Basketball News

SAN ANTONIO -- On his 30th birthday, Tony Parker first kept the San Antonio Spurs on pace for what might be another lopsided playoff sweep. Then the All-Star who's always quick to needle Tim Duncan about his age finally acknowledged his own.

"I'm old. Used," said Parker, laughing.

Chris Paul, meanwhile, isn't acknowledging anything: Not his aching body that everyone but him is talking about, or the Los Angeles Clippers' season careening toward the end this weekend unless things change fast.

Parker scored 22 points, Duncan had 18 and the Spurs beat the fading Clippers 105-88 on Thursday night, taking a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference semifinals and winning their 16th in a row with yet another playoff blowout.



For ...

INDIANAPOLIS -- LeBron James grabbed a seat on Miami's bench, lowered his head and stared down at the floor.
Way down.

The Heat are in a hole.

Roy Hibbert had 19 points and 18 rebounds, George Hill scored 20 and Danny Granger 17 as the Pacers, showing more balance, toughness and togetherness than favored Miami, throttled the malfunctioning Heat 94-75 on Thursday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Overlooked during the regular season and given little chance to upset the reigning East champions, the Pacers took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.



Game 4 is Sunday at raucous Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

James scored 22 -- 16 in the first half before wearing down -- and Mario Chalmers added 25 for Miami. However, Dwyane Wade, banged up and possibly slowed by a more serious injury, scored only 5 on 2-of-13 shooting for the Heat, already missing forward ...

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In a footnote to December’s Tyson Chandler sign-and-trade, the Mavericks included the draft rights to Printezis, an Athens-born forward who won the Greek Slam-Dunk contest in 2007. Now 27, he was selected in the second round by the Raptors in 2007. “They have a nice little asset now,’’ one NBA executive said of Printezis. “People now know who he is now.’’ However, getting him in a Knicks uniform is a problem. Printezis ...

The Wizards will probably seek some perimeter help in the draft and/or free agency this offseason, so Almond also knows that he isn’t assured a spot with the Wizards — or any other team — next season. “Well, you know it’s up in the air at this point,” Almond said. “I guess being a free agent, it’s just up in the air, but right now I just want to unwind and decompress a little bit from this year. ...

Paris is supposed to be wonderful this time of year. The Caribbean, too. But Moscow? “No sunshine but still beautiful,” Nets point guard Deron Williams posted on Twitter this week. Williams and wife Amy posted pictures of themselves and Red Square Wednesday as the offseason’s most intriguing vacation continued in Russia, home of noted billionaire and NBA owner, Mikhail Prokhorov. Though there has ...

The two-time NBA Coach of the Year will tell you, however, that he captained the U.S. Armed Forces team that toured Eastern Europe in 1972, and that the relationships he developed overseas have proven invaluable during his years as an NBA assistant and, more importantly, during his 16 seasons as the Spurs' coach and eight as general manager. "If you recall, Mike and Pop were my two choices in 2005," Colangelo said in a ...

OKLAHOMA CITY --
Even down late, the Oklahoma City Thunder are showing that they are never out.

Kevin Durant scored 22 points and rattled in the go-ahead basket on a baseline runner with 18 seconds left, and the Thunder scored the final nine points to rally for a 77-75 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals Wednesday night.

Oklahoma City trailed by seven with two minutes left before surging back with a series of defensive stops by its stars to claw back from that deficit in the closing stages of a game for the second time this postseason. The Thunder were also seven down with 2½ minutes left in Game 1 against defending NBA champion Dallas in the first round.

"They won't quit. That's not ...

PHILADELPHIA --

Kevin Garnett yapped his way down the court after big baskets and clearly enjoyed taking it to the 76ers.
Rajon Rondo pushed the ball and relentlessly attacked the lane.

Paul Pierce gutted out a knee injury and grinded his way to the free-throw line.

Boston hears the whispers that it's too weary and too old to win another championship. By the time they forced Sixers fans to flee their seats, the Celtics proved it's still too early to count them out.

Garnett scored 27 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and used a dominant second quarter to help the Celtics beat the 76ers 107-91 on Wednesday night and take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Whistled for a costly illegal pick late in a Game 2 ...

Thomas was one of the biggest surprises of the 2011-12 season, someone who will likely receive Rookie ofthe Year votes just 10 months after being overlooked by every team in the league. At 5’9, Thomas has always had doubters, and being dubbed Mr. Irrelevant only motivated him more and solidified his underdog status.



“I’ve always played with a chip on my shoulder and that just motivated me even ...

Multiple sources shot down a report last week that the Nets are nearing a verbal agreement with Kirilenko, but also said the Nets have monitored his performance this season. If King and Prokhorov can convince Williams to re-sign, they will have plenty of room to augment the roster to their star’s desire. Only four Nets — guards Anthony Morrow and MarShon Brooks, forward Jordan Williams and center Johan ...

Crawford also said that former Blazers guard Brandon Roy will play in his annual summer pro league in Seattle. He continued to say that an NBA comeback is not out of the question for Roy, who was released by the Blazers using the Amnesty Clause back in December. "I think there's definitely a chance," Crawford said. "It's just up to him and how he moves forward in the process, his knees, and whether ...

SAN ANTONIO --

So much for getting rusty: The San Antonio Spurs didn't miss a beat after a weeklong break, extending a winning streak that few NBA teams have ever sustained in the playoffs.

The weary Los Angeles Clippers looked just beaten -- and making matters worse, they're even a little more beat-up than when they got here.

Tim Duncan had 26 points and 10 rebounds following an eight-day layoff for the top-seeded Spurs, who wore down Los Angeles in the Clippers' sixth game in 11 days and won Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals series 108-92 on Tuesday night.



"It's hard to tell if they were tired or not. If we were rusty or not," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. "The game ...

MIAMI -- This does not sound like a winning formula. Miss 24 of 29 shots in one stretch, on the road. Watch an 11-point second-half lead turn into a deficit. Have your entire team get outscored by two players in the fourth quarter.

Somehow, it worked for the Indiana Pacers.

And with one part of the Big Three gone, the Miami Heat might have a very big problem.

David West scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and the Pacers took home-court advantage away from Miami by beating the Heat 78-75 in Game 2 of the teams' Eastern Conference semifinal series Tuesday night -- after LeBron James and Dwyane Wade both came up short on key opportunities in the final minute.



"Defense and ...

Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY -- When the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City last met, Metta World Peace delivered an elbow that sent the Thunder's James Harden home with a concussion.

It's the Lakers who are smarting after the playoff rematch.

Russell Westbrook had 27 points and nine assists, Kevin Durant added 25 points and the Thunder blasted the weary Lakers 119-90 on Monday night in the opening game of the Western Conference semifinals.



The Thunder took a 15-point halftime lead, opened the third quarter with a 15-2 blitz filled with crowd-pleasing 3-pointers and dunks and never looked back.

"From then on, it was cruising for us," Westbrook said. "When our team plays like that throughout the game, we put ourselves in a ...

Associated Press

BOSTON -- Not this time, Celtics.

After letting another fourth-quarter lead slip away in Boston, Philadelphia took it right back and held on to it, fighting off every run the Celtics made down the stretch for an 82-81 victory Monday night to even the Eastern Conference second-round series at one game apiece.

"We knew to expect the same type of game," said Evan Turner, whose layup with 40.4 seconds to play put Philadelphia ahead to stay. "We did what we needed to do to win this game, just like we didn't the first time around."



Turner's layup gave the Sixers a 76-75 lead and Philadelphia clinched it by going 6 for 6 from the free throw line over the final 12 seconds. ...

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving will be named NBA Rookie of the Year on Tuesday, according to sources familiar with the voting results.



After playing in just 11 games in his only season at Duke, Irving rewarded Cleveland's faith in selecting him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by averaging 18.5 points, 5.4 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 51 games.

Irving, who didn't even turn 20 until ...

In the first stage of what is sure to be a long road back to the basketball court, Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose had surgery on his torn ACL on Saturday.

The surgery was conducted at Rush University Medical Center by team physician Dr. Brian Cole. The surgery was a success, according to Rose's brother, Reggie Rose.

"The surgery went fine," Reggie Rose told Chicago's ABC 7. "He came out, I feel, 100 percent. I talked to Dr. Cole. Dr. Cole said the surgery 'went great.' So right ...

MIAMI -- The Miami Heat may be without Chris Bosh for a while depending on what an MRI on Monday shows about the severity of the lower abdominal strain he suffered in a 95-86 Game 1 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.

Bosh pulled the muscle on a dunk late in the first half, struggling to rise from his knees after being fouled by Pacers center Roy Hibbert on the play. His is currently day-to-day, though Monday's test results could change that. The Heat were without Bosh ...

Associated Press

MIAMI -LeBron James got his trophy, and then he and Dwyane Wade made sure the Miami Heat got a win in Game 1.

James scored 32 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in his first game as a three-time MVP, Wade finished with 29 despite struggling from the floor, and the Heat beat the Indiana Pacers 95-86 to open their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Sunday.



Chris Bosh scored 13 points for Miami, but left late in the first half with a lower abdominal injury and did not return, with the Heat saying he was scheduled for an MRI to determine the extent of the problem.

The Heat outscored Indiana 25-16 in the fourth, with Wade and James combining for 22 of those points.
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Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- 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.



"That's why it's seven games," Martin said. "If you don't do it before, you get another chance. So they did what they had to do, they came and stole home court back on our floor. ... We had a chance to close it out. We knew we let it go, an opportunity get away."

The Clippers blew an eight-point lead in the fourth ...

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Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS -- Even as the Chicago Bulls wrapped up another impressive victory, the question that has dogged them remained unanswered: Will Derrick Rose be ready for the playoffs after fighting through injuries all season?

Rose, last season's league MVP, finished with 10 points on 3-for-11 shooting to help the Bulls defeat the Indiana Pacers 92-87 on Wednesday night.

Rose has missed 26 games this season and he's just beginning to return to form after most recently dealing with injuries to his right ankle and foot. Though he couldn't finish like he normally does on his quick, furious drives to the basket, his unparalleled explosiveness ...

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- The No. 7 seed is there if the New York Knicks feel like taking their talents to South Beach.
It's unclear if they do.

With Carmelo and Amare on the bench, the Knicks nearly blew all of an 18-point, fourth-quarter lead before holding on to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 99-93 on Wednesday night.

J.R. Smith scored 21 points, including a rally-stopping jumper with 31 seconds left, as the Knicks moved within one victory of wrapping up seventh place in the Eastern Conference and a first-round matchup with Miami.



But the Knicks don't seem to care about finishing with a higher seed, with Anthony saying he doesn't ...

Associated Press

PHOENIX -- No one could say for certain that this was Steve Nash's final game in a Phoenix uniform, but the Suns' fans certainly sensed it was.

As a meaningless 110-106 loss to the depleted San Antonio Spurs wound down on Wednesday night, the crowd stood and chanted "We want Nash" over and over.



First it was just a few fans. Then it spread through the whole building.

Finally, coach Alvin Gentry sent the 38-year-old point guard back onto the court for a few plays before Nash left to rousing cheers.

"It was obviously amazing to get that type of reception and support," Nash said. "It's ...

Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Kevin Seraphin had a career night for Washington while taking advantage of Dwight Howard's absence from Orlando's lineup.

Seraphin had career-bests with 24 points and 13 rebounds and tied his high with four blocks to lead the Wizards to a 93-85 victory over the Magic on Tuesday night.



"So you've got a night where you don't have to play against the best center in the league," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "I would think it helped him a lot."

Jordan Crawford scored 21 points, John Wall had 15 and Cartier Martin and James ...

Associated Press

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bulls thought they were finally getting their whole team back together for the final stretch.
Instead, Derrick Rose was out again. The Bulls came out on top, anyway.

Richard Hamilton scored 20 points, Luol Deng added 19 and Chicago beat the New York Knicks 98-86 Tuesday night even though they were playing without their superstar point guard again.



Hamilton had 18 points in the third quarter to help Chicago stay ahead after building a 12-point halftime lead. Kyle Korver added 14 points and three blocks, and the Bulls prevailed despite Carmelo Anthony's 29 points for New York.

"That's ...

Associated Press

CLEVELAND -- Lester Hudson has taken Cleveland by storm.

Could the rest of the NBA be next?

Hudson, rescued from the NBA Development League by an injury-riddled Cleveland team last month, scored 25 points -- including 14 in the fourth quarter -- and the Cavaliers beat the Charlotte Bobcats 103-90 on Tuesday night.

Hudson has scored 74 points in Cleveland's past three games, including a career-high 26 against New Jersey on Sunday. That's quite a story for a someone who played in China during the lockout and was playing with the Austin Toros when the Cavaliers signed him to a 10-day contract on March 30. The Cavaliers signed him to a second ...

I might be in the minority but I don't think it was all that bad of a play, It looks like a foul but both players braced themselves for impact.

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Associated Press



BOSTON -- Jared Sullinger and the Ohio State Buckeyes had blown a 12-point lead and fallen behind Cincinnati in the second half of the East Region semifinals.

It was time for the "cool guys" to take a seat, and let the blue-collar team take over.

Sullinger scored 23 points with 11 rebounds and Ohio State turned back Cincinnati's last charge with a 17-1 run to beat the Bearcats 81-66 on Thursday night and advance to the NCAA regional finals for the first time since 2007.



"We've got two types of basketball teams: We've got the cool guys and then the blue-collar guys," Sullinger explained. ...

Casey Prather throws down what has to be one of the best dunks in college this season!

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Associated Press



PHOENIX -- Exactly as his coach asked him to, Bradley Beal is bringing out his A-game. His latest bit of wizardry moved Florida a win away from the Final Four, and set up Billy Donovan with a perfectly scripted matchup against his old coach and boss, Rick Pitino.

Beal, the freshman with NBA written all over him, scored 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting Thursday night to help the Gators to a 68-58 victory over Marquette.

Next up for No. 7 seed Florida (26-10) is a West Regional final Saturday against Louisville and Pitino, who taught ol' Billy The Kid a lot of what he knows. ...

Associated Press



PHOENIX -- Louisville figured its game against Michigan State to be low-scoring, a natural expectation with two of the nation's best defenses butting heads.

The Cardinals had one big advantage: Gorgui Dieng.

Dominating inside, Dieng blocked seven shots and altered several others to anchor a stifling defense that helped Louisville knock off top-seeded Michigan State 57-44 Thursday night in the West Regional semifinals.

""He was very disruptive," Michigan State's Draymond Green said. "We're not going to back down from anyone. We took it at him. He pulled off some great blocked shots. That's what he does. That's his strength."

The Cardinals (29-9) relied ...