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Second round playoffs notes

Nineteen teams have recovered from 2-0 deficits to win a best-of-seven series, including two last postseason.

The Utah Jazz defeated the Houston Rockets 4-3 in their first round series after dropping the first two games, and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Detroit Pistons 4-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals after falling behind 2-0.

New Orleans, which owns a 2-0 lead in its Western Conference semifinals series against San Antonio, is out-rebounding the Spurs by an average of six rebounds (50-44) and is shooting .491 from the field, while San Antonio is at .417. Game 3 is tonight in San Antonio (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

New Orleans’ Chris Paul has recorded a points/assists double-double in six of his first seven playoff games, including three 30-point, 10-assist games.

The Celtics own a 1-0 lead in its best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals series against Cleveland, with Game 2 tonight in Boston (7 p.m. ET, ESPN). In their 76-72 Game 1 victory, the Celtics held LeBron James to only 12 points on 2-of-18 shooting. James, however, fell one rebound and one assist shy of a triple-double, finishing with 12 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. James has made fewer than two baskets once, on Dec. 29, 2004, when he shot 0-of-5 against Houston.

The Los Angeles Lakers took a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals series against Utah, defeating the Jazz 120-110. One of the reasons the Lakers are in control of the series is the defensive effort their frontcourt has made against All-Star Carlos Boozer. Boozer, who led Utah in scoring during the regular season (21.1), was limited to 15 points in Game 1 on 6-of-14 shooting. In Game 2, he was held to just 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting.

The Lakers are averaging a playoff-high 114.7 points, out-distancing the next closest team, New Orleans (102.4 ppg) by 12.3 points. L.A. also is shooting a postseason-best .491 from the field and averaging a playoff-off 26.5 assists.

The postseason’s best defense belongs to Boston, which is allowing only 85.3 ppg on .397 shooting from the field.

Orlando scored a 111-86 home victory in their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals series against Detroit to avoid going down 3-0. Rashard Lewis recorded a playoff career-high 33 points, shooting 11-of-15 from the floor and 5-of-6 from three. In the first two games of the series, played in Detroit, Lewis scored a combined 38 points, shooting 15-of-41 from the floor and 2-of-12 from three. During the regular season, Lewis shot .483 in home games compared with .429 on the road.

– NBA News

May 6: Celtics 76, Cavs 72

The AP reports: “This was two heavyweights, just body-punching,” said Kevin Garnett, who scored 28 points to make up for an off night for the rest of Boston’s Big Three. “There was no finesse, no jabs, just an all-out, beat-down, defensive fight.” Boston held James to 12 points on 2-for-18 shooting; only once in his career has he made fewer baskets. He missed three drives and a 3-pointer in the final minute, including the potential game-tying finger roll with 8.5 seconds left… Paul Pierce and Ray Allen of the Celtics weren’t doing any bragging, either. Pierce scored four points on 2-for-14 shooting, and Allen was 0-for-4 from the field for his first scoreless performance in his last 852 games since 1997… Sam Cassell made two free throws to tie it 72-72; James missed again, but this time Ilgauskas was there to tip it in and tie the game. Garnett moved across the lane to give Boston back the lead, 74-72 as Cleveland called a timeout with 22 seconds left. James dribbled at the point before finding a lane to the basket, but his shot wouldn’t fall and James Posey was fouled after grabbing the rebound. He hit both free throws.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Celtics shot 42.6%, the Cavs just 30.7%, but the Cavs took 7 more shots and had 22-of-26 free throws, the Celtics 14-of-18. Both teams were similarly miserable from three-point range. Rebounding, assists and turnovers were all fairly close.

For the Celtics, Garnett shot 13-of-22 for 28 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals. Rajon Rondo (5-of-8) had 15 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists (but 4 turnovers). Sam Cassell (4-of-8) scored 13 off the bench. Paul Pierce had 4 points and more turnovers than assists. Ray Allen was scoreless with 4 turnovers compared to 1 assist.

For the Cavaliers, aside from Ilgauskas’ 22 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks, Wally Szczerbiak (just 5-of-14) had 13 points and little else. LeBron James shot 2-of-18 for 12 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists and 10 turnovers (yes, ten). Ben Wallace rebounded well. That’s about it.

Kobe officially wins MVP

Kobe has officially won MVP. Coming in second, as expected, was Chris Paul.

Kevin Garnett came in third, LeBron James fourth, and Dwight Howard fifth.

Bryant finished the season ranked second in the league in scoring at 28.3 ppg, having shot .459 from the field, .840 from the free-throw line and .361 from three-point range. In addition, Bryant added 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game. The 6-6 guard led the Lakers to the best record in the Western Conference (57-25, .695), a 15-game improvement over last year (42-40, .512), and the franchise’s 19th Pacific Division title.

Discuss the results with other fans here.

May 2: Cavs 105, Wizards 88

The AP reports: LeBron James had the last word. In an NBA playoff series filled with trash talk, hard fouls, 13 technicals, one ejection, one suspension and plenty more, James was everywhere and did a little bit of everything in Game 6. And, in what’s become his personal rite of spring, he led the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Washington Wizards. James compiled 27 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for his third career playoff triple-double, all the while helping slow Caron Butler at the defensive end, and the Cavaliers beat the Wizards 105-88 on Friday night to close the contentious series… It’s the third consecutive postseason that the Cavaliers eliminated the Wizards in the first round—ending each of those series on Washington’s home floor… He was more of a passer than a scorer early, with twice as many assists (four) as shot attempts (two) in the first quarter. That allowed his teammates to get in a rhythm, and Wally Szczerbiak scored a career playoff-best 26 points, Daniel Gibson added 22, and they combined to make 10 of Cleveland’s 11 3-pointers… Antawn Jamison led Washington with 23 points and 15 rebounds. The Cavaliers were ahead 56-48 at halftime, thanks in large part to a 15-0 run during the second quarter and 7-for-12 shooting on 3-pointers. The Wizards? They were 3-for-12 on 3s to that point.

Report: Kobe Bryant will win MVP

The AP reports: Kobe Bryant has won the NBA’s MVP award for the first time, the Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site Friday night, citing anonymous sources familiar with the outcome of voting by media members. The newspaper reported that commissioner David Stern will be in Los Angeles next week to present the trophy to Bryant.

Eddie Jordan talks playoffs

Here’s Wizards coach Eddie Jordan, talking about his team’s first round playoff series against the Cavaliers, who lead the series 3 games to 2.

Eddie Jordan on playing without Gilbert Arenas in Game Five:

“Our guys responded well. I felt that we got better as the game went along. We took care of the ball in the second half. We withstood their run and we withstood their crowd. It was a great effort and we got it done.”

On sustaining momentum:

“We have to keep the momentum. It’s how you play and how you execute. It’s how you rebound. You can’t allow them to have highlight plays. Now we have to stay poised. We want to keep attacking and playing defense well and keep our offense going.”

On winning a close game:

“It was great. Finally, we got one. It’s what we had talked about. They hadn’t missed (in that type of situation). Whether it was someone in the corner, or somebody at the top, or LeBron (James)…over the years, we hadn’t experienced a miss. Hopefully, we can play better defense so he doesn’t get to that point again.”

On the game plan without Gilbert Arenas:

“It’s a different flow for us. We had the highest scoring trio in the league when Gilbert was playing and healthy. We were the best team in the Eastern Conference (last season with Arenas). Now there will be a lot more post-ups. We try to get more pick-and-rolls for our big guys and for Antonio Daniels to get to the basket. We depend on our jump shot last. We try to get Caron (Butler) his opportunities in his sweet spots at the top of the key and off the pick-and-rolls. He wouldn’t have those volumes of opportunities if Gilbert was here because Gilbert has those great drives and great threes.”

Apr. 30: Wizards 88, Cavs 87

The AP reports: Caron Butler made a layup with 3.9 seconds left and the Wizards held their breath as LeBron James missed a potential series and season-ending layup at the horn, giving Washington an 88-87 victory Wednesday night and adding at least one more game to this overheated NBA playoff series… Butler scored 32 points and DeShawn Stevenson had 17 for the Wizards, who played without guard Gilbert Arenas and got only eight points from the normally reliable Antawn Jamison. Arenas announced before the game that his season was over because of a bothersome knee. His absence figured to be the decisive blow for the Wizards, but they fought to the finish and, at least for now, prevented the Cavs from ending their season… James scored 34 points—24 in the second half—but was unable to make the final shot in traffic that would have sent the Wizards, who began talking trash weeks ago and haven’t stopped, quietly into the summer… James added 10 rebounds and seven assists, becoming the first player to score at least 34 points with 10 rebounds and seven assists in two straight playoff games since Larry Bird in 1984.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Wizards only shot 40.8%, but the Cavs hit just 36.0% Three-pointers and free throws were fairly close. Rebounding was almost even, but the Cavs dished more assists. Turnovers and steals were also close. For the Wizards, Caron Butler (11-of-22, 4-of-8 threes) had 32 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. DeShawn Stevenson (5-of-14) had 17 points and 5 rebounds. Antonio Daniels scored 12. No other Wizards scored in double-digits. Antawn Jamison had 8 points with 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. For the Cavs, LeBron hit just 8-of-21 but had 15-of-18 free throws for 34 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists (but 5 turnovers) and 2 blocks. Zydrunas Ilgauskas (8-of-11) had 19 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. Delonte West scored 12.

Songaila pops LeBron in the face

Late in the first quarter of Wednesday evening’s Wizards at Cavaliers Game 5 playoff game (Cavs lead series 3-1), LeBron James drove down the left baseline at the rim, guarded by Darius Songaila. Their arms got tangled, and LeBron went up to try to score, was aggressively holding Songaila off with his arm in what appeared to be totally legal fashion but his other arm and Songaila’s arm were entangled the whole time, and as LeBron landed and they untangled, Songaila, using his left hand side-arm back-handed Lebron in the face. It clearly seemed intentional.

It wasn’t a full-on punch, but it was like a clear back-hand to the face. He didn’t follow through, so I can’t call it a full back-handed pimp-slap. More like taking your hand and swinging the back of it right into someone’s face, and then pulling your hand back in the same direction it came from.

LeBron just took the jab and stayed backed away, not retaliating.

I thought Songaila should have been ejected, yet the refs just called a personal foul and a technical foul on him, which was surprising.

And during the discussions after the incident, DeShawn Stevenson and Anderson Varejao had a very minor disagreement, and the refs quickly slapped a double-tech on them. I hate that call. Neither player needed a tech called on them.

Apr. 27: Cavs 100, Wizards 97

The AP reports: At game’s end, LeBron James was just as collected, drawing waves of Washington Wizards defenders before dishing to Delonte West for a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds left. That shot, along with James’ 34 points and 12 rebounds, led the Cavaliers to a 100-97 victory on Sunday and a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series… James got help Sunday from more than just West, whose career playoff-high 21 points included five 3-pointers. Daniel Gibson made four 3s, and Ben Wallace had 12 rebounds—part of a remarkable 51-31 edge on the boards for Cleveland. One small sequence that epitomized things: At the end of the third quarter, Joe Smith’s three-point play followed two offensive rebounds and gave the Cavaliers an 80-73 edge. Wizards coach Eddie Jordan was succinct: “We didn’t rebound.” Antawn Jamison led Washington with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Caron Butler added 19 points. But it was Stevenson who was at the center of the key play. LeBron vs. DeShawn had been mainly an off-court rivalry, prompted in part by Stevenson calling James overrated, and extending to involve rap megastar Jay-Z and one-hit wonder Soulja Boy. James’ pal Jay-Z created a song dissing Stevenson that was played at a D.C. club this weekend.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Wizards shot a bit better than the Cavs from the field, but the Cavs nailed 13-of-28 (5 from Delonte West, 4 from Daniel Gibson and 3 from LeBron James) while the Wizards hit a respectable 7-of-19. But the Cavs dominated rebounding, 51-31 and dished 23 assists, the Wizards 18. For the Cavs, James had 34 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. Delonte West (7-of-12, 5-of-8 threes) had 21 points. Gibson had 12. Ben Wallace had 0 points and 12 rebounds. For the Wizards, Antawn Jamison had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 3 steals. Caron Butler had 19 points and 4 assists. Brendan Haywood had 16 points and 6 rebounds. DeShawn Stevenson had 13 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Gilbert Arenas wasn’t good, shooting 3-of-8 for 10 points, two steals, but more turnovers than assists.

Antonio Daniels talks playoffs

The Cavs lead the Wizards 2-1 in the best-of-7 first round playoff series. Here’s Wizards guard Antonio Daniels:

Antonio Daniels on Game Four: “We have to come out with the same energy from Game Three. That was big. In my three years here that is the loudest I heard this arena by far. It was electric in here. Those fans were amazing. We have to come out with that same energy, that same enthusiasm. We have to use home to our advantage.”

Daniels on the Playoffs: “This is the best time of the year. It’s warm outside, there’s great weather, and then you walk in here and the crowd is going crazy like that. Also, it’s great because every team isn’t here. You don’t have the opportunity to play in the playoffs all the time. So when you have the opportunity to do it you have to take advantage of it. The moment you walk into a playoff game it’s completely different than when you walk into the gym for any of those 82 regular season games.”

Daniels on the Verizon Center crowd: “You really feel the effect of the crowd. When you walk in there and that crowd is going crazy like that, you fell as a team that you can accomplish anything. That’s why home court is so important.”

Daniels on coming off the bench: “There’s such a difference between starting and managing the game, and coming off the bench and changing the game. Coming off the bench and changing the game is something I’ve done for 11 years in my career so it’s something I feel comfortable with.”