Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Game 1: Nash scores 33, Suns beat Spurs

The AP reports:

Nash scores 33, Suns beat Spurs

After resting his strained right hip for three days, Steve Nash had 33 points and 10 assists, and the Phoenix Suns broke their Game 1 curse against the San Antonio Spurs with a 111-102 victory on Monday night in the opener of their Western Conference semifinal series.

Any doubt that Nash would be slowed by the injury ended in the early minutes of the game, when he made his five shots, including an array of twisting, swiveling drives to the hoop. He had 17 points by the end of the first quarter…

Jason Richardson scored 27 and Amare Stoudemire had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Suns.

Manu Ginobili, tape across his broken nose, scored 27, Tony Parker 26 and Duncan 20 for the Spurs, who had won three straight Game 1s against the Suns, two of them in Phoenix. Both of those times, in 2005 and 2007, the Spurs went on to win the NBA title…

Twice San Antonio rallied from 14 back, with a 12-0 run in the third quarter and a mighty 13-0 outburst that sliced Phoenix’s lead to 94-93 on Ginobili’s 7-foot runner with 4:26 to go in the game.

These Suns had whatever it took to withstand the charge.

InsideHoops.com notes:

Phoenix shot 51.9%, San Antonio 45.8%. And while Phoenix only hit 7-of-20 three-pointers, San Antonio connected on a miserable 4-of-19 (21.1%). Free throws were close. Rebounding and assists were fairly close.

For Phoenix, Nash had 33 points and 10 assists (six turnovers). Richardson had 27 points and six rebounds, with no assists. Stoudemire had 23 points, 13 rebounds and no assists. No one else stepped up offensively, but the collective effort was enough.

For San Antonio, Ginobili had 27 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals. Tony Parker (still coming off the bench) scored 26 but with just three assists and no steals. Tim Duncan scored 20 (on 15 shots) with 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. George Hill shot just 2-of-9 and only dished one assist as the starting point guard.

Game 2: Rondo has 19 assists, Celtics tie series with Cavs

The AP reports:

LeBron James better make sure his new MVP trophy isn’t missing. The Boston Celtics stole everything else.

Rondo has 19 assists, Celtics tie series with Cavs

Rajon Rondo tied a team playoff record with 19 assists, Ray Allen scored 22 points and the Celtics, playing with renewed confidence and looking very dangerous despite their years, opened a 25-point lead in the fourth and then survived Cleveland’s comeback for a 104-86 victory on Monday night to even their semifinal series at 1-1.

After blowing an 11-point lead in the third quarter of Game 1, the Celtics almost squandered a much bigger one. They led 91-66 with 9:08 left before the Cavaliers, who have been outplayed in both games, scored 15 straight and pulled within 93-83 on James’ basket with 3:13 left.

Boston, though, closed with an 11-3 spurt and then packed up and headed home for Friday’s Game 3 thinking it can oust the Cavs…

James, who seemed to be favoring his injured right elbow, scored 24 and Jamison 16 for Cleveland, outscored 31-12 in the third…

The Celtics seemed in control with their 25-point bulge, but they got complacent and found themselves having to scramble down the stretch when they could have been resting their starters. Boston went nearly six minutes without scoring.

InsideHoops.com notes:

Boston shot 51.3%, Cleveland just 40.0%. And while Boston nailed an impressive 9-of-19 three-pointers, Cleveland hit a miserable 4-of-21. Cleveland had 38 free throw attempts but only connected on 26 of them, while Boston hit 15-of-18.  Boston had 11 more rebounds, and won the assists category 30-17.

Boston had six players score double-digits. Ray Allen scored 19. Kevin Garnett (just 8-of-21) had 18 points, 10 rebounds and not much else. Rasheed Wallace was in the zone off the bench, hitting 7-of-8 (3-of-4 threes) for 17 points in 18 minutes. Paul Pierce had just 14 points and not a lot else. Rondo had 13 points and 19 assists (6 turnovers). Kendrick Perkins (5-of-6) had 10 with nine rebounds.

For Cleveland, LeBron had 24, seven rebounds, three steals but more turnovers than assists. Antawn Jamison scored 16. JJ Hickson had 13 off the bench. No one else reached double-digit points. Starting guards Mo Williams (1-of-9) and Anthony Parker (2-of-7) couldn’t hit shots today.

76ers meet with Avery Johnson

76ers meet with Avery Johnson

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski met today with Avery Johnson in Houston, TX regarding the Sixers vacant head coaching position.

Joining Stefanski at the meeting with Johnson were Sixers Sr. Vice President and Assistant General Manager Tony DiLeo and Sixers consultant Gene Shue.

“We had an informative meeting and open dialogue with Avery today regarding our head coaching position,” Stefanski said. “His reputation as a motivator and accomplishments as a head coach in the NBA are well-known and I certainly want to thank him for taking the time to meet with us.”

J.J. Barea to play for Puerto Rico in World Championship

Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports:

jose_juan_barea

The Mavericks will have at least one player participating in the FIBA World Championship this summer.

J.J. Barea said before heading to his home country this weekend that he will join the Puerto Rican national team in Turkey for the event from Aug. 28 to Sept. 12, he said before heading to his home country this weekend.

It remains unknown whether Dirk Nowitzki will play for Germany in the tournament and if his contract status could play a role in that decision.

LeBron James wins second straight MVP award

LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers is the winner of the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the 2009-10 NBA Most Valuable Player, the NBA announced today.

James, who also earned the honor last season, totaled 1,205 points including 116 first place votes, from a panel of 122 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada and the first ever NBA MVP fan vote. Players were awarded 10 points for each first-place vote, seven points for each second-place vote, five for third, three for fourth and one for each fifth-place vote received.

Rounding out the top five in voting for this season’s award are Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant (609 points), the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (599 points), Orlando’s Dwight Howard (478) and Miami’s Dwyane Wade (119).

More info and full voting results here.

76ers meet with Doug Collins

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski met yesterday with Doug Collins in Phoenix, AZ regarding the Sixers vacant head coaching position.

Joining Stefanski at the meeting with Collins was Sixers Sr. Vice President and Assistant General Manager Tony DiLeo and Sixers consultant Gene Shue.

“We had a very productive meeting yesterday with Doug to discuss the position and his philosophies,” Stefanski said. “He is someone who has a proven track record as a head coach and has great knowledge of the game. We appreciate him taking the time to meet with us.

“We will continue our due diligence on all the candidates as we continue to narrow our search for a new head coach.”

Game 1: Bryant scores 31, Lakers beat Jazz

The AP reports:

While the Los Angeles Lakers’ reserves haplessly gave away the lead early in the fourth quarter, the Utah Jazz celebrated every basket with increasing glee, spilling off their bench in anticipation of an upset…

Bryant scores 31, Lakers beat Jazz

Kobe Bryant scored 11 of his 31 points in the final four minutes, and the Lakers blew a fourth-quarter lead before rallying for a 104-99 victory Sunday.

Pau Gasol had 25 points and 12 rebounds while blocking five shots for the top-seeded Lakers, whose backups were nearly run off the court by the fired-up Jazz before Bryant seized control.

Last season’s NBA finals MVP coolly scored seven consecutive points to erase Utah’s four-point lead, followed by a dynamic slice through the lane for a layup with 22.6 seconds left. Los Angeles also did it with defense, holding the Jazz to one field goal in the final 4:10…

Deron Williams scored 24 points for fifth-seeded Utah, which went 3:51 without a field goal after taking a 93-89 lead…

Carlos Boozer had 18 points and 12 rebounds, while C.J. Miles added 16 points, including several difficult baskets in the fourth quarter while the Jazz surged ahead with a 12-1 run.

Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register reports:

“It was very encouraging for me to be able to move around and do what I want to do,” said Bryant, whose team trailed until he scored 13 points in a 5:07 span down the stretch.

Derek Fisher joked that the other Lakers could have sat down and let Bryant go 1 on 5 because he was that good, but teammate Lamar Odom did come up with a key put-back of Bryant’s miss with 49.9 seconds left for a 98-95 Lakers lead.

Bryant called his knee “a lot better” and finished with 31 points, shooting 12 of 19 from the field and 7 of 7 from the foul line. He dominated late the way Pau Gasol (25 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, five blocks) did much of the early parts of the game.

The Lakers have a 1-0 series lead, and Coach Phil Jackson’s teams are 45-0 with such an advantage in his career. Jackson is 52-1 with any kind of series lead, and this playoff victory gave him 103 with the Lakers, one more than Pat Riley atop the Lakers’ all-time list.

Game 7: Hawks eliminate Bucks in blowout

The AP reports:

The Atlanta Hawks weren’t going to let another game slip away on their home court.

Hawks eliminate Bucks in blowout

After keeping their season alive with a gutty win in Milwaukee, the Hawks made sure the Bucks were in no position to duplicate their improbable Game 5 upset. Jamal Crawford scored 22 points, Al Horford put up a double-double and Atlanta pulled away for a 95-74 win Sunday that gave the Hawks a 4-3 triumph in the tougher-than-expected series…

The Hawks led by as many 24 late in the game and got a chance to pull their starters so they could receive a proper ovation from the sellout crowd of 19,241…

Milwaukee was essentially undone with less than two weeks to go in the regular season when Bogut tumbled to the court and ripped apart his right arm.

InsideHoops.com notes:

The Bucks scored just 13 points in the first quarter and failed to pick it up from there. The Hawks tied or exceeded the Bucks point totals in all four quarters of the game.

Atlanta shot 47.4%, the Bucks just 32.9%. Atlanta hit a decent 6-of-16 three-pointers, Milwaukee just 4-of-18. Atlanta won the rebounding battle 55-34. Milwaukee did control the ball, with just five turnovers.

For the Hawks, guard Jamal Crawford came off the bench (as usual) for 22 points (16 shots) and six assists. Center Al Horford (6-of-8) had 15 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Mike Bibby had 15 points (12 shots) and six rebounds — though just two assists. Josh Smith (5-of-7) had 15 points and not too much else.

For Milwaukee, no one stepped up on offense. Brandon Jennings had 15 points (but on 18 shots) and five assists. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute scored 13, with six rebounds. Forward Ersan Ilyasova came off the bench for 13 points (on 11 shots) and 11 rebounds. John Salmons shot a miserable 5-of-18 for 11 points.

George Karl treatments continue

The AP reports:

George Karl treatments continue

Denver Nuggets coach George Karl has another blood clot in his right leg as he recovers from radiation and chemotherapy treatment for throat and neck cancer.

Karl’s partner, Kim Van Deraa, wrote on her blog this weekend that the 58-year-old coach was rushed to the hospital Friday afternoon with the clot. She said doctors were trying to determine the cause because Karl already is on blood-thinning medication.

Van Deraa also writes that doctors reinserted a filter into his abdomen. The filter had been removed two weeks ago.

The filter prevents the clots from traveling to his hart or lungs. It initially was inserted in March when Karl was first treated for blood clots.