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.

Wade scores 41, Heat rock Hawks 98-72

The AP reports: Dwyane Wade scored 41 points, Michael Beasley busted out of a slump with 22 points and 15 rebounds, and the Heat stayed alive by routing the Atlanta Hawks 98-72 in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Friday night. So a wild back-and-forth series—three routs for the Hawks, three routs for the Heat—will be decided Sunday in Atlanta… Mike Bibby scored all 20 of his points in the first half for Atlanta, which fell behind by 15 in the opening quarter, cut the deficit to nine by halftime, but never really challenged from there. Flip Murray and Joe Johnson added 13 apiece for the Hawks, who lost a first-round Game 7 last season against Boston… Hawks F Marvin Williams returned from a sprained right wrist. He played only 5 minutes, missing his lone shot. F Al Horford (sprained right ankle) warmed up but did not play.

No 2009 summer league in Utah

Utah Jazz president Randy Rigby announced today that the 2009 Rocky Mountain Revue has been canceled.  The team will reevaluate the viability of the event for the summer of 2010.  The Jazz will be fielding a team at the Orlando Pro Summer League held at the RDV Sportsplex July 6-10.

“Since the NBA began its own summer league in Las Vegas, we have slowly been losing participation in our event.  The few teams that played in both Utah and Vegas, have now decided to forgo the Rocky Mountain Revue and only attend Vegas for budgetary reasons,” said Rigby.

“We want to thank our fans for the support they have shown the Rocky Mountain Revue over the years and we look forward to finding other ways to connect with them this summer.”

Danilo Gallinaro raves about Tel Aviv arena

The New York Post reports: Of his rookie season, Danilo Gallinari said, “It was a positive, great experience. Even if I didn’t didn’t play a whole season it was great to play, great staying in this city.” Gallinari, in his last season in the Italian League in 2006-2007, lost twice to Maccabi. He raved about playing in the Tel Aviv arena. “The Maccabi gym is incredible, if you have a chance, you should go,” Gallinari said. “You go into that gym, it’s an incredible atmosphere. Everyone’s wearing yellow T-shirts. It is crazy. It’s beautiful.”

Rockets advance, beat Blazers 92-76

The AP reports: For the first time in 12 years, the Houston Rockets advanced in the NBA playoffs. Ron Artest scored 27 points, Yao Ming had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Houston reached the second round for the first time since 1997, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 92-76 in Game 6 on Thursday night. Aaron Brooks scored 13 points and Shane Batter tied a career playoff-high with nine rebounds as the Rockets won for the first time in their last seven first-round series. They lost Game 6s the last two seasons, both to Utah. Houston put this one away with a big second quarter and moves on to play the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night at the Staples Center. The Lakers won all four meetings in the regular season. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 points and Brandon Roy had 22 for the Blazers, who were making their first playoff appearance since 2003. Portland improved 13 games from last season and reached its highest win total since 1999-00.

Magic eliminate 76ers with 114-89 win

The AP reports: On a night the suspended Dwight Howard recorded a double-double in blog and Twitter posts from his hotel room, the Magic advanced to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 114-89 in Game 6 on Thursday… Playing without Howard and injured guard Courtney Lee, the Magic thumped the Sixers from the start… Rashard Lewis scored 29 points and Rafer Alston had 21 to help the Magic win for the second time this series in Philadelphia. The Magic’s decisive run came early when they made 12 of their first 19 shots… Alston hit two 3-pointers during the Magic’s fast start that put them up 15 and quickly negated the home crowd. J.J. Redick made all three 3-point attempts in the first half and ably filled in for Lee… Andre Miller scored 24 points and Andre Iguodala had 20 for the Sixers, who were eliminated in the first round for the second straight season and face a cloudy offseason.

Bulls beat Celtics in 3 OTs, force Game 7

The AP reports: One more thriller, and now, the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics will play a decisive seventh game. Derrick Rose scored 28 points and blocked Rajon Rondo’s potential game-winner, John Salmons scored 35, and the Bulls beat the defending champions 128-127 in triple overtime Thursday night to tie the first-round series at three games apiece. Ray Allen scored a career playoff-high 51 points for the Celtics, but the series will go back to Boston for Game 7 on Saturday after another classic battle in a series that had already seen its share of drama. Three of the first five games went to overtime, including one that needed two extra periods. Another came down to the wire in regulation, but this easily trumped them all. Rondo penetrated and pulled up on the left block with 8 seconds left and turned, only to be rejected by Rose. The rookie of the year then missed two free throws with 3.2 seconds remaining, before Rondo launched a harmless heave from beyond midcourt. That ended the game. The series, however, continues.

More on this game later tonight.

Jerry Sloan has knee surgery

Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan underwent successful right knee replacement surgery today, Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced.  The surgery was performed by Dr. Russell Nelson in Salt Lake City.

The longest-tenured head coach in NBA history, Sloan recently completed his 21st season at the helm of the Jazz and ranks as the NBA’s fourth-winningest coach all-time with a career record of 1,137-751 (1,043-630 with Jazz).  Sloan was also selected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Class of 2009 where he will be inducted in September.