The AP reports: Isiah Thomas was booed during pregame introductions and fans chanted for him to be fired in the final minute. But while firing Thomas may be the popular decision with fans, Jamal Crawford cautioned that it may not be the right one… Doc Rivers gave Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen the night off, but Rajon Rondo had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who learned during the game they will face the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs. Sam Cassell added 22 points for the Celtics, who got a halftime pep talk from another champion who wears green: Masters winner Trevor Immelman, who watched the game the day after collecting the green jacket.. Nate Robinson scored 26 points and David Lee had 12 points and 16 rebounds for the Knicks. Rookie Wilson Chandler, who had been playing well lately, sprained his left knee in the third quarter. X-rays were negative.
Category: Games
Basketball games blog
Apr. 14: Raptors 91, Heat 75
The AP reports: Rasho Nesterovic scored 20 points, Chris Bosh had 15 and the Raptors beat the Miami Heat 91-75 on Monday night. The win, coupled with Cleveland’s 91-90 victory at Philadelphia, gave Toronto the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference and an opening round matchup with Orlando… Anthony Parker had 13 and Jason Kapono scored seven of his 11 points in the fourth quarter, when Toronto outscored Miami 21-11… Daequan Cook had 22 and Chris Quinn added 14 for the Heat, who lost for the 21st time in their past 24 games. Miami must beat Atlanta at home Wednesday to avoid the worst record in franchise history. The Heat went 15-67 in their inaugural 1988-89 season.
Apr. 14: Cavs 91, Sixers 90
The AP reports: The 76ers saw Devin Brown’s shot fall short, heard the buzzer and darted toward the locker room for an apparent victory celebration. Game over? Not so fast. Officials reviewed the final sequence for several minutes before deciding that Sixers center Samuel Dalembert fouled Brown with 0.2 seconds left and brought Philadelphia back to the court for the free throws. Minutes after the game was seemingly over, Brown sank the pressure-packed free throws to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 91-90 win over the Sixers on Monday night and clinch the fourth seed in the East… LeBron James scored 27 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 22 and the Cavaliers clinched home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs… Andre Miller scored 26 points and Lou Williams had 21 for the struggling Sixers, who have lost all the momentum built during a torrid 11-4 March that shot them up the East standings.
Apr. 14: Wizards 117, Pacers 110
The AP reports: Despite the playoff implications of Monday’s game, Washington coach Eddie Jordan went to his bench early and often, getting 31 points from Roger Mason, 14 from rookie Nick Young and little resistance from the Pacers’ defense. Gilbert Arenas was given the night off and Caron Butler sat out with a bruised knee. The Wizards’ reserves outscored their starters 70-47. The disparity was even greater after DeShawn Stevenson left early in the second half with a sore back… “It’s disappointing,” said Mike Dunleavy, who scored 26 points… They weren’t missed. Mason was 7-for-9 on 3-pointers, rookie Dominic McGuire scored a career-high nine points, and Andray Blatche grabbed 11 rebounds as Washington dominated the boards 58-31.
Apr. 13: Sonics 99, Mavs 95
The AP reports: Standing at midcourt, hearing his home fans roar as they never have during his rookie season, Kevin Durant wore a giddy smile, lifting his arms and asking for more from the appreciative crowd. “Save Our Sonics,” they replied in deafening unison. If this was the end of the Seattle SuperSonics, they went out with a rare victory and feeling well loved. “I almost cried, to be honest with you. People kept saying it might be the last game in Seattle,” Durant said. “It was phenomenal.” Durant scored twice in the final 45 seconds, and the Sonics rallied from a six-point deficit in the final 3 minutes to beat the Dallas Mavericks 99-95 on Sunday night… Earl Watson led Seattle with 21 points and 10 assists, while Nick Collison had 18 points and 11 rebounds as Seattle scored the final 10 points and handed Dallas a second straight loss. Durant finished with 19 points, 13 coming in the second half.
Apr. 13: Nuggets 111, Rockets 94
The AP reports: J.R. Smith’s 23-point performance sparked Denver to a 111-94 rout of the Houston Rockets on Sunday night that both clarified and cluttered the wild Western Conference playoff race. “That’s all he’s got to do is come into the game and the energy is there,” said Allen Iverson, who scored 33 points… This was a surprisingly easy win for the Nuggets, who raced to 43 fastbreak points as the Rockets shot 34 percent. Denver pulled away with a 10-0 first-half run sparked by consecutive 3-pointers from Smith. Luther Head lead Houston with 19 points and McGrady scored 16. Marcus Camby grabbed 14 rebounds, all but one of them off the defensive glass, and blocked seven shots for Denver, which led 61-44 at halftime and never looked back.
Apr. 13: Magic 104, Bulls 84
The AP reports: Hedo Turkoglu scored 24 points, and the Orlando Magic beat the Chicago Bulls 104-84 to reach the 50-win mark for the first time in 12 years on Sunday night. Dwight Howard added 19 points even though he sat out the fourth quarter, and Rashard Lewis added 18. Orlando got a much-needed win after dropping six of 10 and losing to lottery-bound New York and Minnesota in that span… Andres Nocioni led Chicago with 22 points and Luol Deng added 19, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Magic from reaching 50 wins for the first time since 1995-96.
Apr. 13: Cavs 84, Heat 76
The AP reports: Daniel Gibson made a 3-pointer and three straight free throws early in the fourth quarter to give Cleveland some cushion while LeBron James rested, and the Cavaliers moved closer to the East’s No. 4 seed with an 84-76 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday night. Delonte West scored 18 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 14 and 14 rebounds and James finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Cavaliers, who didn’t play well again but had enough to hold off the pathetic Heat… Ricky Davis scored 17 points and Daequan Cook and Earl Barron had 13 apiece for Miami (14-66), whose dismal season is nearly over.
Apr. 13: Lakers 106, Spurs 85
The AP reports: MVP candidate Kobe Bryant had 20 points, five rebounds and five assists before sitting out the fourth quarter, and the Lakers routed the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs 106-85 for their seventh win in eight games… Lamar Odom, the only Los Angeles starter to play in the final period, added 17 points and 14 rebounds before coming out for good with 4:26 remaining. Pau Gasol had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Derek Fisher also scored 14, Jordan Farmar added 11 points and Ronny Turiaf scored 10 for the Lakers, who outscored the Spurs 53-32 in the second half… Tony Parker had 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists, but was held to two points after halftime. Tim Duncan added 16 points and 12 rebounds and Ime Udoka scored 14 for the Spurs (54-26), who lost for just the third time in 13 games.
Apr. 13: Pistons 91, Raptors 84
The AP reports: Detroit finished the game with its “Zoo Squad”—Jarvis Hayes, Amir Johnson, Jason Maxiell and rookies Arron Afflalo and Rodney Stuckey. The group averages just 22.8 years of age, but the youngsters have proven their worth in back-to-back wins over Washington and Toronto… Stuckey led the Pistons with 18 points, while Maxiell and Billups added 14 each. Chris Bosh had his 30 and Rasho Nesterovic added 18, but T.J. Ford (10) was the only other player to reach double figures… Detroit used all 12 players before halftime, but still took a 50-45 advantage into the break. The Pistons outrebounded Toronto 23-13 in the half, including a 7-2 edge on the offensive glass.