NBA Playoffs Blog – Page 83 – NBA Blog

Thunder rally to edge Lakers, take 2-0 lead

Even down late, the Oklahoma City Thunder are showing that they are never out.

Kevin Durant scored 22 points and rattled in the go-ahead basket on a baseline runner with 18 seconds left, and the Thunder scored the final nine points to rally for a 77-75 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals Wednesday night.

Oklahoma City trailed by seven with 2 minutes left before surging back with a series of defensive stops by its stars to claw back from that deficit in the closing stages of a game for the second time this postseason. The Thunder were also seven down with 2 1/2 minutes left in Game 1 against defending NBA champion Dallas in the first round.

”They won’t quit. That’s not in their DNA,” coach Scott Brooks said. ”They’re not wired that way and if they were, they wouldn’t be here. We’re not going to win every game but we’re going to fight to the last second of the game and we did that tonight.

”If we would have gotten down on ourselves with 2 minutes to go, we would have lost by 12 and we would go to L.A. 1-1.”

— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press

But what Oklahoma City did in those final 120 seconds was nothing short of sensational — especially given the style of play this ballgame had been in the first 46 minutes.

The Thunder stormed back from a late seven-point deficit to steal a 77-75 win in Game 2 on Wednesday night inside Chesapeake Energy Arena. With the narrow victory, the Thunder preserved home-court advantage and took a 2-0 series lead as this Western Conference semifinal now shifts to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4.

Maybe by the time the team lands in L.A., the Thunder will have regained a morsel of its offensive rhythm from Game 1.

— Reported by Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman

The Thunder hounded Kobe Bryant into a miserable night, nine of 25 shooting. Kobe credited the Thunder defense for pushing him too far from the basket, sometimes starting out 25 feet away.

The Thunder also made Andrew Bynum labor for his 20 points.

The Thunder MVP was Kendrick Perkins. Gran Torino, playing with that sore hip, bodied and bullied Bynum into an 8-of-19 shooting night.

— Reported by Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman

The Lakers didn’t survive the late-game mistakes by Kobe Bryant and Steve Blake. They had back-to-back turnovers in the final stretch, with Bryant missing two shots and Blake the potential winning 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds left.

Bryant said his struggles stemmed from Oklahoma City’s defense pushing him too far from the basket, leaving him “trying to create something — and it just didn’t work out.” …

But Bryant finished with 20 points on 9-of-25 shooting and missed all six of his 3-point shots. Lakers center Andrew Bynum had 20 points and nine rebounds but could be seen laughing on the court on separate occasions in the final seconds.

— Reported by Kevin Ding of the OC Register

Paul Pierce gets back on track for Celtics

Pierce, who shot a combined 5 for 20 as the teams split the first two games in Boston, began Wednesday’s contest by missing his first six shots from the field. Yet he ended with nine points in the first quarter, keeping the Celtics competitive before they could truly find their rhythm.

Rarely does someone shoot 2 for 8 from the field in the first 12 minutes and make such an impact.

The Sixers won the first quarter 33-28. Without Pierce, things would have been much worse for Boston.

Pierce scored the Celtics final seven points of the quarter, including two driving dunks.

“I wanted to be aggressive regardless,” Pierce said. “When I’m limited to 7 to 9 shots in a game, that isn’t me, and I have to be aggressive in everything I do.”

— Reported by Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Celtics rise on road, beat 76ers, take 2-1 lead

Kevin Garnett scored 27 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and used a dominant second quarter to help the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 107-91 on Wednesday night and take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Whistled for a costly illegal pick late in a Game 2 loss, Garnett crushed the Sixers early and never let them think about a fourth-quarter rally.

Garnett scored 13 of Boston’s 32 points in the second quarter and the Celtics became the first team to win by double digits. Game 1 and Game 2 were each decided by one point.

Rajon Rondo had 23 points and 14 assists. Paul Pierce [stats], playing with a banged-up knee, had 24 points and 12 rebounds.

Game 4 is Friday in Philadelphia.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Their old legs may still cost the Boston Celtics this series against the younger, fresher Sixers. For a night, though, old heads prevailed over young legs in a big way.

“This was a team that you could see did not want to be down two (games) to one, playing Game 4,” Sixers coach Doug Collins said. “You could just see. They’ve been in a lot of these kinds of games. They know how important a swing game is to get that home court back. And they played great.”

The Celtics may have knee problems and foot problems and ankle problems. They may be sore and achy and stiff-legged. But they are still a team with a championship pedigree, a team with legitimate superstars. They were not about to panic after two close games in Boston. If anything, they looked annoyed as they swatted the Sixers, 107-91, Wednesday night.

It was just one basket among many. But everything about this game was in a dunk by Paul Pierce in the first quarter. The Celtics’ mainstay had missed a couple of layups. His sore knee had left him looking slow and old through the first two games. Now he came driving down the lane, fire in his eyes, and slammed the ball angrily.

“That’s who he is,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said.

— Reported by Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Lakers players Andrew Bynum and Devin Ebanks fined by NBA

Los Angeles Lakers forward Devin Ebanks and center Andrew Bynum have each been fined for separate violations, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations.

Ebanks has been fined $25,000 for actions prior to and following his ejection from the Lakers’ 119-90 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals on May 14.

Bynum has been fined $15,000 for failing to make himself available to the media following the Lakers’ practice on May 15.

Spurs beat Clippers in Game 1 of 2nd round, reach 15 straight wins

The San Antonio Spurs had just taken Game 1, and Manu Ginobili didn’t want to hear another word about winning 15 in a row or not losing in more than a month.

”I don’t even want to know about that,” Ginobili said.

On the other side of the AT&T Center, Clippers’ All-Star Chris Paul needed no reminder that his wretched performance contributed to the Spurs’ 108-92 victory over Los Angeles in the opener of the Western Conference semifinals on Tuesday night…

Tim Duncan had 26 points and 10 rebounds following an eight-day layoff for the top-seeded Spurs, who wore down Los Angeles in what was the sixth game in 11 day for the Clippers. Game 2 on Thursday night will make it seven in fewer than two weeks…

The Spurs have won 15 in a row, haven’t lost since April 11 and are winning by an average margin of nearly 17 points during that span. It’s the longest winning streak in the NBA playoffs since the 2004 Spurs carried 17 straight wins into the second round that season…

Blake Griffin scored 15 points in 28 minutes a day after estimating his sprained left knee had him feeling ”80 percent” at best. The All-Star said he became tired quicker than usual, and also turned his left ankle early in the game…

Paul, who ended the first round with an aching hip, scored just six points and didn’t make a single basket in the second half. Parker was barely any better, putting together seven points and 11 assists, and didn’t talk to reporters after the game…

— Reported by Paul J. Weber of the Associated Press

One sign the Spurs had their legs: They made 13 of 25 on 3-pointers, tying a franchise playoff record, including three apiece from Kawhi Leonard (16 points), Danny Green (15) and Ginobili.

During the break between the end of the first round and start of the second, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich fretted the extended time off might discombobulate the rhythm his team had gained in the first round.

He paced his team through every-other-day practices, including full-squad scrimmages, trying to keep his players sharp.

“You’ve got to do whatever you think is necessary to try to keep your rhythm, keep your conditioning and not get anybody hurt,” Popovich said.

After some early struggles — such as nine first-half turnovers — the Spurs rounded into form. Up by eight at intermission, the Spurs put together a 26-11 run in the third quarter to build a lead that got as large as 19 points.

— Reported by Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News

Thing is, the Spurs just keep coming after you in waves while pulling player after player out of their deep pool of reserves. Each one of them is effective and makes and not impact in their own right, with some as good or better than the starter they are replacing.

When someone is struggling, as Parker did while scoring just seven points on 1-of-9 shooting, Ginobili can pick up the slack with 22 points and Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green can combine to hit six 3-pointers and score 31 points.

“Everyone else got it going, and they’ve done that before,” Paul said. “And Tony is such a great player he’s still going to get everyone involved.”

When Popovich eventually found the right mix of personnel, the Spurs dropped a 26-15 hammer on the Clippers to build a 19-point third-quarter lead.

Meanwhile, the Clippers were left to look around wondering what the heck just happened.

“We were scrambling around a little bit at that point,” Griffin said. “And you just can’t do that against a good team like the Spurs.”

— Reported by Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News

Pacers beat Heat 78-75, tie series 1-1

No Big Three meant one big problem for Miami, and one very big win for Indiana.

David West scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, George Hill added 15 and the Indiana Pacers took home-court advantage away from Miami by beating the Heat 78-75 in Game 2 of the teams’ Eastern Conference semifinal series Tuesday night.

LeBron James scored 28 points for Miami and Dwyane Wade finished with 24, but both missed big chances for the Heat late. James missed two free throws with 54.3 seconds left and Miami down one, and Wade was short on a layup that would have tied the game with 16 seconds remaining.

Mario Chalmers’ 3-pointer to tie bounced away on the final play, and the series was tied 1-1.

Danny Granger scored 11 points and Paul George added 10 for Indiana, which took advantage of Heat forward Chris Bosh’s absence and outrebounded Miami 50-40.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Still unknown is whether Bosh can make it back from his lower-abdominal strain during this series or during the postseason at all.

In his absence, LeBron James against continued with the heavy lifting, with 28 points Tuesday, again playing the entire second half, with Heat guard Dwyane Wade adding 24 in a largely uneven performance. James also had six steals, a personal postseason high, and the most ever by a Heat player in a playoff game.

Beyond that, there was precious little for the Heat, who eventually ran out of gas on a night they shot 20 of 29 from the foul line and 1 of 16 on 3-points.

In the end, the Pacers had greater balance and a few more free throws when needed, led by the 16 points and 10 rebounds of forward David West, on a night the Pacers outrebounded the Bosh-less Heat 50-40.

The game ended with Heat point guard Mario Chalmers off on a 3-pointer.

The third quarter was an exercise in misery for the Heat, opening the second half 1 of 12 from the field, as the Pacers used a 16-3 run to move to a 53-46 lead.

It set up the ugly finish.

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

Indiana used a 12-0 run in the second quarter to get back into the contest, then a 28-14 advantage in the third to seize control. The Heat would close the gap in the fourth quarter and eventually take a 71-70 lead.

But Indiana, displaying the grit and late game poise that eluded them in Game 1, used a key bucket from David West, a timely block from Paul George and the misses of Wade and Chalmers to finish the job.

James had 28 to lead the Heat, while Wade added 24, but no other Heat player reached double digits.

— Reported by Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star

Chris Bosh expected to miss rest of Heat-Pacers series, maybe more

Miami Heat power forward/center Chris Bosh likely will miss the remainder of the playoff series against the Indiana Pacers and possibly more time after an MRI confirmed he strained an abdominal muscle during Sunday’s Game 1 victory.

“Our team is going to be successful, and whether I’m playing or not I’m still going to be a part of that,” Bosh said Monday, a practice day for the Heat. “I just have to make sure that I support them any kind of way and, you know, this season has to be extended for me to play again.”

The Heat placed no timetable on a return for Bosh, who sustained the injury with a minute left in the first half when he drove the lane and dunked against Pacers center Roy Hibbert. Bosh, who also drew a foul on Hibbert, fell to his knees when he landed and reached for the right side of his lower abdomen.

— Reported by the Miami Herald

Avery Bradley shoulder problems continue

In terms of injuries, the Celtics are now happy if someone can play at 75 percent capacity.

That essentially describes the plight of Avery Bradley, whose painful left shoulder popped out of its socket for the third time in two weeks during the Celtics’ 82-81 Game 2 loss to Philadelphia last night.

The Celtics guard left the game midway through the second quarter, had the shoulder re-set, and returned to play all but 12 seconds of the fourth quarter, in which he made two shots, including a big 3-pointer with 2:22 left.

“I thought he played fine,” said coach Doc Rivers. “He turned the ball over once and I thought that was a shoulder issue. If you see him trying to, he just had nothing on the ball. But, listen, I didn’t think we’d have him. At halftime they said we wouldn’t, and then when I walked out (trainer) Eddie (Lacerte) said, ‘Hey, I think he’s going to try to give it a go.’ I mean, this is the third time now in two weeks his shoulder’s come out. That can’t be a good feeling, number one. It has to hurt like heck.

“The good news is, though, it did what it did in the past where it went right back in and he got his feeling. That’s what happens when your shoulder goes out. You lose the feeling in your hand. You can’t go back in until it comes back. Tonight it did.”

— Reported by Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald

Elton Brand, Thaddeus Young struggling with injuries

It’s that time of the year when nearly every player lucky enough to still be playing is battling some sort of ache or pain. It’s certainly no different for the 76ers.

In Game 1 against the Boston Celtics on Saturday, forward Thaddeus Young was kneed in the shin by Celtics forward Ryan Hollins. The kneeing caused Young to also twist his right ankle. The ankle, he said, is feeling just fine, but the shin is giving him a little bit of a problem. Before Game 2 on Monday, Young was getting treatment and being fitted for a special pad to absorb any contact.

The more serious injury appears to be the shoulder/neck area of Elton Brand. After Monday’s shootaround, Brand admitted that the problem occurred when he took a spill in Game 4 of the Chicago series. He has been getting treatment and deemed himself fit, but the pain is obviously affecting him.

— Reported by Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News

Thunder clobber Lakers 119-90 in Game 1

Russell Westbrook had 27 points and nine assists, Kevin Durant added 25 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder blasted the weary Los Angeles Lakers 119-90 on Monday night in the opening game of the Western Conference semifinals.

The Thunder took a 15-point halftime lead, then opened the third quarter with a 15-2 blitz filled with crowd-pleasing 3-pointers and dunks.

Oklahoma City led by as many as 35 points, getting a measure of vengeance for the elbow Metta World Peace delivered to the head of the Thunder’s James Harden three weeks earlier – and without needing dirty tactics to do it.

Thunder starting center Kendrick Perkins limped off after aggravating a hip injury from the first round.

Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum scored 20 points each for the Lakers and Bynum had 14 rebounds.

The Thunder committed a franchise-record four turnovers…

Both coaches started going to their benches with 8 1/2 minutes left, and Los Angeles reserve Devin Ebanks ended up getting ejected with 2:18 to play after walking up to a scrum for the ball after the whistle. Official Greg Willard said at the scorer’s table that he was ejected for ”what he said” in drawing a technical foul…

If the Lakers’ legs were weary, it showed most on the defensive end. Oklahoma City shot 53 percent and the league’s most turnover-prone team committed only one – Harden’s failed alley-oop pass for Durant that banged off the glass and was grabbed by World Peace – while building a 59-44 halftime lead.

— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press