NBA News Blog – Page 1046 – NBA Blog

J.R. Smith arrested, released in Miami Beach

Knicks guard J.R. Smith took his talents to South Beach and got arrested.

Miami Beach police say Smith was arrested last night on a bench warrant for not having a valid driver’s license. Police told The Post that Smith was recognized on famed Washington Avenue in South Beach. Police originally said that Smith was pulled over while driving a scooter, but after reviewing the arrest report have now said that is not the case.

The warrant stemmed from Smith, 26, being cited last year in Miami for driving a scooter without a valid driver’s license.

Smith was taken to the Miami-Dade County jail and booked under his legal name of Earl Joseph Smith, shortly before midnight and later was released on bond. Smith has had past transgressions with the law, including vehicular manslaughter charges that were dropped.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Dwyane Wade scores 41, Heat eliminate Pacers in six games

Miami’s Big Two was more than enough to finish off the Indiana Pacers.

Dwyane Wade and LeBron James turned around a season on the brink with perhaps the most remarkable week of their high-powered partnership, capped off by a 105-93 victory in Game 6 Thursday night that sent the Heat back to the Eastern Conference finals.

Wade scored 41 points, James had 28 and Miami wrapped up the series 4-2, advancing to face either Boston or Philadelphia.

But this was about more than one game.

This was a dazzling trilogy, Wade and James taking control when the Heat were down and looked like they might be out.

”In the regular season, we’ve had some good games,” Wade said. ”But I don’t know if we’ve ever had three in a row like that in the playoffs.”

Seven days earlier, Miami trailed 2-1 in the series after getting routed 94-75 in Indianapolis. The fired-up Pacers had another game on their home court and a chance to build a commanding lead.

Instead, the Big Three-Turned-Two took over.

With Chris Bosh sidelined by an abdominal injury, James and Wade soared to new heights in their two-man game. Over the course of three dazzling games, James scored 98 points, grabbed 34 rebounds and dished out 24 assists. Wade had 99 points, 22 rebounds and 11 assists.

— Reported by Paul Newberry of the Associated Press

“When Wade and James are going like they were tonight and in this series, they’re going to be tough to beat by anybody,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “They were just spectacular in this series, and they were too much for us.”

The Pacers got every conceivable break they could possibly want in this series. They saw Chris Bosh leave the series at halftime of Game 1. They got the one-game suspension of Udonis Haslem for Game 6. They should have taken this thing to seven games, making this a bit of a disappointment in the end.

So there will be regret.

Regret they didn’t take more advantage of the mismatches with Roy Hibbert and David West, the fact they continually failed to feed Hibbert in the post.

Regret they failed to take advantage of Haslem’s one-game suspension in Game 6.

Regret they were sloppy — not soft, but sloppy — turning the ball over 22 times, leading to 26 Heat points.

— Reported by Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star

Miami, led by James and Wade, turned the Pacers’ 22 turnovers into 26 points.

The Pacers averaged 14 turnovers a game during the regular season.

“For whatever reason, we weren’t strong enough with the ball,” Pacers forward David West said. “We didn’t take care of it enough. They’re too good. They capitalize on mistakes. We just got too loose with the ball. They put pressure on you all over the court. We just made some bad plays.”

Three of the five starters had at least three turnovers.

These weren’t normal turnovers, either.

Paul George sent a pass sailing about five rows into the stands on a fast break. Leandro Barbosa attempted to throw a skip pass that landed in the stands.

“I felt the guys were pressing a little bit too much,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “Some of them came from being a little too excited. A lot of these guys are new to this level of play, this level of the playoffs. It’s growing pains.”

— Reported by Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star

“Chris Bosh is an awesome basketball player,” Vogel said, “but when he goes down that means more touches for LeBron and Wade and that’s not necessarily an advantage.”

Then there was the absence of Haslem due to his flagrant foul in Tuesday’s Game 5 free-for-all. While that allowed Pacers power forward David West to step forward with a series-high 24 points, the Heat got enough to offset that with 15 points from point guard Mario Chalmers and 12 from reserve forward Mike Miller.

“I think we’re getting more comfortable playing with a different starting lineup, playing without Chris,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Miller had scored 10 total points in the series’ first five games, before draining four 3-pointers Thursday.

— Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

But these weren’t the show-stopping, glitz-heavy Hollywood Heat this series in the manner some think them. They lived the Sean Connery line from The Untouchables in this series: “They pull a knife, you pull a gun. They send one of yours to the hospital, you send one of theirs to the morgue.”

Indiana’s Tyler Hansbrough bloodied Wade in the lane? Udonis Haslem bodyslammed Hansbrough to the ground.

Lance Stephenson gave the “choke” sign to LeBron. Dexter Pittman pole-axed Stephenson to the floor in another game.

They came in undermanned without Bosh and the suspended Haslem this Game 6. They fell behind early, kept their composure and ultimately left no doubt who was the better team.

As they should have. As their talent demands. But down 2-1 in this series they faced the kind of crossroads no one expected and Indiana tried to take advantage of.

— Reported by Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Gotye parody song video: The Kobe that we used to know

This is very funny. Enjoy the song:

Shaq declines chance to discuss Magic GM job

NBA great Shaquille O’Neal has declined an invitation to interview for the Orlando Magic’s vacant general manager position.

O’Neal earlier had expressed interest in the job.

“When I first heard about the vacancy for the Orlando Magic general manager position, I was clearly intrigued,” O’Neal said in a statement Thursday. “I was drafted by the Magic, I have a great love for the franchise, and I have made the city of Orlando my home. Additionally, I have great admiration and respect for the DeVos family.

”However, this is not a job I have an interest in pursuing. I feel very fortunate to be with TNT and to have the best job in sports. I look forward to many more years with Charles (Barkley), Kenny (Smith) and E.J. (Ernie Johnson). I wish the best for the Magic and I am confident that they will select a great GM and coach.“

— Reported by the Chicago Tribune

2011-12 All-NBA Teams announced

The Miami Heat’s LeBron James, the 2011-12 NBA Most Valuable Player and winner of three of the previous four MVP awards, highlights the 2011-12 All-NBA First Team. James received 118 of a possible 120 first team votes. Joining James on the First Team are Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, and Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers.

Despite averaging a career-low 37.5 minutes, the eight-time All-Star led the NBA in plus-minus score differential (+7.6) and ranked third in scoring (27.1 ppg), while pacing the Heat in assists (6.2 apg) and tying for the team lead in rebounds (7.9 rpg). In addition, James established career bests in field goal percentage (.531) and three-point field goal percentage (.362). James earns First Team honors for the fifth straight season and sixth time overall.

Durant earns his third All-NBA First Team selection. He led the league in scoring (28.0 ppg) for the third consecutive year, edging Bryant in the second-closest finish all-time, to go along with career highs in rebounds (8.0 rpg) and assists (3.5 apg). Durant scored at least 40 points four times including a career-high 51 on Feb. 19 vs. Denver. He earned All-Star MVP honors after scoring 36 points in the Western Conference’s 152-149 win over the East.

Bryant, an All-NBA First Team selection for the seventh straight season, becomes the active leader for most First-Team nods with 10. Bryant finished second in the league in scoring (27.9 ppg). On Feb. 6, at Philadelphia, Bryant moved past Shaquille O’Neal for fifth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list; and on March 9, at Minnesota, he became the youngest player to 29,000 points (33 years, 199 days). Bryant’s 10 First-Team selections tie for second all-time (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Bob Cousy, Michael Jordan, Bob Pettit, and Jerry West). Karl Malone is the all-time leader with 11.

Howard, an All-NBA First Team selection for the fifth consecutive season, led the league in rebounding with a career-high 14.5 rpg and field goal percentage (.573), and finished second in double-doubles (43) and third in blocks (2.15 bpg). Howard also averaged 20.6 points and was one of only three players to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Paul, an All-NBA First Team selection for the second time in his career, paced the league in steals (2.53 spg) and finished third in assists (9.1 apg), adding 19.8 ppg and 3.5 rpg. He posted 23 double-doubles, tying for 16th overall. Paul this season became only the second player (Tim Hardaway, 1990-91) in NBA history to average at least 19.0 points, 9.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals.

The All-NBA Second Team consists of guards Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs and Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, forwards Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers and Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and center Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers.

The All-NBA Third Team includes the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade and the Boston Celtics’ Rajon Rondo at guard, the New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony and the Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki at forward, and the Knicks’ Tyson Chandler at center.

The All-NBA Teams were chosen by a panel of 120 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. The media voted for All-NBA First, Second and Third Teams by position with points awarded on a 5-3-1 basis.

Below are the results of the voting for the 2011-12 All-NBA Teams, with First Team votes in parentheses. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP.

2011-12 ALL-NBA FIRST TEAM

Position Player, Team (1st Team Votes) Points
Forward LeBron James, Miami (118) 596
Forward Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City (117) 591
Center Dwight Howard, Orlando (75) 476
Guard Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers (104) 568
Guard Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers (74) 484

2011-12 ALL-NBA SECOND TEAM

Position Player, Team (1st Team Votes) Points
Forward Kevin Love, Minnesota (16) 365
Forward Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers 170
Center Andrew Bynum, L.A. Lakers (33) 400
Guard Tony Parker, San Antonio (41) 367
Guard Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City (5) 239

2011-12 ALL-NBA THIRD TEAM

Position Player, Team (1st Team Votes) Points
Forward Carmelo Anthony, New York (1) 154
Forward Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas 136
Center Tyson Chandler, New York (4) 60
Guard Dwyane Wade, Miami (1) 235
Guard Rajon Rondo, Boston (4) 142

Other players receiving votes, with point totals: LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland, 55; Marc Gasol, Memphis, 52; Derrick Rose, Chicago, 44; Josh Smith, Atlanta, 33; Paul Pierce, Boston, 31; Al Jefferson, Utah, 30; Pau Gasol, L.A. Lakers, 27; Steve Nash, Phoenix, 24; Kevin Garnett, Boston, 22; Tim Duncan, San Antonio, 18; Joe Johnson, Atlanta, 16; Deron Williams, New Jersey, 14; Rudy Gay, Memphis, 10; James Harden, Oklahoma City, 8; Luol Deng, Chicago, 5; Roy Hibbert, Indiana, 5; Manu Ginobili, San Antonio, 3; Danny Granger, Indiana, 3; Joakim Noah, Chicago, 3; Monta Ellis, Milwaukee, 2; Chris Bosh, Miami, 2; Luis Scola, Houston, 2; Marcin Gortat, Phoenix, 2; Paul Millsap, Utah, 2; Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City, 2; David Lee, Golden State, 1; and DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento, 1.

Read NBA fan reaction and share your views in this basketball forum topic.

LeBron James says Tyler Hansbrough should have been ejected in Game 5

To LeBron James, the simple solution could have prevented the bigger mess.

While not directly calling out the officiating crew at Tuesday’s Game 5 of this Miami Heat-Indiana Pacers Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series, James said Thursday that harsher immediate action could have prevented the eventual suspension of Heat power forward Udonis Haslem for Thursday night’s Game 6 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

James said had Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough been immediately cited for a Flagrant 2 foul Tuesday and ejected for his hard hit on Dwyane Wade, then there would have been no retaliation foul from Haslem. Hansbrough instead was cited for a Flagrant 1 foul, which allowed him to remain in the game. The NBA later upgraded the violation to a Flagrant 2 foul, which would have mandated immediate ejection…

“If there was a Flagrant 2 to start with,” James said, “then U.D. would have never fouled him, which means U.D. never would have got suspended. I mean Hansbrough, it’s not the first time that he went after one of our players this year. We have two guys suspended and basically they have no one suspended.”

— Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Lamar Odom might want to join Knicks

Who will Lamar Odom play for next season? That’s currently out of his control. He’s under contract with the Dallas Mavericks, who likely will trade him or waive him.

But a source with knowledge of Odom’s thinking says the New York Knicks would be “on the top of his list” if the Queens native becomes a free agent.

“Lamar is big on being comfortable,” the source said. “And New York is somewhere he can be comfortable.”

The Knicks’ interest in Odom is unclear at this point.

They likely will be limited in their spending this summer. New York is expected to use its mid-level exception to retain restricted free-agent Jeremy Lin, which would leave the organization with little money to spend on free agents.

— Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

Sixers force a Game 7 with Celtics

The buzz at the start was for Allen Iverson’s ceremonial return.

By the end, more than 20,000 fans were on their feet and going wild for Jrue Holiday, Elton Brand, Andre Iguodala and the rugged-and-determined play that kept the eighth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers alive for at least one more game.

Yes, the Sixers are talking about Game 7 – and they’re taking this improbable postseason run back to Boston.

Holiday scored 20 points, and Brand had 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Sixers to an 82-75 victory over the Celtics on Wednesday night that tied the Eastern Conference semifinals.

No team has won consecutive games in a series where neither team has played well enough to seize control. But the Sixers were good enough to win Game 6, improving to 5-0 this postseason in games following a loss…

Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo could be playing their last game together Saturday night if they can’t find a way to hang onto the ball and put away a Sixers team that won’t quit…

The Celtics posted ugly numbers across the board: Blame the loss on the 33 percent shooting, the 17 turnovers or the 3 for 14 3-point shooting. Either way, there’s enough to go around. Pierce had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Garnett had 20 points and 11 boards…

Pierce led the parade to the line for the Boston. He made his first 11 attempts for a Celtics team that was 17 for 17 through three quarters. The Celtics made only 19 field goals through three.

— Reported by Dan Gelston of the Associated Press

Rondo’s final line on Wednesday – nine points, six assists and nine rebounds – was the kind you expect to see from in at the half.

“I don’t know” was C’s coach Doc Rivers’ response when asked about Rondo’s very un-Rondo-like game.

“He wanted to play well,” Rivers added. “He attacked early and missed some shots. He probably got caught in between himself because he saw the offense wasn’t working.”

Boston shot 33 percent from the field and turned the ball over 17 times (for 19 points).

You want to know what a recipe for defeat looks like?

Shooting that poorly and turning the ball over that many times, is a start.

And when you consider so much of Rondo’s game is dependent on others making shots, it’s not all that surprising that the Celtics All-Star’s numbers weren’t nearly as impressive as they usually are.

— Reported by A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE

The Celtics flew home for Saturday’s Game 7 with some odious numbers, but none worse than those turned in by the architect of that win in Game 5.

Rajon Rondo, who for long stretches had as many turnovers as assists, finished with perhaps his worst night of the postseason — nine points on 4-for-14 shooting, six assists, four turnovers and his one redeeming stat of nine rebounds.

But he had company. Brandon Bass, the Game 5 hero, had eight points on 2-for-12 shooting against some intensified trapping. Ray Allen, now maneuvering on two bad ankles and struggling to keep up with Philadelphia’s quick guards, fell into foul trouble and shot 4-for-11.

They could only get so far on Kevin Garnett’s jump shooting this time. Keyon Dooling can only dig into his speech file so often.

The Celtics, now 2-11 in potential road game closeout opportunities over the last five years — the new Big Three era — are thus thanking the skies for the fact they have homecourt advantage.

— Reported by Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald

Jrue Holiday led the Sixers with 20 points and dealt six assists. Brand gutted through a sore neck and shoulder for 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Iguodala and Turner had 12 each, and Williams chipped in with 11.

Defensively, the group held Celtic guard Rajon Rondo to only nine points and six assists, and limited Boston to 26-for-78 (33.3 percent) from the floor and turned them over 17 times. And with starting ‘two’ guard Avery Bradley sidelined again with a shoulder injury, there weren’t many able bodies for Rivers to look to.

“It’s what we have,” Rivers said. “Avery is a great defender, but I can’t worry about [not having him]. The penetration hurt us and the isos and they were picking who they wanted [to isolate]. That’s what I would do. I know Doug well. I’m gonna give him a call and say, ‘Listen, none of that.’ We have to do a better job of helping those who can’t keep guys in front of them.

“They’re athletic, young, they’re very fast, and they play with a lot of energy. We knew coming in this would be hard. They have a quickness advantage and we understand that.”

— Reported by Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News

Evan Turner hasn’t exactly been an offensive machine during this series, but with Allen assigned to him this appeared to be a game where he could break out.

The previous two games saw Turner score in double figures, but his shooting (10-for-35) has been anything but stellar.

By halftime on Wednesday, even with the Sixers struggling to hit shots from the field – they were just 14-for-35 from the field – Turner was off to a decent enough shooting start (3-for-5) that it didn’t look too far out of the realm of possibility that the former No. 2 overall pick might put up some impressive numbers.

And while he never really got his offensive game untracked, that was less important than what he did at the defensive end.

— Reported by John N. Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Heat players Dexter Pittman suspended 3 games, Udonis Haslem suspended 1 game

Miami Heat center Dexter Pittman has been suspended three games without pay for striking the neck and shoulders of Indiana guard Lance Stephenson, and Miami forward Udonis Haslem has been suspended one game without pay for striking the head and shoulders of Indiana’s Tyler Hansbrough, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

Both Pittman and Haslem had their Flagrant Foul Ones upgraded to Flagrant Foul Twos, as did Indiana’s Hansbrough, who struck the head of Miami’s Dwyane Wade on a foul that occurred shortly before Haslem’s foul.

The incidents occurred during the Heat’s 115-83 victory over the Pacers on May 22 at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami.

Haslem will serve his suspension on Thursday when the Pacers host the Heat in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series. Pittman will begin serving his suspension in Game 6.

LeBron James headlines 2011-12 NBA All-Defensive Teams

Miami Heat forward LeBron James, winner of the 2011-12 NBA Most Valuable Player Award, headlines the NBA All-Defensive First Team, the NBA announced today. James totaled 53 points overall, including 24 First Team votes. He was the lone player to top 50 points.

Joining James on the NBA All-Defensive First Team are forward Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder (47 points), guards Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers (35 points) and Tony Allen of the Memphis Grizzlies (33 points), and center Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic (41 points). Ibaka and Allen earn First Team honors for the first time; Allen was an NBA All-Defensive Second Team selection last season.

James led the Heat to a 46-20 mark and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. He paced the Heat in steals (1.9 spg) and defensive rebounds (6.4 drpg), and tied for the team lead in rebounds (7.9 rpg). With James leading the effort, Miami’s defense tied for fourth in opponent scoring (91.3 ppg), and ranked third in forced turnovers (16.6) and fifth in opponent field goal percentage (.434).

Ibaka paced the league in blocks (3.65 bpg) while Paul led in steals (2.53 spg). Howard was the league’s leading rebounder (14.5 rpg) as well as its top defensive rebounder (10.8 drpg). The Grizzlies allowed 96.0 points per 100 possessions with Allen on the court compared to 101.7 points per 100 possessions with him off.

The NBA All-Defensive Second Team consists of guards Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, center Tyson Chandler of the New York Knicks, and forwards Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls and Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics.

Chandler had already won the Defensive Player of Year award. So why did he only get named to the second All-Defensive team? Because a group of media members, not the league’s coaches, vote for that award.

The voting panel for the all-defense squads consisted of the NBA’s 30 head coaches, who were asked to select NBA All-Defensive First and Second Teams by position. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players from their own team. Two points were awarded for a First Team vote and one point was awarded for a Second Team vote.