Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Horford, Hawks stay alive, beat Celtics in Game 5

al horford

Al Horford missed most of the season.

Now that he’s back, the Atlanta Hawks center wants to keep it going as long as he can.

In his first start since January, Horford scored 19 points, hit Atlanta’s final two baskets and came up with a potentially season-saving defensive play that allowed the Hawks to hang on for a frenetic 87-86 victory over Boston in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference playoffs Tuesday night, cutting the Celtics’ lead in the series to 3-2…

In addition to pacing the Hawks in scoring, he grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out three assists, came up with three steals and blocked three shots – all while playing more than 31 minutes, far more than the Hawks intended…

Boston had a chance to end the series when Rajon Rondo stole Josh Smith’s inbounds pass with 10 seconds remaining and raced down the court, looking for the winner. But the point guard got hemmed in along the sideline when Horford jumped out to defend him, which caused Rondo to lose control and fling a desperation pass. Smith knocked it away, the ball rolling harmlessly out of bounds as the horn sounded…

Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett led the Celtics with 16 points apiece. Rondo had 13 points and 12 assists, and the last of his five steals gave Boston a chance to clinch the series early and get some much-needed rest…

Josh Smith clearly looked hobbled by a sore knee that kept him out of Game 3, but still managed 13 points and 16 rebounds. Jeff Teague had 16 points, while Johnson and Marvin Williams had 15 apiece, giving Atlanta double-figure scoring from all five starters in a revamped lineup.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Pacers beat Magic 105-87, advance to 2nd round

danny granger

After years of losing and players finding trouble, the Indiana Pacers finally gave their fans something to really cheer about. Danny Granger scored 25 points to help the Pacers defeat the Orlando Magic 105-87 on Tuesday night and clinch their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series 4-1.

”I’m just so happy for our fans,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. ”They’ve endured a lot those years when we struggled. To finally see us come back and have a winning team again and somebody that has a chance to do something special this year. That’s what they deserve. Pacers basketball is back.”

The Pacers will play Miami or New York in the second round. Miami leads that series 3-1, and as the final minutes ticked away, fans began chanting, ”Beat the Heat.”

”It was electric,” Granger said. ”The crowd was crazy. They had a lot of momentum going. They pushed us in that fourth quarter.”

It was a tough series for Orlando, which played all five games without All-Star center Dwight Howard because of a back injury. They took the opener, then watched Indiana put together its first series win since 2005 and its first clincher on its home court since the first round of the 2000 playoffs. No player on Indiana’s roster had won a playoff series while playing for the Pacers…

Darren Collison scored 15 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and George Hill added 15 points for the Pacers, who trailed by two at the end of the third quarter but outscored the Magic 36-16 in the final 12 minutes…

Jameer Nelson led Orlando with 27 points and made 5 of 8 3-pointers. Glen Davis, a thorn in Indiana’s side throughout the series, scored 15 but made just 6 of 17 shots. The Magic, who made just 5 of 16 shots in the fourth quarter, didn’t want to use Howard’s absence as an excuse.

— Reported by Cliff Brunt of the Associated Press

Jeremy Lin will not play in Knicks-Heat series

jeremy lin

Mike Woodson cleared up all the questions and speculation about Jeremy Lin’s status Tuesday. The interim Knicks coach said Lin will not play in this series.

As the Knicks prepared for Game 5 on Wednesday night, Lin and team doctors told Woodson to go on without the point guard.

“He’s just not ready,” Woodson said. “They will let me know when he’s ready, and I’m sure he will step up to the plate and say ‘Hey, I’m ready,’ when that time comes. But right now he’s out. He’s not ready.”

The Knicks already lost Iman Shumpert and Baron Davis in this series to devastating knee injuries. Mike Bibby will start Wednesday, and J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony will also handle some of the point guard duties.

— Reported by Al Iannazzone of New York Newsday

Sacramento spent $680,000 in unsuccessful arena drive

The city of Sacramento spent $680,000 between September and April in its unsuccessful effort to build a sports and entertainment center in the railyard, according to an analysis to be presented to the City Council tonight.

The expenditures, preapproved by the council, include $8,000 in travel costs to Los Angeles, Dallas, Orlando, Fla., and New York where city officials attempted to negotiate agreements with the Kings, the NBA and private partners for a $391 million facility.

Those expenses do not include Mayor Kevin Johnson’s travel bills, which Johnson paid for himself, a city staff report indicates.

City officials said they knew in September when they asked the council for initial funding that the deal might not pan out, but felt the project was worth the investment.

— Reported by the Modesto Bee

Dwyane Wade might not play in Olympics

Dwyane Wade

Speaking of which, Dwyane Wade sounded slightly less than 100 percent certain he’ll be in London no matter what, even after accepting the invite to what would be his third Olympics after being prodded by his 2008 Beijing teammates (“Kobe was like, ‘if my old self is playing, you can,'” Wade said — and I’m sure Kobe said ‘self’ there, aren’t you?) into putting the band back together one last time.

“I told them, I said, listen, I’m just going to see how I feel,” Wade said last week. “This is about being healthy — I think, for all of us, going into the summer healthy — and taking it from there.”

This was somewhat surprising to Colangelo, reached Sunday night.

“You could, today, probably come up with 10 or 11 that look pretty solid unless something happens,” he said by telephone. “Wade’s one of those guys, but if he feels like he doesn’t have anything left or doesn’t think he can go, then we’ll make a decision as to who replaces him. We do have a lot of flexibility because we have guys who can play so many positions.”

— Reported by David Aldridge of NBA.com

Joakim Noah will miss Bulls-76ers Game 5

Joakim Noah

Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah were at the Berto Center on Monday. While the swelling in Noah’s severely sprained left ankle has subsided some, he remains in a walking boot and is out for Game 5 on Tuesday.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau continued his cat-and-mouse game regarding injuries, merely conceding Noah is “most likely out.” But minutes later, he said the same starting lineup from Game 4 featuring Omer Asik at center would start Game 5.

“He did a good job for us,” Thibodeau said of Asik. “He has to keep doing what he does — anchor the defense, protect the rim, set great screens, run the floor. Just do his job.”

As for Rose, the clock on his recovery from a torn left anterior cruciate ligament starts after he undergoes surgery, which hasn’t been scheduled. Given that Rose typically trains during the offseason in Santa Monica, Calif., some of his recovery likely will take place there.

— Reported by the Chicago Tribune

Knicks working on contract extension for coach Mike Woodson

mike woodson

Mike Woodson is moving closer to having the interim tag removed from his job title.

The Knicks have initiated talks that would keep Woodson as the team’s head coach for the foreseeable future, the Daily News has learned. The talks are only in the preliminary stages but it is clear that Madison Square Garden management is convinced Woodson is the right man for the job and will not pursue either Phil Jackson or Kentucky head coach John Calipari.

Woodson replaced Mike D’Antoni in March and emerged as the leading candidate to keep the job when the Knicks finished out the regular season 18-6.

Woodson’s agent, Keith Glass, declined to comment about any possible negotiations, while co-agent Joel Glass was unavailable for comment.

Coincidentally, a playoff win on Sunday — the Knicks’ first since April 29th 2001 — wasn’t necessarily critical for Woodson’s job security because the club approached him about a possible extension last week.

— Reported by Frank Isola of the New York Daily News

Kyle Singler helping out Real Madrid overseas

Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars has been in Spain watching 2011 second-round pick Kyle Singler.

Singler, a forward from Duke selected by the Pistons with the 33rd overall pick, scored just three points in 10 minutes for Real Madrid in an 86-83 loss to Regal Barcelona on Thursday. He rebounded Sunday by scoring eight points on 3-for-6 shooting with two free throws in 21 minutes in a 95-82 victory over FIATC Joventut.

Singler has averaged 8.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in eight games for Real Madrid in the Euroleague and 7.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 24 games for Real Madrid in the Spanish League. Real Madrid next plays May 17 against Cajasol in the Spanish League quarterfinals.

— Reported by Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press