Atlanta went on to its first playoff win since May 16, 1999, a Game 5 clincher over the Detroit Pistons… Rookie Al Horford was a force on the inside. He had 17 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and showed he wasn’t afraid of the mighty Celtics, jawing with Paul Pierce in the final minute. Kevin Garnett led Boston with 32 points, but the NBA’s youngest playoff team had him kneeling over, looking totally exhausted, by the end of the game.

Apr. 26: Lakers 108, Nuggets 84

The AP reports: Kobe Bryant led a balanced offense with 22 points and the Los Angeles Lakers took a 3-0 lead in their first-round series, routing the flustered Nuggets 102-84 on Saturday… Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson shot a combined 10-for-38 and finished with 16 and 15 points, respectively… Iverson sat out all but 1:11 of the fourth quarter, when Nuggets coach George Karl emptied his bench, prompting Anthony to accuse the team of quitting… Luke Walton added 15 points off the bench for Los Angeles, and Pau Gasol and Fisher each scored 14. … Lakers F Ronny Turiaf, who lost 11 pounds and missed Game 2 with tonsillitis, was scoreless in three minutes. … Nuggets C Marcus Camby was held scoreless in a playoff game for the first time since 2000.

Apr. 26: Magic 106, Raptors 94

The AP reports: Jameer Nelson scored 12 of his 19 points in the final period, including 10 straight at one stretch, and the Orlando Magic beat the Toronto Raptors 106-94 on Saturday to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series… Rashard Lewis added 27 points and 13 rebounds, and Dwight Howard added 19 points, 16 boards and eight blocks for the third-seeded Magic, who host Game 5 of this first-round series Monday night. Chris Bosh set a career playoff-high with 39 points and added 15 rebounds for the Raptors, while T.J. Ford had 12 points and 13 assists… Toronto stayed close until back-to-back 3-pointers by Hedo Turkoglu and Lewis gave the Magic a 100-92 lead with 1:31 remaining. Turkoglu had 18 points and nine rebounds. Keith Bogans scored 12 points for Orlando… Jason Kapono and Anthony Parker each scored 12 for the Raptors, who were just 2-for-15 from 3-point range. Bosh finished 16-for-26.

USA to play China in Olympic hoops opening day

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Charles F. Gardner) reports: The Olympic basketball draw was held in Beijing this morning, and the U.S. was placed in a group with host China, defending world champion Spain and Angola. Two other teams will join the group after advancing from an Olympic qualifying tournament in Greece in July. On the opening day of men’s basketball competition (Aug. 10), the U.S. will play China, setting up the chance for Bucks players Yi Jianlian and Michael Redd to face each other. Bucks center Andrew Bogut and his Australian national team landed in Group A, along with defending Olympic champion Argentina, Russia, Lithuania and Iran. The sixth team in that group will come from the Athens tournament… A Chinese basketball official recently confirmed that Yi will be the first torchbearer on May 4 when the Olympic torch returns to mainland China, in the resort city of Sanya in the province of Hainan.

Antonio Daniels talks playoffs

The Cavs lead the Wizards 2-1 in the best-of-7 first round playoff series. Here’s Wizards guard Antonio Daniels:

Antonio Daniels on Game Four: “We have to come out with the same energy from Game Three.  That was big.  In my three years here that is the loudest I heard this arena by far.  It was electric in here.  Those fans were amazing.  We have to come out with that same energy, that same enthusiasm. We have to use home to our advantage.”

Daniels on the Playoffs: “This is the best time of the year.  It’s warm outside, there’s great weather, and then you walk in here and the crowd is going crazy like that.   Also, it’s great because every team isn’t here.  You don’t have the opportunity to play in the playoffs all the time.  So when you have the opportunity to do it you have to take advantage of it.  The moment you walk into a playoff game it’s completely different than when you walk into the gym for any of those 82 regular season games.”

Daniels on the Verizon Center crowd: “You really feel the effect of the crowd.  When you walk in there and that crowd is going crazy like that, you fell as a team that you can accomplish anything.  That’s why home court is so important.”

Daniels on coming off the bench: “There’s such a difference between starting and managing the game, and coming off the bench and changing the game.  Coming off the bench and changing the game is something I’ve done for 11 years in my career so it’s something I feel comfortable with.”

Apr. 25: Spurs 115, Suns 99

The AP reports: Phoenix took away Tony Parker’s easy layups just like it wanted to. So he just made jump shot after jump shot after jump shot. The smooth San Antonio point guard burned the Suns for a career-high 41 points along with 12 assists and the Spurs rolled to a 115-99 victory Friday night to take a 3-0 series lead. This was supposed to be a spectacular first-round matchup of potential NBA champions. Instead, it’s been a Spurs smackdown, with Parker leading the way… The Suns cut the lead to 13 points twice in the fourth quarter, the last on Raja Bell’s 3-pointer with 7:35 to play, but Parker countered with his first 3 of the game and the Suns were finished… Amare Stoudemire had 28 points and 11 rebounds to lead Phoenix, which was last swept in a series when Portland did it in a best-of-five matchup in 1998-99. Leandro Barbosa scored 20 points and O’Neal, who finished 9-for-17 from the free throw line, had 19. Steve Nash, defended ferociously by Bruce Bowen, had seven points on 3-of-8 shooting with nine assists… Kurt Thomas, a surprise starter, converted a three-point play with .3 seconds left in the first quarter to put San Antonio up 33-19.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Spurs shot 56.1%, the Suns 49.4%. The Spurs nailed 6-of-15 three-pointers, while for some weird reason the Suns only took 6, hitting 2. The Spurs hit 17-of-19 free throws, the Suns just 17-of-29. Rebounding, assists and other key stats were fairly even. For the Spurs, Parker had 41 points, 5 rebounds, 12 assists and 2 steals. Duncan had 23 points and 10 rebounds. Ginobili (7-of-11, 4-of-7 threes) scored 20. For the Suns, Amare Stoudemire (13-of-23) had 28 points and 11 rebounds. Leandro Barbosa needed 17 shots for his 20 points. Shaq (5-of-11, 9-of-17 threes) had 19 points and just 6 rebounds with no blocks in 31 minutes. Steve Nash (3-of-8) had a quiet 7 points and 9 assists.

Apr. 25: Mavs 97, Hornets 87

The AP reports: With 13 of Chris Paul’s first 16 shots falling out instead of in, and fellow All-Star David West clanging 11 of his first 14, the Hornets couldn’t get into a groove until it was too late. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry came up big on both ends of the court, pulling Dallas right back into this first-round series with a 97-87 victory in Game 3 on Friday night. Nowitzki had 32 points, 19 rebounds and six assists to get the Mavericks within 2-1. Game 4 is Sunday night in Dallas, where the Hornets haven’t won since January 1998… Terry replaced Jerry Stackhouse as a starter and replaced Jason Kidd as Paul’s primary defender. The MVP candidate went from ringing up consecutive games with at least 30 points and 10 assists—something nobody had ever done in his first two playoff games—to having 16 points and 10 assists… Josh Howard scored 18 points for Dallas, but was only 5-of-16. His performance drew extra scrutiny because hours before tipoff he went on local radio and admitted to using marijuana in the offseason. Team owner Mark Cuban said Howard will be disciplined… Dallas took 22 free throws in the period, compared to just seven for New Orleans. Yes, the Mavericks went to the rim harder than the Hornets. They also were aided by getting into the bonus just 3:17 into the quarter.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Mavs shot 42.7%, the Hornets just 37.9%. The Mavs were lousy from three-point range at just 5-of-17, while the Hornets nailed 8-of-16 (Pargo had 4 threes, Stojakovic had 3). The Mavs won rebounds 52-43. The Hornets had just 2 steals. For the Mavs, Nowitzki had 32 points, 19 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks. Terry had 22 points, 6 assists and 2 steals. Josh Howard shot just 5-of-16 for 18 points and not a lot else. Jason Kidd had 8 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. For the Hornets, Jannero Pargo shot 12-of-20 for 30 points. Chris Paul shot just 4-of-18 for 16 points and 10 assists. David West shot just 6-of-20 for 14 points and 9 rebounds. Stojakovic was hot from three-point range but cold elsewhere, going 6-of-20 for 14 points and 9 rebounds. Tyson Chandler had no blocks.

Apr. 25: Sixers 95, Pistons 75

The AP reports: The Sixers added one more surprise victory in a season stuffed with them. The win wasn’t the shocker—it was the way Philadelphia completely thrashed the playoff-tested Detroit Pistons in Game 3 that was the stunner. Andre Miller was spot on with his mid-range jumper and scored 21 points, and the rest of the Sixers ran all over the court in a dominating 95-75 victory Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series. Samuel Dalembert had 22 points and 16 rebounds, and the Sixers led by as many as 24 points in their first home playoff game since 2005… The Pistons played nothing like a team that won 59 games in the regular season. Perhaps they took the 76ers lightly or maybe one of the most experienced postseason rosters in the league is finally starting to wear down. Richard Hamilton scored 23 points and Tayshaun Prince had 18. Without them, the Pistons might have lost by 30. Antonio McDyess—who left in the third quarter with a broken nose—Rasheed Wallace and Billups combined for 15 points… The Pistons, who led the league with just 11 turnovers per game, committed 25, easily their season high, and the 76ers jumped all over every costly mistake. They scored 29 points off turnovers and scored 40 points in the paint. Philly scored the easy baskets off lobs and layups that mostly eluded them in Games 1 and 2.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The 76ers shot 45.9%, the Pistons just 40.9%. Both teams were awful from three-point range, combining to go 4-of-22. The Sixers got more free throws, and hit a higher percentage of them. Philly got more boards and more assists. The Pistons committed 23 turnovers. The Sixers had 15 steals, the Pistons only 6. Chauncey Billups shot 2-of-11. Rasheed Wallace shot 1-of-6. Rodney Stuckey shot 1-of-7. Jarvis Hayes also shot 1-of-7. The only Sixer to struggle as badly as those Pistons from the field was Iguodala, who went 2-of-9 and had 6 assists but also 6 turnovers.