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Thunder beat Spurs to take 3-2 series lead

Look who’s unstoppable now.

Forget that incredible San Antonio streak of 20 straight wins. That’s ancient history, and the way the Oklahoma City Thunder have taken complete command of the Western Conference finals, the Spurs might soon be finished themselves.

Kevin Durant scored 27 points and the Thunder are on the brink of the NBA Finals, beating the Spurs 108-103 in Game 5 on Monday night and going from an 0-2 hole to moving within a victory of a series knockout. Their first chance will be Wednesday night at home, where they haven’t lost all season.

”We never thought we’re supposed to wait our turn,” Durant said. ”Coach always emphasizes that with every opportunity that you step on the floor. It’s a great opportunity to get better. To get to our dream.”

Russell Westbrook added 23 and the Thunder took a 3-2 lead in a wildly entertaining Western Conference finals. Looking invincible while carrying a 20-game winning streak a week ago – the fourth-longest in NBA history – the Spurs have lost three straight and are on the verge of a stunning collapse.

Manu Ginobili scored 34 in a smashing return to the starting lineup, and the switch showed just how much Spurs coach Gregg Popovich knew his team might be in trouble. The only way the Spurs would have considered it a success is had they won, and that chance went clanging off the back of the rim with 4.9 seconds left with Ginobili missed an off-balance 3.

Ginobili then walked to the scorer’s table, made a fist and hammered it down.

”It wasn’t a great shot, but it wasn’t a bad one,” Ginobili said. ”It just didn’t go in.”

It was the Spurs first loss at home since April 11.

— Reported by Paul J. Weber of the Associated Press

In making his first start since March 23, Ginobili poured in 34 points, churning the Spurs — and the whited-out home crowd — into a frenzy of energy.

It was not enough to stagger the young Thunder, growing up before everyone’s eyes. In fact, they barely blinked.

Kevin Durant scored 27 points in leading OKC to the brink of the Finals, but his running mates, first Russell Westbrook (23 points, 12 assists) then James Harden (20), made the two biggest shots down the stretch.

A 13-point OKC lead with 5:17 to play had been whittled to two on a pair of Ginobili foul shots when Westbrook, oft-maligned for his fourth-quarter shot selection, rose and swished a 17-footer.

After a Tim Duncan bucket on the other end, Harden stepped back on Kawhi Leonard and buried a tough 3-pointer to make it 106-101 with 28.8 seconds left.

“We stuck together,” OKC coach Scott Brooks said. “We had a couple bad stretches, but we didn’t break.”

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

After Westbrook’s jumper, the Thunder got Tony Parker to miss a 16-foot jumper, which Westbrook contested wonderfully without fouling. Westbrook missed a driving layup at the other end, and Duncan made the Thunder pay by banking in a shot on a cross-match that had Harden covering him in the post.

The Thunder led 103-101 with 50.1 seconds left.

The AT&T Center crowd was on its feet. The noise was darn near deafening.

Harden then sent everyone home hoping this series returns to San Antonio for a Game 7. He hit a 3-pointer from the top of the arc over Spurs rookie Kawhi Leonard with just two seconds left on the shot clock.

It gave the Thunder a 106-101 lead with 28.8 seconds remaining.

— Reported by Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman

Portland Trail Blazers hire Neil Olshey as general manager

The Portland Trail Blazers have named Neil Olshey as the team’s general manager, Team President Larry Miller announced today.

“Neil is someone we’ve had on our radar for quite a while,” said Miller. “Over the past two seasons he has demonstrated success in constructing a roster, managing salary cap and evaluating player talent. We feel very fortunate to have him in Portland and are thrilled about what this means for the future.”

The 10th general manager in Trail Blazers history, Olshey comes to Portland from the Los Angeles Clippers, where he served as the team’s Vice President of Basketball Operations for the past two seasons. Placing third in votes for the 2011-12 NBA Executive of the Year Award, Olshey was responsible for all facets of basketball operations and player personnel moves while with the Clippers, and will hold the same responsibilities as General Manager of the Trail Blazers.

“I am very pleased to have Neil as our new general manager,” said Trail Blazers Owner Paul Allen. “He has the skills and the vision to successfully guide our organization into a new era of Trail Blazers basketball. He’s proven that he can quickly turn around a franchise, and we are confident he can do that in Portland.”

Under Olshey’s direction, the Clippers transitioned into a playoff team this past season after he assembled one of the deepest rosters in the NBA prior to the 2011-12 season. During a six-day span, Olshey added Chris Paul, Caron Butler and Chauncey Billups while re-signing DeAndre Jordan to a team that already featured Blake Griffin, Mo Williams and Eric Bledsoe.

“I am very grateful for the opportunity to become a part of this successful franchise,” said Olshey. “Portland is a great basketball city with a rich tradition, an incredible fan base and committed leadership. I’m joining an organization that has a strong foundation and a bright future. I couldn’t be more excited and I’m ready to hit the ground running.”

Olshey, 47, began his nine-year NBA career with the Clippers as Director of Player Development prior to the start of the 2003-04 season, and served as an assistant coach during the 2004-05 campaign before holding the title of Director of Player Personnel from 2005-08. Olshey was promoted to the role of Assistant General Manager prior to the start of the 2008-09.

Prior to joining the Clippers, Olshey was the Director of Player Development for SFX Sports Group, Inc. where he created, organized and conducted predraft and offseason training camps for future and current NBA players. The camps produced 15 lottery picks, 25 first round selections and 57 NBA players. Participants in Olshey’s offseason skill development clinics include more than 85 current NBA players including numerous All Stars and All-NBA selections. He has also served as a Head Coach/Clinician at the Reebok ABCD Camp, the Roundball Classic and numerous NCAA basketball camps throughout the country.

Clippers and Neil Olshey agree to part ways

The Los Angeles Clippers and Neil Olshey today mutually agreed to end discussions concerning Olshey’s future with the team. An agreement in principle, reached and announced on June 1, will not be completed and the two parties have agreed to part ways.

Olshey is going to take a job with the Portland Trail Blazers. It will be announced today.

“Circumstances have obviously undergone some movement since our announcement Friday. In light of that, we want to wish Neil well and acknowledge his contributions during the time he spent with the Clippers,” said Clippers’ President Andy Roeser.

A search for a replacement is already underway, headed up by Roeser. In the interim, all responsibilities pertaining to the team’s basketball operations will be absorbed by Roeser, Head Coach Vinny Del Negro, and Clippers’ Director of Player Personnel Gary Sacks.

Roeser, one of the longest-tenured executives in the National Basketball Association, recently completed his 28th season with the Clippers.

Prior to being named Head Coach of the Chicago Bulls in 2008, Del Negro served as Assistant General Manager of the Phoenix Suns during the 2007-08 season and Director of Player Personnel for the Suns for the 2006-07 campaign.

Sacks, who just completed his 18th season with the Clippers, has served as Director of Player Personnel for the past two years. Sacks held the position of Director of Scouting/Assistant Director of Player Personnel for the previous five seasons.

Lakers exercise Andrew Bynum contract option

The Los Angeles Lakers made an expected moved today, and kept their young, promising center on the roster for another season.

The Lakers today exercised a team option on Andrew Bynum’s contract for the 2012-13 season. The Los Angeles Times reports that the option is worth $16.1 million for the season.

Bynum, an early entry candidate for the 2005 NBA Draft, became the youngest player in NBA history to be selected when the Lakers used their first round pick (10th overall) to acquire the 7-foot center. A two-time NBA Champion with the Lakers, Bynum signed a multi-year contract extension in October of 2008.

In 60 games this season, Bynum averaged career-highs in points (18.7) and rebounds (11.8) while ranking among league leaders in scoring (20th), rebounding (3rd), field goal percentage (4th/.558), blocked shots (6th/1.93), double-doubles (5th/37) and minutes (24th/35.2). The starting center for the 2011-12 NBA Western Conference All-Star Team, Bynum was named to the All-NBA Second Team following the season, receiving 33 First Team votes and 400 points overall in award balloting (6th highest point total).

Amare Stoudemire is now engaged

New York Knicks captain and six-time NBA All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire proposed to Alexis Welch, the mother of Stoudemire’s three children, in Paris Saturday night.

Stoudemire asked Welch for her hand in marriage while overlooking the Eiffel Tower lights outside of their penthouse at Le Meurice Hotel Belle Etoile Royal Suite at 11 p.m. local time. He surprised her with a dinner after they spent the day taking a private historical tour of Paris that included stops at the Louvre and other landmarks.

“I have been planning my proposal for a while and overlooking the entire Paris skyline seemed like a perfect place. I am so happy she said ‘yes,’ and now we can continue to build our life together as husband and wife,” Stoudemire told PEOPLE from Paris.

— Reported by People Magazine

Original Trail Blazer LeRoy Ellis passes away

Former Portland Trail Blazers center/forward LeRoy Ellis passed away Sunday in Portland at the age of 72 after a long battle with cancer.

“LeRoy Ellis was a very important member of the first Trail Blazers team and was a very high-class individual,” said Trail Blazers Founder and President Emeritus Harry Glickman. “We extend our deepest sympathy to his family.”

A member of Portland’s inaugural basketball team, Ellis was selected by the Trail Blazers in the 1970 NBA Expansion Draft. Ellis led Portland with 12.3 rebounds per game and ranked third on the team with a 15.9 scoring average in 1970-71, his only season with the Trail Blazers.

Ellis is one of four Trail Blazers to record three 20-point, 20-rebound games in the same season (M. Lucas, B. Walton, S. Wicks). His 26 rebounds vs. Buffalo on Oct. 27, 1970, in the seventh game in team history, are still tied for the most by a Trail Blazer in a regulation game.

Ellis appeared in 1,048 NBA games over 14 seasons with the L.A. Lakers, Baltimore, Portland and Philadelphia. He posted career averages of 9.7 points and 8.3 rebounds, and was a member of the 1972 NBA Champion L.A. Lakers.

A New York native, Ellis played his collegiate basketball at St. John’s University. He was selected by the Lakers with the sixth overall pick in the 1962 NBA Draft.

Ellis and his family settled in Portland during his NBA career and continued to live in the area after he retired from the NBA.

Hornets begin workouts of draft prospects

The New Orleans Hornets are working out prospects at the Alario Center today, the first of two sessions they’re conducting.

The guys working out this morning are: Tyler Zeller, a 7-foot center from North Carolina, John Henson a 6-11 power forward from North Carolina, Meyers Leonard a 7-1 center from Illinois, Arnett Moultrie a 6-11 power forward/center from Mississippi State and Terrence Jones a 6-9 power forward from Kentucky.

All of the prospects the Hornets are working out today are players they are targeting for their No. 10 pick in the first round.

— Reported by John Reid of the New Orleans Times Picayune

Wizards keep Randy Wittman as head coach

The Washington Wizards have decided head coach Randy Wittman will keep running the show.

Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that Wittman will return as the team’s head coach for the 2012-13 season.

“We are excited to bring Randy back as head coach and give him the opportunity to build on the positive momentum that the team showed under his leadership last season,” said Grunfeld. “We were very pleased with the development of our young players and the commitment to winning he instilled despite taking over the team under difficult circumstances.”

Wittman was originally named head coach of the Wizards on January 24, 2012, after Flip Saunders was relieved of his duties following the team’s 2-15 start. The Wizards finished 18-31 (.367) after Wittman took over the team and won eight of their final 10 games (including their last six in a row).

“I’m very appreciative of the opportunity that Mr. Leonsis and Ernie have given me and I’m thrilled to be returning to work with these players and this organization,” said Wittman. “I felt that we made significant progress throughout last season and we are all looking forward to having a full summer, training camp and season to continue to improve this team.”

Wittman continues his third stint as a head coach after leading both the Minnesota Timberwolves (2006-07 to 2008-09) and Cleveland Cavaliers (1999-2000 to 2000-01). He had served as the Wizards’ lead assistant since the 2009-10 season prior to being named head coach last season. Wittman began his coaching career as an assistant with Indiana before stops as an assistant coach in Dallas and Orlando.

Originally drafted by the Washington Bullets with the 22nd overall pick in the 1983 NBA Draft, Wittman played nine NBA seasons for Atlanta, Sacramento and Indiana before retiring in 1992 with a career average of 7.4 points per game while shooting .501 from the field in 543 games.

Ray Allen says his ankle is improving

The Boston Celtics are a different-looking team these days, and Ray Allen has a lot to do with that.

Allen is starting to move without the ball and raise up for shots — and knock them down — in a fashion that’s similar to what we’ve seen from him in the past.

The ankle injury that hobbled him for weeks, Allen said, isn’t nearly as bothersome anymore.

“Just going into the game, starting the game, having my legs underneath me is for me it’s a huge deal now,” said Allen, who had 16 points on 6-for-16 shooting from the field. “How I feel now is a lot different from how I start the game.”

— Reported by A. Sherrod Blakely

Dwyane Wade expects Tyson Chandler to start for Olympic team

The Knicks’ Tyson Chandler was a safe bet to make the Olympic team this year, because the coaches love the center’s selfless style and defensive mentality. It turns out the players feel likewise.

Heat guard Dwyane Wade said that because Dwight Howard has undergone back surgery, he expects Chandler to start at center for Team USA in this summer’s London Olympics.

“Absolutely,” Wade said. “We watched Tyson, the things that he does, his ability to cover so much on the basketball court, from the three-point line to the rim. He’s phenomenal.”

“And especially the style of play in the Olympics is a little different. The style is not necessarily post-up, post-up, post-up. It’s more so of having a big guy down there, someone who can defend, someone who can rebound, someone who can catch and finish. So he brings that to the team.”

— Reported by Al Iannazzone of New York Newsday