Melo scores 42, but Celtics beat Knicks 96-93 in Game 2

The AP reports:

carmelo anthony

Amare Stoudemire didn’t play in the second half and Chauncey Billups didn’t play at all, and still the Boston Celtics needed more late heroics from one of their Big 3 to beat the New York Knicks in Game 2 of their first-round series.

“We were lucky to win,” coach Doc Rivers said after Boston overcame Carmelo Anthony’s 42 points in a 96-93 victory on Tuesday night.

Kevin Garnett sank the go-ahead basket with 14 seconds left then stole the ball with 4 seconds remaining as the Knicks gave the Celtics all they could handle in falling into an 0-2 hole in the series…

Billups had a strained left knee and his status for Game 3 on Friday night at Madison Square Garden is uncertain. Stoudemire had back spasms but expects to be back when the best-of-seven series resumes.

Rajon Rondo led the Celtics with a career playoff-high 30 points, 14 of them in the first quarter when he kept driving to the basket…

Anthony matched his career playoff high for points and set a new high with 17 rebounds as the Knicks held a 53-37 advantage on the boards. Toney Douglas had 14 points in place of Billups.

Paul Pierce had 20 points after missing his first five shots, and Ray Allen, who hit the game-winning 3-pointer in Boston’s 87-85 win in the opener, scored 18.

D-Howard scores 33, Magic beat Hawks 88-82 in Game 2

The AP reports:

dwight howard

Dwight Howard had 33 points and 19 rebounds, Jameer Nelson added 13 points and eight rebounds to help the Magic hold off the Hawks 88-82.

The Magic evened the best-of-seven series, with Game 3 Friday night in Atlanta.

Orlando used a 10-1 run to close the third quarter to take an 11-point lead into the fourth and fought off a late Atlanta charge down the stretch. The Magic struggled from the field shooting just 34 percent and had 16 turnovers. But they defended well…

Jamal Crawford led Atlanta with 25 points and Josh Smith added 17, but they missed 15 shots between them and expended a lot more energy to get off attempts…

Orlando led 48-42 at halftime. The Hawks led by as many as 10 in the second quarter, 32-22, before a 12-2 run by the Magic tied it at 34-all. Howard had 10 points during the spurt, which included the Magic doing their best job of the series converting defensive stops into quick offense.

Dirk scores 33, Mavs beat Blazers 101-89 in Game 2

The AP reports:

Dirk scores 33, Mavs beat Blazers 101-89 in Game 2

Peja Stojakovic tied his career playoff best with five 3-pointers and had 21 points, and Jason Kidd continued his surprising scoring surge with 18 points, powering the Mavericks to a 101-89 victory on Tuesday night in Game 2 of their first-round series.

Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 33 points, but was practically a complementary player. He was at his best after the 30-something, former All-Stars built the lead, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter—including the team’s final 11— to help the Mavericks keep the Trail Blazers from ever making a serious push. He scored 18 in the fourth quarter of Game 1…

Portland had a lot of things go right, from LaMarcus Aldridge scoring 24 to Gerald Wallace and Wesley Matthews regaining their scoring touch after struggling in the opener. But the Trail Blazers got only 11 points from their bench, none in the second half. And while they were limiting Nowitzki to 5 of 15 shooting through three quarters, former All-Stars Kidd and Stojakovic were lighting them up…

Wallace and Andre Miller each scored 18 points for Portland. Matthews added 13. But Nicolas Batum’s 10 points and a free throw by Rudy Fernandez were all the points by reserves. Brandon Roy played 8 minutes and missed the only shot he took. The five backups who got into the game were a combined 4 for 11.

Former NBA player Oliver Miller arrested for attacking man with handgun

WUSA 9 reports:

oliver miller

A former NBA player was arrested Tuesday morning for pistol whipping a man at a barbecue, police said.

Oliver Miller, 41, of Edgewater, was arrested after police were called out to a barbecue in Arnold, Md., for a report of an assault with a handgun, police said.

Miller wasn’t at the Birchrest Court home Sunday, when police arrived to the call. Police say they tracked him down based on eye witness accounts and a 9MM GLOCK magazine that was left behind at the scene.

Another Heartbreaker for NY

By Scott Spangler

A crucial offensive rebound by Roger Mason gave the New York Knicks another chance, and they capitalized with a Jared Jeffries layup to go ahead 93-92 with 19.3 seconds remaining.

Garnett hit a tough hook in the lane over Jeffries to reclaim a one-point advantage for the Celtics just six seconds later.

It was Garnett again – this time on the defensive end – with a huge steal along the baseline. KG managed to get a timeout called to save possession as Boston holds on to win 96-93 in the second game of this best of seven.

Magic Look to Even Series 1-1

By Scott Spangler

They are launching grenades in Orlando. At the half, both teams hitting south of 40 percent. The Magic lead by six and need to build on a second-quarter outburst, which saw them outscore the Hawks 32-20.

A loss would put Orlando in dire straits heading to Georgia. Teams carrying a 2-0 lead end up advancing at a 94 percent clip.

Once again tonight, just about the only thing working for Stan Van Gundy is the play of Dwight Howard, fresh off his record-setting third consecutive Defensive Player of The Year Award. So far in this one, Howard has racked up 25 pts and 13 boards with about 6 minutes left in the third.

Despite shooting only 37 percent thus far, Atlanta is 6 of 15 from 3-point range. Add to that, the Hawks have only gone to the foul line seven times, converting four. Have I mentioned the massive (38-21) rebounding deficit? Well, there’s that, too.

The Magic are now up 55-48, about 5 minutes to go, third quarter.

Knicks/Celtics Update

By Scott Spangler

New York has been dominant on the glass, generating a ton more shots, but could only muster 32 percent from the floor. This left the Celtics trailing by only one point heading into the locker room, 45-44.

Word coming down now, Amare Stoudemire may be out for the rest of the night with back spasms. With PG Chauncey Billups already sidelined, this puts just about the entire load on Carmelo Anthony’s shoulders.

Early in the second half now, and Anthony is beginning to heat up, now with 24 pts on 9 of 20 shooting – he has also managed to haul in 13 boards.

The problem for New York now would be slowing down Celtic PG Rajon Rondo. He seems more than willing to take up Mike D’Antoni’s invite for some “shooting practice.” So far, 22 points, 9 of 14 from the field.

With just under 3 minutes left in the third, we have a six-point Boston advantage.

Lamar Odom wins 2010-11 Sixth Man of Year award

Lamar Odom wins 2010-11 Sixth Man of Year award

Lamar Odom of the Los Angeles Lakers is the recipient of the 2010-11 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, the NBA announced today.  The honor, voted on by a panel of 120 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada, is the first for Odom as well as the first for a Lakers player since the award’s inception prior to the 1982-83 season.

Odom, a two-time NBA Champion and member of the gold medal winning 2010 USA Basketball Men’s World Championship team, appeared in all 82 games for the Lakers this season, averaging 14.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 32.2 minutes.  Ranked 15th among league leaders in rebounds and 11th (.530) in field goal percentage, Odom recorded 28 double-doubles on the season while scoring 20-plus points 14 times.  Earlier this season, he became the 23rd player in NBA history to reach 12,000 career points, 7,000 career rebounds and 3,000 career assists as well as the 9th fastest ever to do so in terms of games (821).

“Lamar could realistically start for any team in this league but his team-first attitude has allowed us to utilize him in a sixth man role,” said Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak.  “He could have won this award in any of the last several seasons and I’m happy that his unselfishness and talent have finally been recognized.”

Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry finished second in the voting. Philadelphia 76ers forward Thaddeus Young was third, Boston Celtics forward Glen Davis was fourth, and Atlanta Hawks guard Jamal Crawford finished fifth.

Rose scores 36, Bulls top Pacers 96-90 in Game 2

The AP reports:

Rose scores 36 as Bulls top Pacers 96-90 in Game 2

Two playoff games, two dramatic victories for the favored Chicago Bulls, and all is right in Carlos Boozer’s eyes.

Derrick Rose scored 36 points, Boozer added 17 points and 16 rebounds, and top-seeded Chicago escaped with another comeback victory over Indiana, beating the Pacers 96-90 on Monday night in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series…

Rose went wild again, scoring eight points over the final 4 minutes. Kyle Korver, who made a tiebreaking 3-pointer in Chicago’s opening 104-99 victory Saturday, connected from long range to make it 90-85 with just over a minute left.

The Pacers still wouldn’t go away.

A.J. Price drew a foul on Rose and hit three free throws to get Indiana within two with 23.4 seconds remaining. But Luol Deng made two free throws, Mike Dunleavy missed a 3-point attempt at the other end and Ronnie Brewer hit two foul shots to help the Bulls hold on…

The Pacers were right there even though they lost Darren Collison to a sprained left ankle late in the first half. Collison said X-rays were negative but he isn’t sure if he will be available for Thursday night’s Game 3 at Conseco Fieldhouse…

Granger led Indiana with 19 points, but Tyler Hansbrough struggled, finishing with just six points on 2-of-12 shooting after scoring 22 points in the opener.

Shaq remains out, will not play in Celtics-Knicks Game 2

Gary Dzen of the Boston Globe reports:

The Celtics officially ruled center Shaquille O’Neal out for Tuesday’s game against the New York Knicks after Celtics team doctor Brian McKeon told the team not to bring O’Neal out onto the floor for today’s practice.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers last night had left open the possibility that O’Neal might practice and play in Tuesday’s game. Today he sang a different tune.