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Orlando to host NBA All-Star 2012

The most magical week in sports is returning to Orlando for the second time, as the city has been selected to host NBA All-Star 2012, NBA Commissioner David Stern announced at a press conference today at the Amway Center. Orlando Magic President Bob Vander Weide, Magic Chief Operating Officer Alex Martins and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer joined Stern at the announcement. Orlando also hosted the 1992 All-Star Game.

The 61st NBA All-Star Game will be played on Sunday, Feb. 26, at the Amway Center, which will also host the Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam and NBA All-Star Saturday Night. NBA All-Star Jam Session, the hugely successful interactive basketball celebration, will be held at the Orange County Convention Center.

“As a premier entertainment destination with a new, state-of-the-art arena and a wide array of hospitality options, Orlando is an obvious and compelling choice to host this celebration of our game,” said Stern. “We thank the Magic, Orlando and Orange County for once again welcoming NBA All-Star.”

Few All-Star Games have rivaled the one Orlando hosted in 1992 in which the West defeated the East, 153-113, at Orlando Arena. The game is best remembered for the return of Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson, who had retired in November 1991 after contracting HIV. By the time the final buzzer sounded, Johnson had gone one-on-one with both Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan, and turned in a vintage performance, recording game highs of 25 points and nine assists to lead the West and win his second All-Star MVP award. Golden State guard Tim Hardaway, who had allowed Johnson to replace him in the starting lineup, contributed 14 points and seven assists.

“This is a great day for the DeVos family, for the Amway Center and, most importantly, for Orlando,” said Orlando Magic President Bob Vander Weide. “We are excited the NBA is bringing one of its signature events to our community and believe it will be among many legendary moments we are able to attract to this first-class facility.”

“We are proud that Orlando, and especially its revitalized downtown, will be showcased during NBA All-Star 2012,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “With the majestic Amway Center hosting great events like NBA All-Star, our vision for a world-class downtown is well on its way to being realized.”

The 2011-12 season will mark the 28th year that Turner Sports will provide NBA All-Star coverage, and the 10th consecutive year the All-Star Game will be televised in primetime on TNT. The All-Star Game will be seen by a worldwide television audience in more than 200 countries and territories and in more than 40 languages.

NBA All-Star competitions will get underway on Friday, Feb. 24, as the league’s top rookies and second-year players square off in the Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam. The following day’s festivities will feature NBA All-Star Saturday Night, an all-inclusive skills showcase comprised of Shooting Stars, a competition featuring NBA and WNBA players, and NBA legends; Skills Challenge, a contest of top guards working against the clock to complete a series of passes, free throws, layups and agility drills; the Three-Point Contest, a long-standing staple of the evening; and the ever-entertaining Slam Dunk contest.

“It’s a testament to our Central Florida community, the Magic organization and our beautiful new Amway Center that Orlando has been selected to host NBA All-Star 2012,” said Magic Chief Operating Officer Alex Martins. “We look forward to working with the city, the county and the NBA to make this an unforgettable week that will drive major economic impact.”

“Orlando is the entertainment capital of the world, making it the ideal city to host the action of NBA All-Star,” said Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty. “On behalf of the county, we look forward to welcoming NBA fans and players from around the world and doing what Orlando and Orange County do best: helping create memories that will last a lifetime.”

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.

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.

Carlos Boozer respects Lakers

Tim Buckley of the Deseret News reports:

It may sound a little like it, arguably even a lot, but they’re not in awe of Kobe Bryant, coach Phil Jackson and the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Really, they’re not, the Jazz insist.

Carlos Boozer respects Lakers

Instead, consider it more of a, ahem, healthy respect for the team that has eliminated them from both of the past two postseasons — and the one against which they open a Western Conference semifinal series this afternoon at the Staples Center.

“They’re a great team; they have one of the best players on the planet ever to play the game,” power forward Carlos Boozer said. “They have one of the best coaches who has ever coached the game. It’s not a secret. They’re champions for a reason. They’re d— good.

“They’re deep; they compete; they’re well-coached; they’re smart; they do a good job of playing to their strengths,” Boozer added. “And they have Kobe. He’s a game-changer.”

Paul Millsap good off bench for Jazz

Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune reports:

Paul Millsap good off bench for Jazz

For the second time in three games at EnergySolutions Arena, Paul Millsap’s grit, athleticism and uncanny ability to put a ball through a hoop propelled the Utah Jazz past Denver. This time, however, the victory Friday night meant the Jazz was advancing to the second round.

Millsap turned in a better-than- workmanlike line of 21 points and 11 rebounds. Spectacular, considering Carlos Boozer scored 22 and had 20 rebounds. It wasn’t the first time this series Millsap proved to be the guy who holds the Jazz together. In Game 3 he erupted for 22 points and 19 rebounds. And he comes off the bench.

LeBron James may play at MVP level for years

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe reports:

LeBron James may play at MVP level for years

It is conceivable LeBron James could continue to produce at an MVP level for another seven years. He has avoided major injuries. His granite, sculpted body is unmatched in the NBA. There might be better scorers or rebounders or distributors or even penetrators, but no one amasses those skills into one punishing body of work as James does.

His 6-foot-9-inch, 250-pound frame delivers as many hits as it withstands and James has made it a priority to be known as more than just a high flyer. Comparisons with Michael Jordan are natural, especially since both put downtrodden franchises on their shoulders and lifted them to elite status.

And what Jordan brought to the game in flare, athleticism, and dominance, James equals with strength, all-around skill, and speed. There is only one Jordan, but James is making a loud enough impression on today’s NBA to create his own mystique for a new generation of children to emulate.

Ron Artest defended Kevin Durant nicely

Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register reports:

Ron Artest defended Kevin Durant nicely

Ron Artest just played his Western Conference championship series and won it. He won’t have to work this hard to earn his keep again until the Lakers face the other elite scorer in the league: Cleveland’s LeBron James.

The Lakers might not play any team that tough the rest of the way through the West, either. With that in mind, what Artest just did for them is even more meaningful.

To understand just how great a series Artest had on defense, look at Kevin Durant’s stats: 35 percent field-goal shooting after 47.6 percent in the regular season. Durant’s assist-to-turnover ratio was 14-to-22.

This is a guy who went more than two months of the regular season (29 consecutive games) never scoring fewer than 25 points, something no one has done since Michael Jordan in 1986-87. It’s no coincidence that in the two games in this series the Lakers won comfortably, Durant couldn’t reach 25.

Game 6: Gasol tip-in helps Lakers eliminate Thunder

The AP reports:

Gasol tip-in helps Lakers eliminate Thunder

Pau Gasol tipped in a missed jumper by Kobe Bryant with a half-second left and the Los Angeles Lakers survived a late comeback effort by Oklahoma City and eliminated the Thunder 95-94 in Game 6 of the first-round playoff series on Friday night…

Gasol pumped both fists after the basket, and the Lakers moved on when Russell Westbrook missed a desperation 3-pointer at the final buzzer.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 26 points on a dreadful 5-for-23 shooting night. Westbrook had 21 points and nine assists.

Bryant scored 32 points and Gasol had nine points and 18 rebounds, scoring his only basket of the second half at the end…

Bryant almost single-handedly kept Los Angeles out front with 16 points in a dazzling third quarter—until it came to an early end for him when he picked up his fourth foul while guarding Westbrook.

LeBron James would love to own NBA team

The AP reports:

LeBron James would love to own NBA team someday

LeBron James, whose path to superstardom has followed a similar trajectory as Jordan’s, said Tuesday night before the Cavaliers faced the Chicago Bulls in Game 5 of the playoffs that he would “love” to own an NBA team someday. Jordan assumed ownership of the Charlotte Bobcats in March, buying the club for $275 million from Bob Johnson.

“I would love to be in that position,” James said. “It’s a great position to be able to own a team and be able to put pieces together and make decisions.”

InsideHoops.com says:

Well, if any current player should have the money to own most or all of an NBA team by the time his playing days are over, it’s LeBron.