The AP reports: The Utah Jazz played better and it still didn’t matter. Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, Pau Gasol added 22 and Lamar Odom had 19 off the bench in the Lakers’ 119-109 victory over the Jazz on Tuesday night, giving Los Angeles a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 first-round Western Conference playoff series… Deron Williams scored a career playoff-high 35 points and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Jazz, who head home for Game 3 on Thursday. They again played without injured center Mehmet Okur… The Lakers stretched their lead to 96-81 early in the fourth. The Jazz relied mostly on Williams, and he scored six in a row to get his team to 105-99 with 5:22 remaining.
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Mike Brown named Coach of Year
Cleveland’s Mike Brown is the recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2008-09 NBA Coach of the Year, the NBA announced today.
Brown totaled 355 points, including 55 first-place votes, from a panel of 122 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.
In his fourth season at the helm in Cleveland, Brown guided the Cavaliers to a franchise- and NBA-best 66-16 (.805) season, marking only the 12th time an NBA team has won at least 66 games. Cleveland started the season with a franchise-best 23-straight wins at Quicken Loans Arena and finished with the best home record in the league at 39-2. Cleveland is the sixth team in NBA history to record 39 home wins and the first to do so since the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls. The Cavaliers’ 21-game improvement over last year’s 45-37 record tied the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers for the second biggest improvement all-time among teams with at least 45 wins in the previous season.
Brown was named NBA Coach of the Month for December, February and March. At the All-Star break, Cleveland owned the highest winning percentage in the Eastern Conference (36-9, .800), earning Brown the spot as head coach for the East in Phoenix. It was Brown’s first appearance as an All-Star head coach and the second in franchise history (Lenny Wilkens, 1989).
Brown led the Cavaliers to at least 45 wins in each of his first three campaigns, marking only the second time Cleveland won that many games in three consecutive seasons (1991-92 to 1993-94). With a combined regular season record of 211-117 (.643) in four seasons, Brown has the highest winning percentage of any head coach in franchise history. In each of his first three seasons in Cleveland, Brown has led the Cavaliers to the playoffs, amassing a franchise-best 26-20 (.565) postseason record. In 2007, he led Cleveland to its first trip to The Finals.
Brown joined the Cavaliers after two seasons as associate head coach for the Indiana Pacers. Prior to that, Brown served as assistant coach for three seasons in San Antonio, helping guide the Spurs to the 2003 NBA championship. Brown began his coaching career with the Washington Wizards, where he spent two seasons as an assistant coach under Bernie Bickerstaff.
The Coach of the Year Award is named after legendary coach and Hall of Famer Red Auerbach who guided the Celtics to nine NBA Championships. In 1996, Auerbach was honored as one of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History as the NBA celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Houston coach Rick Adelman finished second in the voting with 13 first-place votes and 151 total points.
Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy finished third with 13 first-place votes and 150 total points.
Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan finished fourth with 15 first-place votes and 127 total points.
Denver Nuggets coach George Karl finished fifth with 11 first-place votes and 117 total points.
The next five coaches to receive some votes were Jerry Sloan, Erik Spoelstra, Mike Woodson, Phil Jackson and Doc Rivers.
Lakers beat Jazz 113-100 to win Game 1
The AP reports: Kobe Bryant scored 24 points, Trevor Ariza added 21 and Pau Gasol 20 as the Lakers pretty much had their way against the eighth-seeded Jazz. They led by 22 points at halftime and then answered resoundingly both times Utah got within nine in the second half… Carlos Boozer led the Jazz with 27 points and Deron Williams added 16 points and a career playoff-high 17 assists. Both were in foul trouble, with Boozer getting his third just before halftime when Williams already had two… The Jazz sorely missed Mehmet Okur, who sat out with a mild right hamstring strain. He averages 17 points and 7.5 rebounds and gives Utah a much-needed inside presence against the Lakers’ twin 7-footers, Andrew Bynum and Gasol.
InsideHoops.com notes: The Lakers shot 55.6%, the Jazz just 39.1%. And the Lakers nailed 7-of-15 three-pointers, the Jazz just 3-of-13. Bryant had 24 points and 8 assists, but 6 turnovers. Ariza shot 8-of-10 for his 21 points. Gasol shot 7-of-11 and also had 4 blocks. Boozer shot 11-of-16.
Fans predict first round playoff results
InsideHoops.com posted a poll two days ago asking fans to predict the results of the 2009 NBA playoffs first round.
In the East:
325 fans picked the Cavaliers to beat the Pistons. Just 29 picked Detroit.
321 fans picked the Magic to beat the 76ers. Just 20 picked Philadelphia.
258 fans picked the Celtics to beat the Bulls. 87 picked Chicago.
And in the East’s only fairly close result, 183 fans picked the Heat while 155 picked the Hawks.
As expected, other than the Lakers-Jazz series, the voting was pretty close in the West:
336 fans picked the Lakers to beat the Jazz. Just 17 picked Utah.
241 fans picked the Nuggets to beat the Hornets. 113 picked New Orleans.
224 fans picked the Spurs to beat the Mavericks. 122 picked Dallas.
198 fans picked the Trail Blazers to beat the Rockets. 152 picked Houston.
Jazz recall Kosta Koufos from D-League
Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has recalled rookie center Kosta Koufos from the Utah Flash of the NBA Development League (D-League). Koufos is expected to be in uniform when the Jazz travel to Los Angeles for Utah’s first round series against the Lakers which begins on Sunday, April 19 at 1 p.m. (MT).
In 48 games this season (seven starts) the 7-1, 265 pound Koufos has averages of 4.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.4 assists. Koufos has been inactive 24 times and registered a DNP-CD 10 times. Koufos last appeared in a game on February 17 against Memphis, scoring two points and grabbing one rebound in a 117-99 home win. The center notched his career-high when he scored 18 points and 10 rebounds in a 97-88 win over Dallas on December 2 in Salt Lake City.
With the Flash, Koufos averaged 16.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 2.0 assists in 10 games (all starts).
Selected by the Jazz out of Ohio State in the first round (23rd overall selection) of the 2008 NBA Draft, Koufos averaged 14.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists in his only season with the Buckeyes. The Canton, Ohio native was also named the postseason NIT MVP after leading Ohio State to the 2008 title. Koufos, who holds dual American and Greek citizenship, helped lead Greece to a silver medal in the 2007 UMCOR U18 European Championships after averaging 26.5 points, 13 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots.
Lakers earn 65th victory, beat Utah 125-112
The AP reports: The 82-game grind is over for the Los Angeles Lakers. Now comes the time of the season this storied franchise exists for. Andrew Bynum scored 22 points in his best effort since returning from injury and the Lakers defeated the Utah Jazz 125-112 Tuesday night to close the regular season as the third-winningest team in franchise history. They tied the 1986-87 team with their 65th victory, trailing only the 1971-72 team (69) and 1999-00 team (67)… Pau Gasol added 20 points and nine rebounds, Bryant and Lamar Odom had 16 points each, and Sasha Vujacic 15 points for the Lakers, who won their sixth in a row at home. Deron Williams had 25 points and 13 assists for the Jazz, and reserve Andrei Kirilenko added 20 points to go with 16 points by Carlos Boozer and 14 by Ronnie Brewer.
Jazz end skid with win over Clippers
The AP reports: The Jazz ended the skid with a 106-85 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night, keeping alive their slim hopes of climbing out of the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. “We just needed a win,” said Deron Williams, who had 17 points and nine assists… Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Paul Millsap added 19 points and 11 boards for the Jazz, who outrebounded the Clippers 50-36 and forced 15 turnovers that led to 24 easy points… Marcus Camby had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, who have lost eight of nine. Eric Gordon scored 16 and Chris Kaman had 12 points and seven rebounds for Los Angeles.
Watson scores 38, short-handed Warriors beat Jazz
The AP reports: The Warriors—all seven of them—beat the Jazz 118-108 on Saturday night, keeping Utah mired in eighth place in the Western Conference with only two games remaining in the regular season. “We want to play loose and play fast. That’s what we’ve been doing,” said C.J. Watson, who scored a career-high 38 points to lead the Warriors. Watson also had nine assists for the second straight night and pulled down seven rebounds as Golden State stunned Utah at the start and never let up when the Jazz tried to rally… Deron Williams had 26 points and 14 assists before leaving in the final minute, holding his ribs with a strained muscle in his side. Carlos Boozer added 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Jazz, in danger of drawing the Lakers in the first round… Kelenna Azubuike scored 18, Anthony Morrow added 13 points and Anthony Randolph 11 for Golden State.
Parker’s 31 powers Spurs past fading Jazz
The AP reports: In an important win over Utah, Tim Duncan scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds. It’s a mediocre outing by his standards but enough to help the Spurs get a big 105-99 victory over the fading Jazz on Friday night. Tony Parker scored 31 points, and the Spurs shook off their recent funk long enough to bury the Jazz further back in the playoff picture. Both teams are in, but Utah lost for the fifth time in six games to inch closer to facing the dominant Los Angeles Lakers in the first round… Deron Williams had 25 points and 10 assists for the Jazz, whose misery in San Antonio continues. The Jazz haven’t won here since 1999, a streak spanning 23 games… Mehmet Okur had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Utah.
Mavs clinch playoff spot with 130-101 win over Jazz
The AP reports: With their spot in the playoffs secured, now the Dallas Mavericks can work on trying to avoid a first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers. Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points, a dozen in a row at one point, and Josh Howard overcame a bloody nose and swollen eye to add 13 points and a career-high seven steals as the Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz 130-101 on Wednesday night to clinch the final playoff spot in the Western Conference… “Knowing the importance of each game and the sense of urgency, we treat every game like it’s a Game 7 playoff game,” said Jason Terry, who added 21 points off the bench… Deron Williams scored 18 points to lead all five Utah starters in double figures, and also had 12 assists. Andrei Kirilenko had 17 points.