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Watch how the Lakers reach the NBA Championship and How they battle it out with the Boston Celtics. A classic NBA Finals 2010 Game 7 between the most influential team in the NBA League. Relive it once again. Watch the Los Angeles Lakers 2010 NBA Championship highlights Now.
PHOENIX — The Phoenix bench finally delivered as advertised, and it could hardly have come at a better time.
Channing Frye broke out of a horrendous shooting slump by making four 3-pointers for 14 points, and the Suns pulled away in the fourth quarter for the second game in a row to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 115-106 on Tuesday night and tie the Western Conference finals at two games apiece.
A series that looked like a Lakers' breeze a week ago is all even heading to Game 5 on Thursday night in Los Angeles.
The Suns reserves, considered an advantage entering the series but largely ineffective through three games, outscored their Laker counterparts 54-20. Leandro Barbosa scored 14 on 6-of-8 shooting and Jared Dudley added 11 points. Goran Dragic ran the show at point and had eight points and eight assists in 18 minutes.
Amare Stoudemire led Phoenix with 21 points. Steve Nash, playing with a broken nose, had 15 points and eight assists.
Kobe Bryant had 38 points and 10 assists as the reigning NBA champions fought back to lead briefly early in the fourth before the Suns backups stole the show.
Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry kept all five reserves in the game for almost the first nine minutes of the final quarter, and they produced an 18-3 run, and the Lakers never recovered. When Nash re-entered with 3:05 to play, those subs — usually playing against the Los Angeles starters — had turned an 87-85 deficit into a 103-94 lead.
"We believe in our bench," Gentry said. "Tonight they played as well as they could play."
Frye had made 1-of-21 shots in the series and missed 18 in a row when his second shot of the night, a 3-pointer, finally fell to the roar of the home crowd. Continue reading here...
BOSTON (Reuters) - The Boston Celtics tightened their grip on the Eastern Conference finals with a crushing 94-71 win over the Orlando Magic on Saturday.
The Celtics lead the best-of-seven series 3-0 and could wrap up a trip to the NBA finals as soon as Monday on home court.
"They're playing hard, they're playing together, they're playing like a team that wants to win a championship," Orlando center Dwight Howard told reporters.
Fielding a starting lineup of battle-tested veterans, the Celtics are hoping to reproduce the form that helped them to a 17th NBA title in 2008.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers, however, downplayed comparisons.
"We haven't scratched what we did in '08," Rivers told reporters.
Six Celtics reached double figures in the team's sixth consecutive playoff win. Forward Glen Davis top-scored with 17 points off the bench, while forward Paul Pierce added 15 points and guard Ray Allen 14.
"It's unselfish basketball," said Rivers. "We keep talking about letting the ball find the open guy. You don't have to find it yourself." Continue reading
ORLANDO, Fla. — The hair is a little grayer. The ankles and knees no longer so sturdy. Even with a roster full of aging superstars, the Boston Celtics are still standing tall.
Too old to chase a title? Not these days.
Ray Allen scored 25 points, Paul Pierce had 22 and the Celtics used smothering defense to beat the Orlando Magic 92-88 on Sunday in the Eastern Conference finals opener.
Hampered by injuries, the Celtics literally limped their way through parts of the regular season. All that seems a distant memory now.
"I honestly say we lost ourselves," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "I think we've found ourselves again."
Rasheed Wallace added 13 points as the Celtics built a 20-point lead, then held on late to snap Orlando's 14-game winning streak. They held the Magic to 41 percent shooting — 22 percent from 3-point range — in displaying that rough and tough defense that was once their staple.
"There were stretches in the season, we know each other so well now, where we were becoming less patient with each other," Allen said. "We were getting on each other a little too much. We can take it, but we respected each other.
"When we started the playoffs, we said teams are going to hit us, they're going to attack us. But when somebody scores on us, which they will, we go get the ball out and come back."
Vince Carter had 23 points and Jameer Nelson finished with 20 for Orlando, which cut the lead to two in the final seconds but simply ran out of time, looking rusty after a six-day layoff. Dwight Howard was limited to 13 points and 12 rebounds, nowhere near the dominant force the Magic need to win a title.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Tuesday night in Orlando.
"I don't think it was rusty. Just anxious," Howard said. "We dug ourselves a hole, and it was tough to get back from." Continue reading here
NBA Quarter finals is almost complete. Only the Hawks-Bucks series extends to a game 7 on Sunday. That means Orlando Magic has all the time to rest and scout their possible opponents. But I think either Hawks or Bucks, they will still advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Cavaliers vs Celtics Prediction: Cavaliers 4-3
Celtics is still Celtics. They match up well with the Cavaliers but I still pick Lebron James and the Cavaliers. With the addition of Shaq and Jamison, Cavaliers will have all the firepower to dominate the Celtics. For the Celtics, in order them to win this series, Rajon Rando should play well. He, I think is the X-factor. Every time Rando distribute the ball well, the Celtics rolls easily to a victory. But Lebron James will cruise to the NBA Finals, he has two MVP tucked in his belt, only left is that elusive ring. James is motivated to get it.
San Antonio Spurs vs Phoenix Suns Prediction: Spurs 4-2
Spurs proves that they can still win a series by beating the second seeded Dallas Mavericks. Despite their aging star, they outrun and out hustle the Mavericks. This time they will be tested with the Phoenix Suns. Amare Stoudamire is a beast inside and will cause a lot of head aches to the Spurs. But I think Spurs will win this series because of their fundamental defense.
Los Angeles Lakers vs Utah Jazz Prediction: Lakers 4-2
Utah Jazz has done a great job in eliminating the Denver Nuggets. Despite their injuries to key players, they still manage to win a series. But this time around, I think luck is not on their side. Lakers has all the luxury of every position especially their twin towers Gasol and Bynum plus Kobe Bryant. For the Jazz, CJ Miles should play well if they want to advance. Lakers in 6 games.
Following yearlong plan perfectly, former champs won't be a pushover
The Boston Celtics said all along the object wasn’t to win the Eastern Conference or set any regular-season records. It was to have everybody healthy and ready for a playoff run and another shot at a title.
We didn’t believe them, not really. It sounded too much like Pee-wee Herman crashing his bike and popping up to say, “I meant to do that.”
But we can believe them now, not because of anything they said, but because of the way they swatted away the Miami Heat in five games in the opening round of the playoffs. This was a fourth-seeded Boston team against a fifth-seeded Miami squad, but it looked more like a No. 1 against a No. 8, as complete a mismatch as we’ve seen in the first round.
Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder Series: Tied 2-2
The Lakers handle the Thunder lightly and they paid the price by loosing to the Thunder, 110-89. Kevin Durant once again over played Kobe Bryant by scoring 22 points to lead all scorer.
"A lot of people didn't expect us to be here and then we got here a lot of people thought we'd get swept," Thunder star Kevin Durant told reporters. "It's all on us now, we just have to keep working hard."
Atlanta Hawks vs Milwaukee Bucks Series: Hawks leads series 2-1
John Salmons scored 22 points and carried the Bucks over the Hawks, 107-89. Bucks took command early and never look up. Kurt Tomas played well tonight, he is the replacement of Bogut in the starting line-up. He corralled 13 boards and made all his 4 shots to tally 8 points.
"I could probably start with a lot of guys but Kurt was great," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. "He plugged up the middle for us, knocked down his shot, moved the ball around, boarded it. He was really active tonight.
"It's no secret the first couple of games they owned us in the paint, and we were able to take a couple of things away from them tonight."
Orlando Magic vs Charlotte Bobcats Series: Orlando leads 3-0
Bobcats first playoff home game ends with a loss. Nelson scored 32 points and matched his season high. Orlando needs only a win to advance.
"Jameer dominated the game again," Charlotte coach Larry Brown said. "His points in the first quarter were special, but I thought the last eight minutes of the game he was phenomenal. He's been phenomenal the whole series, and when you get in the playoffs your best players have to step up and he certainly has."
The Bobcats felt they had every opportunity to pick up their first playoff win, but were never able to capitalize on Howard's foul issues.
Phoenix Suns vs Portland Trail Blazers Series: Tied 2-2
Brandon Roy surprised Phoenix by returning in the playoffs after a knee surgery and helps the Blaizers tie the series, 96-87. "Having Brandon back helps tremendously," Aldridge said. The Suns "can't do some of the things they did to us early (in the series) with Brandon out there."
Orlando Magic vs Charlotte Bobcats Series: Magic leads 2-0
Orlando Magic proves to everyone that they are serious in chasing that elusive crown. They beat the Charlotte Bobcats 92-77 and take a 2-0 series lead. Carter tallied 19 points while Howard scored 15 points.
“Fortunate thing for us,” Carter said, “is we have a lot of weapons.”
Dallas Mavericks vs San Antonio Spurs Series: tied 1-1
Richard Jefferson helps San Antonio Spurs against the Dallas Mavericks to even their series 1-1. He scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half as they beat the Mavericks, 102-88. “My teammates were looking for me, coming off the pick-and-roll and throwing it back to me,” Jefferson said. “That’s pretty much my game. After I struggled the last game, I think there was a concerted effort to get me involved.”
Coach of the Year Oklahoma City Thunder Scott Brooks is the NBA Coach of the Year. He received 71 of 123 first-place votes. Brooks guided the youngest NBA team to a 50-game winner after a bad season last year.
"He’s someone that I think is incredibly consistent as a person. He is unaffected through adversities and also through successes, and I think that’s an important quality we want to have as we move forward,” Sam Presti (GM of the Thunder) said.
Deron Williams carried the Utah Jazz in notching their first win of the series against the Denver Nuggets, 114-111. Williams scored 33 points and tallied 14 assists while Carlos Boozer added 20 points and 15 rebounds to compensate the loss to injury of their two playoff veterans Okur and Kirilenko. Chauncey Billups 3 point attempt missed at the buzzer and almost got in, that should have tied the game.
“We can’t just give up on the season just because we don’t have those guys out here,” Williams said.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Chicago Bulls Series: Cavs leads 2-0
James scored 40 points, 15 in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers cruised to a 2-0 lead against the Chicago Bulls,112-102.
“They were telling me I can’t make jump shots,” James said. “They asked me to shoot a jumper so I did that. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.”
“They call me the closer every time I come in in the fourth quarter,” James said. “It’s my time to put the game away or do what I do best and that’s try to close the game the right way.”
Andre Miller scored 15 points in the fourth quarter and carried the Portland Trail Blazers against Phoenix Suns. Blazers was the first team to win on the road. With the absence of Brandoy Roy, the Blazers look vulnerable but the veteran gave them a cushion to win this one.
Dallas Mavericks(1) vs San Antonio Spurs(0)
Dirk Nowitzki leads Dallas Mavericks against the San Antonio Spurs, 100-94 in game 1 of their best of seven series. Dirk scored 36 points with an accurate field goal shooting accuracy. He made 12 of 14 shots and convert all his 12 free throws.
Los Angeles Lakers(1) vs Oklahoma City Thunder(0)
Bynum and Gasol dominates inside as the Lakers cruise past against the Thunder, 87-79 in game 1. Gasol has 19 points while Bynum showed a little rust added 13 points. Kobe Bryant had 21 points on 6-of-19 shooting. Ron Artest showed some brilliance in guarding Kevin Durant. Durant, the scroing champion average 30.1 points and in this game he just scored 24 points because of Artest.
Orlando Magic(1) vs Charlotte Bobcats(0)
Dwight Howard was in foul trouble but the Orlando Magic has Jameer Nelson who carried them in grabbing game 1 against Bobcats, 98-89. Nelson scored 24 of his 32 points in the first half.
“In the finals, I wasn’t myself,” Nelson said. “Not making any excuses, I was out there, so I should have helped my team out a little better. But it feels great being able to help these guys, and not be out there in a suit cheering them on as much as I did last year.”
Celtics overcome a 14 point lead and won game 1 of the series against the Miami Heat, 85-76. But they might loss Kevin Garnet in game 2 because of a late technical and confrontation with Quentin Richardson. Garnet hits Richardson with an elbow in the face. He was given a technical and its his second of the game, he was thrown out in the game with 40 seconds left and Celtics was winning.
Cleveland Cavaliers(1) vs Chicago Bulls(0)
Shaq and Lebron leads the Cavs in game 1 of their series against Bulls, 96-83. Shaq is dominant force inside, playing for the first time since Feb. 25. He scores 12 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Lebron scored 24 points, displaying his all around game.
"We", James said, "have the look of a champion".
Denver Nuggets(1) vs Utah Jazz(0)
Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith lead the Nuggets in a 126-113 win over the Utah Jazz. Anthony recorded a playoff career-high 42 points while Smith, frustrates the Utah Jazz with his good shooting accuracy in the three point lines.
It’s the playoffs,” Anthony said. “Tonight, shots were falling. I was patient, taking advantage of what they were doing. When they played me straight up, I took advantage of that, I made shots. When they double-teamed, I passed the ball, made my teammates better.”
Atlanta Hawks(1) vs Milwaukee Bucks(0)
Joe Johnson scored 22 points to lead the Hawks in winning game 1 of the Hawks-Bucks series, 102-92. The hawks took advantage of the mismatches all over the court. Andre Bogut presence was really missed by the Bucks. The 34 points performance of Brandon Jennings is not enough to carry them in the game.
Who will succeed? 16 teams left with 1 goal in mind, NBA Champions. First round of NBA playoffs will start on April 17, 2010. Pick your team now.
Eastern Conference
Cleveland Cavaliers(1) vs Chicago Bulls(8) regular season: (2-2) prediction: Cavaliers in 6th - I believe its Lebron's time to reach the NBA Finals
Orlando Magic(2) vs Charlotte Bobcats(7) regular season: Magic lead 3-1 prediction: Orlando in 5th - Dwight Howard is the factor
Atlanta Hawks(3) vs Milwaukee Bucks(6) regular season: Hawks lead(2-1) prediction: Hawks in 5th because of Andrew Bogut absence.
Boston Celtics(4) vs Miami Heat(5) regular season: Celtics lead(3-0) prediction: Celtics in 7th - watch Wade but Boston's big three will still the difference
Western Conference
Los Angeles Lakers(1) vs Oklahoma City Thunder(8) regular season: Lakers lead(3-1) prediction: Lakers in 6th - length and versatility is too much for the Thunder
Dallas Mavericks(2) vs San Antonio Spurs(7) regular season: Dallas leads(3-1) prediction: Mavericks in 6th - deep bench
Phoenix Suns(3) vs Portland Trailblazers(6) regular season: Portland leads(2-1) prediction: Suns in 6th - because of Brandon Roy's injury
Denver Nuggets(4) vs Utah Jazz(5) regular season: Nuggets lead(3-1) prediction: Nuggets in 7th - experience will be the factor
