NBA News Blog – Page 1426 – NBA Blog

Game 5: Butler 35, Mavs beat Spurs

The AP reports:

Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood gave the Dallas Mavericks the energy, toughness and scoring they needed—in other words, everything the Mavs expected when they traded for them a few months ago.

Butler scored a career playoff-best 35 points and had 11 rebounds, and Haywood provided a strong inside presence at both ends in his first start of this postseason, keeping the Mavericks alive by leading them to a 103-81 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night in Game 5 of their first-round series.

The Spurs were outplayed most of the first half, but trailed by only seven at halftime. Dallas didn’t let them hang around much longer…

Butler’s performance turned Dirk Nowitzki into a sidekick. He had 15 points and nine rebounds. Jason Terry had 12 points, while Marion and Kidd each scored 10. Kidd also had seven assists and seven rebounds.

Tony Parker led San Antonio with 18 points. Half of them came during an 11-2 run at the end of the second quarter that gave the Spurs hope of pulling off another throttling third quarter, like they did to win Game 4.

Duncan scored 11 in 24 minutes and Manu Ginobili scored seven in 19 minutes.

Game 5: Cavaliers eliminate Bulls

The AP reports:

LeBron James just missed a triple-double despite an apparently sore right elbow, and the Cleveland Cavaliers advanced to a playoff date with Boston by beating Chicago 96-94 in Game 5 on Tuesday night in perhaps Vinny Del Negro’s final game as Bulls coach.

James, favoring a tender right elbow that appears to hurt worse than he’s letting on, scored 19 points—16 in the second half—and added 10 rebounds and nine assists as the Cavs finally saddled the stubborn Bulls to win the series 4-1. Unable to lift his right arm, James was forced to shoot a free throw left-handed with 7.8 seconds left.

Antawn Jamison scored 25 points for Cleveland, which will face the Celtics, reuniting teams that don’t like each other and who played a testy seven-game series in 2008…

Derrick Rose scored 31 points and Luol Deng 26 for the Bulls, who had several shots roll in and out in the final minutes.

Delonte West had 16 points and Shaquille O’Neal added 14 while racking up fouls against Chicago’s big men.

InsideHoops.com notes:

The Bulls hit just 2-of-10 three-pointers.

The starting Cavs guards were awful today. Mo Williams shot just 2-of-13 for the Cavs, finishing with seven points and five assists. Anthony Parker played 19 minutes and had three points and almost nothing else.

Shaq shot 7-of-9 for 14 and eight, though he had a few too many turnovers.

Derrick Rose had 31 points, but it took 27 shots, with six assists.

Other than Luol Deng shooting 9-of-17 for 26 points, few Bulls stepped up offensively.

Game 5: Celtics eliminate Heat

The AP reports:

The Boston Celtics are heading to the second round of the NBA playoffs and a potential matchup with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Ray Allen scored 24 points, making five 3-pointers in the second half, to help Boston beat Miami 96-86 in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night and eliminate the Heat. With Heat star Dwyane Wade due to become a free agent—along with James—it could be an eventful summer in Miami.

Boston advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals thanks to 16 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists from Rajon Rondo. Paul Pierce scored 21 for the Celtics, who will play either Cleveland or Chicago; the Cavaliers took a 3-1 lead into Game 5 of their first-round series later Tuesday night.

Wade scored 31 points—far short of the franchise postseason-record 46 he scored Sunday in Game 4 in Miami to help the Heat stave off elimination.

InsideHoops.com reports:

The Celtics as a team shot 48.6%, the Heat just 39.2%. Boston hit 7-of-12 three-pointers, Miami just 5-of-20. Free throws and rebounding was exactly even. But the Celtics dished 10 more assists and had five more steals.

For the Celtics, Ray Allen had 24 points. Paul Pierce (8-of-13) 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Rajon Rondo (6-of-16) 16 points, eight rebounds, 12 assists (just two turnovers) and four steals. Kevin Garnett had 14 points and eight rebounds.

For the Heat, Wade had 31 points, eight rebounds and ten assists (but seven turnovers). Mario Chalmers stepped up off the bench with 20 points on 13 shots. But no other Heat player even scored double-digits. Carlos Arroyo (4-of-4) had eight and almost nothing else. Jermaine O’Neal (3-of-10) continued to be awful and had seven points with little else. Udonis Haslem came off the bench to contribute six points and 10 rebounds. Joel Anthony was off the bench for six points. Quentin Richardson (just 2-of-8) had four points and little else. Michael Beasley played only 13.5 minutes and had more turnovers (3) than points (2).

Sale of Wizards to Leonsis close

The AP reports:

The family of late Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin have agreed to the ”major economic terms” of a deal to sell its stake in the NBA team to Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis.

Leonsis, a former AOL executive, and the Pollins ran into some snags in talks this year. But in a statement Tuesday, Pollin’s sons, Robert and James, said they and their mother, Irene, congratulate Leonsis on this ”near-final step in a long negotiation.”

A person familiar with the negotiations confirmed to The Associated Press last month that the two sides agreed to value the franchise and the arena at slightly more than $550 million.

Jamal Crawford wins Sixth Man of Year

As expected, Atlanta Hawks guard Jamal Crawford won the 2009-10 NBA Sixth Man of the Year award.

He deserved it. Crawford’s scoring off the bench was a huge part of Atlanta’s success this year.

The team finished with a 53-29 record and the #3 seed in the Eastern conference.

For more info on the award, with voting results and the guys that finished behind Crawford, click here.

Game 5: Frye, Dudley lead Suns past Blazers

The AP reports:

When the Phoenix Suns win in this playoff series, they win by a mile.

Channing Frye and Jared Dudley rediscovered their shooting touch in a 107-88 rout of Portland on Monday night that has the Suns one victory away from eliminating the Trail Blazers from the playoffs.

Frye scored 20 points and Dudley 19, the leaders of a Phoenix second unit that played a major role in putting the Suns up 3-2 in the best-of-seven series…

Amare Stoudemire scored 19, and Nash had 14 points and 10 assists for Phoenix.

Andre Miller scored 21, while LaMarcus Aldridge and Jerryd Bayless had 17 apiece for the Trail Blazers.

Portland All-Star Brandon Roy, in his second game back after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus just 10 days ago, drew three fouls in an ineffective 6 1/2 minutes in the first half. He finished with five points on 2-of-7 shooting in 19 minutes.

Game 4: Bucks shock Hawks 111-104 to even series

The Hawks a very good team — but they’re not great. During the regular season, the Bucks were playing close to the level the Hawks were before losing center Andrew Bogut to injury. Yet the Bucks are showing big-time pride and stepping up to put some scare into Atlanta.

The AP reports:

Bucks shock Hawks 111-104 to even series

Carlos Delfino scored 22 points with six 3-pointers and the Milwaukee Bucks pulled off their second straight playoff surprise, beating the Atlanta Hawks 111-104 Monday night to draw even in the first-round series.

Brandon Jennings scored 23 points and John Salmons added 22 for the Bucks, who survived a fourth-quarter surge led by Atlanta stars Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. Now the Hawks head home for Game 5, desperately needing a win to stave off a surprising challenge by a team missing its best player, injured center Andrew Bogut.

Johnson scored 29 points, reserve Jamal Crawford had 21, and Smith had 20 points and nine rebounds.

The Bucks finally started getting to the free throw line and the made the most of it, hitting 28 of 32.

Game 4: Magic beat Bobcats 99-90 to complete sweep

The Magic were expected to send the Bobcats home in four or five games, and they did just that.

The AP reports:

Magic beat Bobcats 99-90 to complete sweep

Vince Carter scored 21 points, Jameer Nelson added 18 and the Magic showcased their depth and pressure shot-making in a 99-90 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday night to complete a sweep of their first-round series.

Dwight Howard was held to six points in his fourth straight game in foul trouble, but the Magic never flinched to accomplish their first four-game sweep in franchise history.

Tyrus Thomas scored a career playoff-high 21 points for the Bobcats, whose focus will now almost immediately turn to nomadic coach Larry Brown’s future with the team.

Howard did grab 13 rebounds, but was limited to 23 minutes before fouling out for the second straight game…

Rashard Lewis scored 17 points, Matt Barnes added 14 and Orlando held Stephen Jackson to 2-of-11 shooting to make sure Charlotte would be the only team not to win a first-round game.

Robin Lopez still out another week

Phoenix Suns center Robin Lopez was seen today by specialist Dr. Christopher Huston of The Orthopedic Clinic Association (TOCA) in Phoenix.

Lopez, who has not played since March 26 due to an injured back, is progressing well and will continue to have his rehabilitation workload increased based on the evaluation of the Suns’ medical staff and on the condition that no pain or any other issues develop.

Lopez will be re-evaluated in one week.

The second-year player was the Suns’ first-round pick (15th overall) of the 2008 NBA Draft. The 7-0, 255-pound center blossomed after being inserted into the Suns’ starting lineup on Jan. 18, helping to lead the Suns to a 22-9 (.710) record in his starts. Lopez averaged 11.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 24.5 minutes as a starter in 2009-10.

For the season, the Stanford product posted career highs in points (8.4), rebounds (4.9), blocks (1.04) and minutes (19.3). His 58.8-percent field-goal accuracy (171/291) would have ranked third in the NBA if he had reached the statistical minimum needed to qualify (min. 300 field goals made).

NBA fines Erick Dampier

Dallas Mavericks’ center Erick Dampier has been fined $35,000 for publicly criticizing game officials, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

Dampier was fined for comments made to the media following the Mavericks’ 94-90 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round on April 23.

More details tonight.