The AP reports: LeBron James dunked the first time he touched the ball and scored 34 points—22 in the first half—as the Cavaliers, who waited nine days between playoff games after a first-round sweep, shook off some early rust and pulled away for a 99-72 win over the Hawks in their Eastern Conference semifinal opener on Tuesday. Showing why he was voted the league’s best player in a landslide, James added 10 rebounds, three assists and four steals as the top-seeded Cavs won their fifth straight lopsided game in a postseason that has so far mirrored the best regular season in franchise history… Maurice Williams added 21 points for Cleveland, which became the first team since the 2004 Detroit Pistons to win each of its five playoff games by double figures. With the Cavs up by 21, James was pulled with 4:29 left—extra down time before Game 2 on Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena, where the Cavaliers are 42-2. Josh Smith scored 22 and Mike Bibby 19 for the Hawks, who needed seven games to get past Miami and are playing in the second round for the first time in 10 years. They weren’t happy with their start in this series, going 9-for-30 and scoring just 28 points after halftime.
Rockets outmuscle Lakers 100-92 in series opener
The AP reports: Although the Rockets absorbed some hits and shed the most blood, they outmuscled the Los Angeles Lakers 100-92 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Monday night. Yao had 28 points and 10 rebounds, Ron Artest added 21 points and Aaron Brooks had 19 for the Rockets, who are in the second round for the first time since 1997… Bryant, who finished a distant second to LeBron James in NBA MVP voting announced earlier Monday, scored 32 points, doing his best to keep the Lakers in the game despite missing practice on Sunday with a sore throat. He scored 22 of the Lakers’ final 42 points.
Live fan discussion of this game took place in this forum topic.
Magic take opener from Celtics 95-90
The AP reports: Dwight Howard returned from his one-game suspension to get 16 points and 22 rebounds Monday night and Orlando, which led by as many as 28 points in the second half, held off the late-charging Celtics 95-90 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals… Orlando led 65-37 early in the third quarter, but Boston trailed by four points when Ray Allen’s 3-pointer rimmed out with 43 seconds left. J.J. Redick made two free throws with 14 seconds left before Paul Pierce’s high 3-pointer made it a three-point game with 6.6 seconds to play… Pierce scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half and Rajon Rondo had 14 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists… Kendrick Perkins had 16 rebounds for Boston, but Rondo and Allen both went 2 of 12 from the field.
Live fan discussion of this game took place in this forum topic.
LeBron James wins MVP
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LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers is the winner of the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the 2008-09 NBA Most Valuable Player, the NBA announced today.
James totaled 1,172 points including 109 first place votes, from a panel of 121 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. 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 the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (698 points), Miami’s Dwyane Wade (680), Orlando’s Dwight Howard (328) and New Orleans’ Chris Paul (192).
James, the first Cavalier to win the award, led Cleveland in scoring (28.4 ppg, second in the NBA), rebounds (7.6 rpg), assists (7.2 apg, fourth), and steals (1.7 spg, eighth). Since the 1973-74 season when steals became an official stat, James is the fourth player to lead his team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals, while also leading his team to 50-plus wins (Larry Bird 1985-86; Grant Hill, 1996-97; Kevin Garnett, 2002-03). The 6-8 forward helped Cleveland to an NBA- and franchise-best 66-16 season, a 21-game improvement over last season (45-37), marking the 12th time an NBA team has reached 66 wins in a season.
More info and the voting results on our NBA MVP page.
Joakim Noah not satisfied with first round loss
The Chicago Sun-Times (Brian Hanley) reports: ”It’s weird how everyone is so positive,” Noah said Sunday as the Bulls cleared their gear from the Berto Center. ”I went to breakfast this morning, and people started clapping in the restaurant. It was crazy. I was like, ‘Man, we lost in the first round.’ ”You’ve got to be really mentally strong in the playoffs and take away the distractions. This is a great learning experience, and I’ll remember these moments for my whole life. But as a team, we’ve got to be hungry for more.”
Kobe Bryant was sick Sunday
The Los Angeles Daily News (Elliott Teaford) reports: Kobe Bryant called in sick Sunday morning. He skipped the Lakers’ final practice before they begin their second-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets because he has a sore throat. The Lakers couldn’t say for certain whether he would play tonight in Game 1 at Staples Center. “If it is at all possible, I would expect him to be here,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “You certainly don’t want it to happen (Bryant coming down with an illness). You’re certainly unhappy about it happening. We’ll deal with what it is. “That’s what goes on in life. You just have to accept it.”
Nene busts out, Nuggets beat Mavericks 109-95
The AP reports: Nene scored 18 of his career playoff high 24 points in the first half and the Denver Nuggets raced past the Dallas Mavericks 109-95 Sunday in the first day game in the Pepsi Center’s 10-year history. Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points, including a dunk off J.R. Smith’s behind-the-back assist that rocked the arena in the closing minutes. Smith added 15 points, leading a bench that outscored Dallas’ celebrated reserves 38-24 before both teams emptied their benches in the meaningless final minutes. Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 28 points and 10 boards and Josh Howard, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry each scored 15… Howard, who missed two 11-game stretches this season with a bum left ankle and probably needs surgery, turned his right ankle in the second quarter when he got tangled up with Billups. He went to the locker room but returned to action before halftime.
Live fan discussion of this game took place in this forum topic.
Hawks rock Heat 91-78, advance to 2nd round
The AP reports: After a mostly disappointing series, Joe Johnson finally showed up when the Hawks needed him most, making six 3-pointers and scoring 27 points to lead Atlanta into the second round of the playoffs with a 91-78 victory over Dwyane Wade and the Heat in Game 7 Sunday. Atlanta got past the first round for the first time since 1999. Their reward? A matchup with LeBron James and the top-seeded Cavaliers, beginning Tuesday night in Cleveland… Johnson finished 6-of-8 from beyond the arc, leading the Hawks to the final blowout in a series that was totally devoid of any drama. Every game was decided by at least 10 points… The Hawks turned the contest into a laugher in the final quarter. Flip Murray hit a 3-pointer to give Atlanta its biggest lead, 85-66, and both teams cleared their benches in the closing minutes… Dwyane Wade scored 31 points but the majority of those came after the Hawks had already built a comfortable lead.
InsideHoops.com notes: The Heat scored just 18 points in the first quarter, 18 in the second, and 16 in the third. The Heat were also very quiet in the first and third quarters, but won the second quarter 29-18… Joe Johnson had 27 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals. Josh Smith (7-of-12) had 21 points and 9 rebounds. Flip Murray (just 4-of-14, 3-of-9 three-pointers) had 15 off the bench… In the loss, Wade shot 10-of-25 for his 31 points, but he had 4 assists with 4 turnovers. Michael Beasley had 17 with 7 rebounds off the bench. Udonis Haslem had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Barely any other Heat players did much of anything… The Heat committed 17 turnovers and only had 12 total assists… Heat starting point guard Mario Chalmers shot 1-of-6 and was awful. Heat starting center Joel Anthony in 22 minutes had 6 rebounds and little else. James Jones shot 1-of-5… Both team shot badly, but the Hawks nailed threes, the Heat did not.
Live fan discussion of this game took place in this forum topic.
Celtics eliminate Bulls with 109-99 Game 7 win
Saturday night in Boston the Celtics defeated the Chicago Bulls 109-99 to win Game 7. The defending champions, playing without Kevin Garnett, move on to the second round to face the Orlando Magic.
Boston shot 44.9% and nailed 9-of-17 three-pointers, while Chicago only hit 39.0% of their shots and 29.2% threes.
In the win, Ray Allen shot 6-of-14 with 9-of-9 free throws for 23 points and 7 rebounds. Paul Pierce (just 6-of-17) had 20 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Eddie House shot a perfect 5-of-5, including four threes, for 16 points and 3 steals off the bench. Glen Davis (just 6-of-16) had 15 points and just 2 rebounds. Kendrick Perkins shot 6-of-8 for 14 points and 13 rebounds.
In the loss, Ben Gordon (just 7-of-23 but 15-of-15 free throws) had 33 points and 4 assists. Derrick Rose (9-of-18) had 18 points but just 3 assists with 3 turnovers. Kirk Hinrich had 16 with 4 steals off the bench. John Salmons (just 3-of-12) had 12.
Chicago was outscored 29-11 in the second quarter.
Live fan discussion of the game took place in this forum topic.
Pistons exercise option on Will Bynum
Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced Wednesday, April 29 that the club has picked up the team option on the contract of guard Will Bynum for the 2009-10 season.
Bynum, 26, appeared in 57 games (one start) last season, averaging 7.2 points (.456 FG, .798 FT), 1.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 0.59 steals in 14.1 minutes per game. The 6-foot guard played 20-plus minutes in 15 games during the 2008-09 campaign, averaging 16.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 26.2 minutes per game. He scored a career-high 32 points (career-high 14-16 FT) vs. Charlotte (4/5), including a franchise-record 26 points in the fourth quarter. In Game 4 of the Pistons’ first round playoff series against Cleveland, Bynum scored a playoff career-high 22 points.