May 16: Cavs 74, Celtics 69

The AP reports: LeBron James scored 32 points—19 in the second half—and the Cavaliers forced a decisive and fitting finale to this home-sweet-home playoff series with a 74-69 victory Friday night over the Celtics, who have gone from regular-season road kings to postseason road kill… James, whose jump shot has mysteriously been missing in this series, made two key baskets midway through the fourth quarter to slow a Boston comeback, Wally Szczerbiak hit a 3-pointer with 2:10 remaining and Joe Smith dropped two free throws with 14 seconds left as the Cavs moved the series back to the East Coast… Leading by nine at halftime, the Cavs quickly extended the lead to 51-36. But just when it appeared the Celtics were in major trouble, they responded behind Garnett, who scored eight points in a 13-0 spurt that pulled Boston within three. James finally ended Cleveland’s offensive lapse with a layup and the Cavs got a tip-in and fling-in from Anderson Varejao for a 59-50 lead entering the fourth. Garnett’s jumper pulled the Celtics within 65-60 before James scored on a drive, and the All-Star hit an off-balance 17-foot jumper to make it 69-60. Eddie House made a 3-pointer for Boston, but Szczerbiak, who missed his first five 3-pointers, finally got one to go down, giving Cleveland a 72-63 lead.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Celtics shot 39.7%, the Cavs just 32.9%. Both teams missed threes. The Cavs had 21-of-25 free throws, the Celtics just 11-of-13. The Cavs controlled the boards but only had 10 team assists.

For the Cavs, LeBron James (9-of-23) had 32 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists (but 8 turnovers) and 2 steals. Delonte West (4-of-7) had 10 points, no assists and 4 turnovers. Wally Szczerbiak (absurd 2-of-11) had 9, Zydrunas Ilgauskas (awful 3-of-11) had 7 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. Joe Smith had 9 points and 5 rebounds off the bench.

For the Celtics, Kevin Garnett (11-of-21) had 25 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. Paul Pierce (lousy 5-of-15) had 16 points and 6 turnovers. Ray Allen (3-of-8) had 9 points and 6 rebounds. Eddie House (3-of-5) came off the bench for rare minutes to score 8.

Rasho Nesterovic exercises player option

The Toronto Raptors announced Friday that centre Rasho Nesterovic has exercised the player option on his contract for the 2008-09 season. Per team policy, financial terms were not disclosed.

Nesterovic, 7-foot, 270 pounds, concluded his second season with the Raptors and his 10th in the NBA. He appeared in 71 games (with 39 starts) last season, averaging 7.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 20.9 minutes. He led the team in field goal percentage (more than 200 attempts) at .550 (257-467).  He scored in double figures in 17 of the final 18 regular season games, averaging 15.4 points and 6.7 rebounds.

Nesterovic has averaged 7.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in 699 career games with Minnesota, San Antonio and Toronto. He was a member of San Antonio’s 2005 NBA Championship team.

Spurs open flophouse in Game 6 win

The San Antonio Spurs have opened a flophouse, and the special invited guests are David West and Chris Paul.

In game 6, with the Spurs needing a win to stay alive and force a series-deciding game 7, early in the third quarter, Tim Duncan did his best Manu Ginobili impersonation and, upon feeling contact from West, who had the basketball and was looking to score, flopped backwards and fell down. It should have been a no-call, but the refs fell for it. It’s partially West’s fault for extending his arm, but still, the ref should have let it go.

West also got robbed when he and Ginobili got tied up, and the ref decided it was West’s fault. I’m not sure but I thought Ginobili was the one holding him.

And, West got called for a reach-in on Duncan that I’m not sure was a foul.

Those three fouls occurred right near each other when the game was still close. Overall there were about five fouls on CP3 and West in the span of under two minutes, changing the game.

The Spurs then proceeded to pull away.

May 15: Spurs 99, Hornets 80

The AP reports: The defending champions beat the New Orleans Hornets, 99-80 in Game 6, staying alive and forcing a winner-take-all Game 7 on Monday in New Orleans… Manu Ginobili scored 25 points, Tim Duncan had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Tony Parker added 15 points to tie the Western Conference semifinals… Chris Paul led the Hornets with 21 points and eight assists, and Tyson Chandler scored 14 points. David West had 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting before leaving the game early in the fourth quarter after aggravating a back injury… Despite the closeness of the series, Game 6, like the five before it, was won by double digits. It was also won, like those before it, in the third quarter, when the Spurs outscored the Hornets 20-12… The Spurs shot 49 percent from the field (38-of-77) to the Hornets’ 41 percent (33-of-80) and outrebounded them 45-40. The Spurs had 28 assists and the Hornets had 13… With 10:11 left in the game, West left the court after aggravating a back injury.

OJ Mayo calls accusations a publicity stunt

The Los Angeles Times (Ben Bolch) reports: Calling the accusations against him “a publicity stunt,” O.J. Mayo on Wednesday emphatically denied allegations that he accepted cash and gifts in violation of NCAA rules and said his accuser might be striking back after he severed ties between them. Mayo said he would cooperate with investigations by the NCAA and Pacific 10 Conference after a report he accepted tens of thousands of dollars in prohibited extra benefits before and during the one season he played basketball for USC. “My family hasn’t accepted anything, so I’m just waiting for the NCAA to do what they have to do to prove that I haven’t done anything wrong,” Mayo said.

Kirilenko visa issue causes missed practice

The Deseret Morning News (Linda Hamilton) reports: Forward Andrei Kirilenko missed Thursday’s Utah Jazz practice at the Zions Bank Basketball Center as he was dealing with issues with his visa.

InsideHoops says: Kirilenko just should have pretended to be that actor who played Ivan Drago in the Rocky movie. No one is going to prevent Drago from doing anything. His own crowd turned against him! You have to feel for the little guy.

UPDATE: The Salt Lake Tribune says it’s just about Kirilenko’s family traveling this summer, and this isn’t going to affect Kirilenko in the playoffs in any way.

Barkley owes 400k to a Vegas casino

The AP reports: Charles Barkley acknowledged he owes a $400,000 gambling debt to a Las Vegas Strip casino and promised Thursday to repay it after a prosecutor said the retired NBA star faced criminal charges. “My mistake,” Barkley said in an interview at a pro-am golf tournament in Hoover, Ala. “I’m not broke, and I’m going to take care of it.” Barkley was responding to comments by Clark County District Attorney David Roger, who said prosecutors would file a criminal complaint if he did not pay the debt cited by the Wynn Las Vegas resort. “He’ll have an opportunity like anybody else to make restitution to the hotel,” Roger said.

Daniel Gibson out 1-2 weeks

Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson left the game in the fourth quarter last night in Boston vs. the Celtics with a left shoulder contusion. He received additional examinations today at The Cleveland Clinic, including an MRI, which revealed a first degree left AC (acromioclavicular joint) separation. He is currently listed as Out for Friday night’s game vs. the Celtics at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. He is expected to miss one to two weeks. His status will be updated as appropriate.

May 14: Lakers 111, Jazz 104

The AP reports: Kobe Bryant scored 26 points despite not attempting a field goal in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers extended the stunning home success by NBA teams in the second round of the playoffs by beating the Utah Jazz 111-104 on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals… Bryant, who also had six rebounds and seven assists, scored only three points in the final period, all from the foul line after the outcome had been decided. He shot 6-for-10 from the floor and 13-of-17 from the foul line… Lamar Odom had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Gasol added 21 points, six rebounds and eight assists, Vladimir Radmanovic scored 15 points and Derek Fisher added 14 for the Lakers, who were 17-1 during the regular season when all five starters scored in double figures… All five Utah starters also scored in double figures led by Deron Williams, who had 27 points and 10 assists. Carlos Boozer added 18 points and 12 rebounds, Ronnie Brewer scored a career playoff-high 16 points, Mehmet Okur had 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Andrei Kirilenko scored 12 for the Jazz.

May 14: Celtics 96, Cavs 89

The AP reports: Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 16 rebounds, and Rajon Rondo added 20 points and 13 assists as the Celtics beat the Cavaliers 96-89 on Wednesday night to move within a win of the Eastern Conference finals… “We know it’s a win-or-go-home situation. We’ve got to approach it that way,” said LeBron James, who scored 23 of his 35 points in the first 20 minutes and then went cold again… Paul Pierce scored 29 points and helped shut James down for much of the second half. The Cavaliers forward had 23 points with 3:50 left in the first half but made just one basket in the next 20 minutes as Boston erased a 14-point deficit and took the lead for good… Cleveland cut an 88-77 lead to 91-87 on two free throws by Delonte West with 46 seconds to play. But, after running down the shot clock, Garnett got the rebound of his own miss and Paul Pierce hit five free throws in the last 16 seconds to ice it.