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Thunder center Kendrick Perkins moves closer to return

Thunder center Kendrick Perkins took another step toward starting Game 1 against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday at 8:30 p.m. at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

OKC coach Scott Brooks previously would dismiss any timetable of when Perkins might return from the right hip muscle he strained on May 5 in Game 4 against the Dallas Mavericks.

The last two practices, however, Brooks has chosen his words more carefully and given hope to Perkins’ return, although the Thunder enforcer officially remains listed as day-to-day.

“He went through some of the drills (Sunday) in practice,” Brooks said.

— Reported by John Rohde of the Oklahoman

Kyrie Irving to be named Rookie of Year

“This season has been a special one for me,” Irving said on April 27, a day after the Cavs finished with a 21-45 record. “We overcame a lot of obstacles during the lockout-shortened season. It’s been a learning experience. I grew as a player from the mental standpoint, getting used to the NBA grind.”

Irving was such an overwhelming favorite to win the award, voted on by select media members, he addressed the topic with local reporters two weeks ago.

“If I do get it, it will be a great accomplishment for the city of Cleveland, my teammates and myself,” Irving said. “I couldn’t have done it without them. The confidence they had in me allowed me to be myself and play my game.

“If I do win it, I’ll take it home and put it with the other trophies I have.”

Irving becomes just the second Cavs’ recipient of the NBA honor. LeBron James, who like Irving was a top overall pick, won the award in 2004. But unlike James, he did not enter the league with a $90 million Nike deal and predictions of a can’t-miss career.

— Reported by Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain Dealer

Chris Bosh hurt in Heat-Pacers Game 1

For the Heat, the pain goes deeper, with the question being how deep into Chris Bosh’s abdomen. The All-Star power forward was lost for the second half after sustaining a lower-abdominal strain on the follow-through of a second-quarter dunk that resulted in a 3-point play.

Coach Erik Spoelstra did not sound as if Bosh was coming back any time soon.

“We have some time now. We don’t know what Chris’ status is,” Spoelstra said. “We won’t know until we get an MRI, move on from there.”

The initial sense was not encouraging.

“You saw the look on his face,” teammate Dwyane Wade said, “you knew something was wrong there.”

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

Ty Lawson hopes for Nuggets extension

Asked about possibly getting a contract extension from the Nuggets this summer, Lawson told The Denver Post: “It’s definitely a goal. I want to be here long term. I’m pretty sure my agent and Masai (Ujiri, the Nuggets’ executive vice president of basketball operations) will talk this summer.”

Next season will be the fourth in the NBA for the 24-year-old guard from North Carolina, who averaged 19 points and six assists and shot 51.4 percent in the seven-game series against the Lakers.

Asked Sunday about Lawson, Ujiri said: “He’s going to be a big part of the Denver Nuggets. We’re excited. Ty is going to grow even more. He made a little jump, and he’ll continue to make jumps as he gets older.”

The Nuggets can negotiate with Lawson and his representatives in July. It’s possible that he could get up to a five-year contract. Lawson has one more season on his current deal.

— Reported by Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post

Heat beat Pacers in Game 1 of Round 2

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade carried the Miami Heat offense in the second half. With Chris Bosh gone, they had no other choice.

And if Bosh doesn’t return soon, it may have to become a trend.

James accepted his third MVP trophy from Commissioner David Stern before the game, then scored 26 of his game-high 32 points while playing every second of the second half – adding a season-high 15 rebounds as well – to help the Heat survive some rough stretches and pull out a 95-86 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Sunday night.

Wade scored 29 points for the Heat, but the concern level was ramped up considerably afterward because of Bosh, who did not play in the second half because of a lower abdominal strain. The Heat expected to learn results of an MRI exam on Monday…

David West and Roy Hibbert each scored 17 points and combined for 23 rebounds for the Pacers, who got 10 points each from Darren Collison and George Hill. Indiana controlled long stretches of the first half and didn’t trail by more than two points at any time until the fourth quarter, when it was outscored 25-16. Wade and James scored 42 points in the second half, while Indiana’s entire roster managed 38…

James scored 16 points alone in the fourth, matching Indiana’s total. Nonetheless, the Pacers sounded confident for days leading up to the start of the series, and left Sunday night sounding the same way…

Bosh caught a pass from James near the foul line late in the first half, took one dribble to start a drive past Hibbert, got down the lane and dunked the ball hard with his left hand while the Indiana center appeared to hit his right arm. Bosh fell forward as he landed, resting on his hands and knees for about 15 seconds before getting up slowly. He made his free throw, and as he headed back the other way he grimaced and grabbed at his midsection…

Danny Granger shot 1 for 10 in the game, scoring only seven points…

Everything was undecided until the final moments. Hill made a 3-pointer with 4:51 left, getting Indiana within 86-85. But the Pacers went cold from the field, James had a dunk in transition to make it 90-85 with 4:10 left, and his jumper with 31.8 seconds remaining wrapped up the Heat win.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Clippers beat Grizzlies in Game 7, advance to 2nd round

The Los Angeles Clippers refused to let a third chance to knock the Memphis Grizzlies out of the playoffs slip away.

Kenyon Martin scored seven of his 11 points in the fourth quarter, and the Clippers advanced to the Western Conference semifinals with an 82-72 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 7 on Sunday…

The Clippers blew an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter Friday night. So Martin huddled the Clippers together at the start of the fourth quarter Sunday, and the veteran led the bench in outscoring the Grizzlies 25-16. Chris Paul had the only bucket by a starter in the final 12 minutes, and the Clippers’ bench outscored the Memphis reserves 41-11 overall…

Now, the Clippers have their third postseason series win in 41 years and their second since relocating to Los Angeles. They last beat Denver in 2006. The Clippers also avoided becoming the ninth NBA team to blow a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven series in moving on to play the top-seeded Spurs starting Tuesday night in San Antonio…

Paul scored 19 points despite playing with a strained right hip flexor. Nick Young had nine of his 13 off the bench in the fourth as the Clippers finished off the series with their biggest margin of victory. Paul was so confident of victory he bought plane tickets for his wife and son to San Antonio on Saturday…

Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol each had 19 for Memphis, which lost a Game 7 at Oklahoma City a year ago in the second round of the playoffs. Zach Randolph had a game-high 12 rebounds…

Los Angeles finished off the win by hitting 9 of 10 free throws in the final 3:26. The Clippers also managed to outrebound the Grizzlies 46-44 for only the second time this series.

Memphis got away from the inside-out approach that won the last two games. The Grizzlies outscored the Clippers 36-24, but Randolph said they took far too many jumpers instead of feeding the ball to Gasol and himself.

— Reported by Teresa M. Walker of the Associated Press

Knicks hope J.R. Smith does not opt out

By Marc Berman of the New York Post

J.R. Smith has until June 26, two days before the NBA Draft, to give the Knicks notice on opting out of the final year of his contract worth $2.5 million, according to an NBA source.

If he doesn’t exercise the opt-out clause, Smith will be a Knick next season and could get a long-term deal with the club after next season. Because Steve Novak is a good bet to depart, the Knicks want Smith back as a sixth man — and possibly to play some point guard despite his wretched shotmaking in the Knicks’ five-game first-round knockout by the Heat.

Smith shot 3-of-15 in the elimination game and was 31.6 percent for the series — 17 percent from 3-point land (5-of-28).

Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald is hopeful Smith doesn’t exercise the opt-out and a source said he is leaning toward staying put with the marketplace squeezed for the middle class of free agents in the new CBA.

Nuggets guard Andre Miller will keep free agency options open

Now that the season has ended, Miller is one of three free agents the Nuggets have to make decisions on this summer, the first normal NBA calendar since 2010. It’s likely the Nuggets will attempt to bring him back after his at-times spectacular playoff series against the Lakers. Miller is the only unrestricted free agent on the roster, so the decision to stay or leave is solely his.

“I’ll keep my options open,” Miller said. “At this point in my career, if I’m going to be a backup, I’m going to be a backup on a championship-caliber team. Obviously, this team is a good team that’s going to get to the playoffs, but the thing is if they are committed to getting to that next level to compete for that championship.”

Miller teamed with point guard Ty Lawson to give the Nuggets a double-headed attack in this series, which most often was their most effective lineup. That pairing was on the floor when the Nuggets rallied from a 16-point deficit in the third quarter Saturday night to take the lead early in the fourth period.

Miller struggled throughout the game with his shooting, finishing with three points, but he had eight assists and 11 rebounds.

— Reported by Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post

Toronto Raptors may chase Jeremy Lin

Toronto will be in direct competition with the Knicks for Steve Nash. But Nash is expected to look to sign with a bona fide contender, and the Knicks and Raptors don’t fit that description. The Raptors are also a potential landing spot for Jeremy Lin. They like him and what he’d do for their attendance, but Toronto would have to “back-load” an offer to the restricted free agent, paying him gazillions in the final couple of years of a deal, and hope that the Knicks would not match. According to league sources, that’s what the Raptors just might do if their Nash plan falls through. But considering that the Knicks have no other viable options at point guard, and Lin has been nothing short of a marketing dream, they’re seen as a lock to match any offer.

— Reported by Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News

Lakers beat Nuggets 96-87 in thrilling Game 7

Pau Gasol was consumed by determination, holding off Kenneth Faried with one arm and relentlessly tipping the ball at the hoop with the other in the fourth quarter of Game 7. One, two, three, four – five! – offensive rebounds later, the ball finally surrendered and dropped through the hoop.

A few minutes later, the truth was as undeniable as that 7-foot Spaniard. Although the Nuggets drove them to the brink of playoff collapse, the Los Angeles Lakers still have the tenacity to win on the biggest nights of the postseason.

Even when Kobe Bryant doesn’t lead them.

Gasol had 23 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and four blocked shots, Metta World Peace scored 15 points in his return from a seven-game suspension, and the Lakers outlasted Denver for a thrilling 96-87 victory Saturday night to win their first-round series.

Steve Blake scored a playoff career-high 19 points and Bryant had a quiet 17 points and eight assists against regular double-teams for the Lakers, who blew a 16-point lead in the second half before surviving a finale with wild momentum swings and furious physical play.

With Gasol leading the Lakers’ emotional effort – exemplified by those five offensive rebounds on a single, unbelievable tip play with 7:10 left – the Lakers narrowly avoided becoming the ninth team in NBA history to blow a 3-1 series lead…

Andrew Bynum had 16 points, a career playoff-high 18 rebounds and six blocked shots for Los Angeles, which must open the second round Monday night in Oklahoma City against the second-seeded Thunder.

Ty Lawson and Al Harrington scored 24 points apiece for the sixth-seeded Nuggets, who committed 19 turnovers and managed just 7-of-27 shooting in the fourth quarter. Arron Afflalo scored 15 points in just the third Game 7 in franchise history for the Nuggets, who have lost in the first round in eight of the last nine postseasons – but never with this much excitement…

World Peace hit four 3-pointers and energized Los Angeles with tough defense in his return. The former Ron Artest missed Los Angeles’ regular-season finale and the first six games against Denver for viciously elbowing Oklahoma City’s James Harden, the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year and one of his probable defensive assignments in the next round.

— Reported by Greg Beacham of the Associated Press