The AP reports: Derrick Rose matched Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record with 36 points in his playoff debut, adding 11 assists to lead the Bulls to a 105-103 overtime victory over the defending NBA champions in Game 1 of their best-of-seven first-round series… “I hope this is a wake-up call,” said Paul Pierce, who scored 23 points… Tyrus Thomas scored 16 points—making six of Chicago’s eight points in overtime, including the game-winning jumper with 51 seconds left in overtime. Joakim Noah, who was also making his postseason debut, scored 11 with 17 rebounds for the Bulls as they wrested the home-court advantage from Boston… Rajon Rondo scored 29 points with nine rebounds and seven assists for Boston, which was without Kevin Garnett and didn’t get what it needed from the rest of the Big Three, either.
Category: Games
Basketball games blog
Lakers earn 65th victory, beat Utah 125-112
The AP reports: The 82-game grind is over for the Los Angeles Lakers. Now comes the time of the season this storied franchise exists for. Andrew Bynum scored 22 points in his best effort since returning from injury and the Lakers defeated the Utah Jazz 125-112 Tuesday night to close the regular season as the third-winningest team in franchise history. They tied the 1986-87 team with their 65th victory, trailing only the 1971-72 team (69) and 1999-00 team (67)… Pau Gasol added 20 points and nine rebounds, Bryant and Lamar Odom had 16 points each, and Sasha Vujacic 15 points for the Lakers, who won their sixth in a row at home. Deron Williams had 25 points and 13 assists for the Jazz, and reserve Andrei Kirilenko added 20 points to go with 16 points by Carlos Boozer and 14 by Ronnie Brewer.
Pierce lifts Celtics past 76ers
The AP reports: The 76ers might be in big trouble in a playoff series with Boston once Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett are back. Paul Pierce and his backup band were enough to finish off a Sixers team that still has something to play for. Pierce hit the winning jumper, scored 31 points and hindered Philadelphia’s shot at the Eastern Conference’s sixth seed in Boston’s 100-98 win over the Sixers on Tuesday night… Tony Allen and Leon Powe were pressed into service and combined for 28 points, and the Celtics’ bench also outscored Philadelphia’s reserves… Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 25 points and Thaddeus Young had 18.
Hawks beat Heat 81-79 in meaningless game
The AP reports: Flip Murray scored 17 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks reserves past the Miami Heat scrubs 81-79 Tuesday night in a game that shed little light on their upcoming playoff series. With both teams locked into their seedings—they’ll play Game 1 in Atlanta this weekend—there was little incentive for either to give significant minutes to top players. They didn’t. Miami star Dwyane Wade, coming off a career-best 55 points against the New York Knicks, wasn’t in uniform. Neither were Jermaine O’Neal or Udonis Haslem, the latter recovering from a deep cut on his right thumb. Michael Beasley led the Heat with 23 points and 13 rebounds in only 24 minutes. The Hawks rested Maurice Evans and Zaza Pachulia, and kept their starters on the bench much of the night. Speedy Claxton, a $25 million free-agent bust, actually played for the first time in more than two years.
Spurs rout Warriors, stay tied for division lead
The AP reports: Tony Parker scored 17 points and Tim Duncan added 16 points and 13 rebounds before both stars sat out the fourth quarter, and the San Antonio Spurs kept pace with Houston atop the Southwest Division with a 101-72 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Monday night. Drew Gooden had 20 points and 15 rebounds in his hometown for the Spurs, who won their third straight to pull even at 53-28 with the Rockets and Portland, who both won earlier in the night… Anthony Randolph had career highs of 24 points and 16 rebounds, and C.J. Watson added 18 points for the Warriors, who had just seven available players. Injured guard Marco Belinelli again had to dress for the game just to give Golden State the NBA-minimum eight in uniform.
Suns hold off Grizzlies for 45th victory
The AP reports: After playing his reserves for the first 5 minutes of the fourth quarter of Monday night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Gentry substituted his first team back into the game. The result was a 119-110 victory, Phoenix’s eighth straight at home… O’Neal led Phoenix’s well-balanced attack with 19 points. Overall, the Suns had seven players in double figures. Steve Nash had 18 points and 12 assists. Jason Richardson collected 18 points, Grant Hill and rookie Robin Lopez had 14 apiece, Matt Barnes 12 and Leandro Barbosa 10. Lopez’s total tied his season high. Hakim Warrick, who hit his first 10 field goal attempts, tying a franchise record for one game, and Rudy Gay led Memphis with 26 points each. O.J. Mayo scored 20, Marc Gasol added 13 points and Mike Conley Jr. scored 12 and tied a franchise record with seven steals.
Outlaw has 21 in Blazers victory over Thunder
The AP reports: Travis Outlaw had 21 points as a last-minute starter and the Trail Blazers built a 35-point lead before defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder 113-83 on Monday night. Brandon Roy had 20 points in Portland’s fifth straight victory. Greg Oden had 16 points and nine rebounds. Kevin Durant, averaging 25.5 points a game, scored just 10 for the Thunder, who have lost six of their last seven games. Rookie Russell Westbrook had 15 points and seven assists.
Jazz end skid with win over Clippers
The AP reports: The Jazz ended the skid with a 106-85 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night, keeping alive their slim hopes of climbing out of the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. “We just needed a win,” said Deron Williams, who had 17 points and nine assists… Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Paul Millsap added 19 points and 11 boards for the Jazz, who outrebounded the Clippers 50-36 and forced 15 turnovers that led to 24 easy points… Marcus Camby had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, who have lost eight of nine. Eric Gordon scored 16 and Chris Kaman had 12 points and seven rebounds for Los Angeles.
JR Smith scores 45, Nuggets beat Kings 118-98
The AP reports: J.R. Smith had a career-high 45 points and franchise-best 11 3-pointers to help the Denver Nuggets clinch the Northwest Division title and home-court edge in the playoffs for the first time in 21 years with a 118-98 win over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night… Smith was so hot down the stretch, when he single-handedly turned a nail-biter into a laugher, that the Kings resorted to fouling him intentionally so he wouldn’t get off 3-pointers. Twice he did anyway, and he sank all three foul shots both times… Carmelo Anthony had 21 points, nine assists and nine rebounds in 32 minutes against Sacramento, which was led by Ike Diogu’s career-best 32 points.Center Spencer Hawes injured his left knee on a flagrant foul by Kenyon Martin in the first quarter and did not return.
Late Terry jumper, Mavs beat Wolves 96-94
The AP reports: Trailing the Minnesota Timberwolves by seven points with 3:13 left, Dirk Nowitzki got his teammates going, then Jason Terry finished off the rally by swishing an 18-foot jumper from the right side with 0.2 seconds left for a 96-94 victory… “This was one we had to get,” said Nowitzki, who had 34 points and nine rebounds… Craig Smith came off the bench to score a season-high 24 points and Sebastian Telfair had 14 points and tied his season high with 12 assists. Minnesota players were jumping up and down on the bench, hoping to make amends for what happened on their last visit to Dallas—when they blew a 29-point, third-quarter lead.