The 2012-13 Basketball Season Is Here

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Denver beats Spurs 96-86 for 21st home win in row



DENVER (AP) The surging Denver Nuggets haven't gotten to the point of judging the quality of their wins. Coach George Karl knows a clunker when he sees one, though.

"It was an ugly, sloppy win,'' Karl said after watching the tired Nuggets' landmark 96-86 victory over the equally short-handed San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.

"But we'll take it,'' Karl said.

Wilson Chandler scored 29 points and Corey Brewer had 28 as the Nuggets overcame a slow start to post their franchise-record 21st straight home win while also tying their franchise record of 54 wins in an NBA season.

They have four games left, including two at home, where they improved to a league-best 36-3, tying yet another franchise mark that was set in 1976-77.

Andre Iguodala recorded his first triple-double of the season with 12 points, 10 assists and 13 rebounds for the Nuggets, who haven't lost at home since Jan. 18 against Washington, and JaVale McGee provided stellar defense on Tim Duncan (17 points).

"The team has a resilient attitude toward whatever has to happen in a game to win it,'' Karl said. "And tonight's game was very strange in a lot of ways. But our guys just kept fighting and things finally came our way offensively and we sustained our defensive effort for most of the game.

"They missed a lot of open 3s I thought early in the game. And we got the hot players. Wilson and Corey were the hot players on the court and they kind of never found that guy for them.''

The Nuggets broke the old mark of 20 straight home wins set by Doug Moe's 1984-85 team. And they did it by overcoming a 14-0 deficit. Denver took a 38-37 lead into the locker room at halftime and atoned for its slow start by scoring the first 13 points of the fourth quarter.

That gave the Nuggets an 82-63 lead.

"They turned up their defensive intensity and turned it into some points,'' Duncan said. "We got back on our heels a little bit. Still stayed in the game. Did a great job of sticking around. We just couldn't make shots consistently and their pressure got to us.''

Even with Duncan sitting out the fourth quarter, the Spurs fought back, pulling to 89-82 on Gary Neal's 3-pointer with 2:33 remaining. DeJuan Blair added 17 points and his three-point play with 1:33 left made it 91-86, but the Spurs didn't score again.

"We started out pretty well but then they made their run and at the end we couldn't hold it off,'' said Spurs guard Cory Joseph.

Point guards Ty Lawson and Tony Parker sat out the showdown, Parker with a sore back and Lawson with an ailing right heel, and their absences were felt when both teams shot just 36 percent in an ugly first half.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he didn't want to risk playing Parker in light of his team's injury epidemic. Popovich revealed that Boris Diaw will miss two to three weeks with a back injury, and Manu Ginobili has missed several games with a strained right hamstring. Parker also has been dealing with a balky left ankle.

With Parker out, the Spurs struggled from long range, missing 17 of 21 3-pointers.

Lawson has missed eight of Denver's last nine games and five straight. He has a torn right plantar fascia and returned to practice Tuesday. Karl, who lost starting forward Danilo Gallinari to a torn ACL last week, said he needs to see more progress from Lawson before he puts him back in the lineup.

"If it was a playoff game, he would have played,'' Karl said.

Kenneth Faried, the victim of Patty Mill's flagrant foul in the first half, walked gingerly from the court after the game with a dazed look, but Karl said he was fine.

"The one I kind of got a little nervous on was I thought Corey kind of tweaked his knee on that last play with about a minute to go. It seemed like his knee went the wrong way,'' Karl said. "I wasn't worried about Kenneth. Kenneth's pretty tough. I think he likes getting hit like that.''

Neither Faried nor Brewer said anything afterward about being hurt. Faried said he wouldn't miss any games.

Denver took a 69-63 lead into the fourth quarter. By the time Blair scored San Antonio's next basket with 7:51 left, the Nuggets had gone on a 37-10 tear.

The Nuggets have two home games remaining, against Portland on Sunday and Phoenix on Wednesday night, to try to break the team record for home victories since joining the NBA 37 years ago. Denver went 36-5 at home under coach Larry Brown in 1976-77.

The Spurs scored the game's first 14 points, much to the chagrin of the Pepsi Center crowd, which was implored to stand until the Nuggets scored their first points. They finally sat when Chandler sank a running jump shot at the 6:45 mark.

The Nuggets shot several airballs in the first quarter, when they were just 5 for 23 from the floor and missed their only free throw.

"Our bench,'' Chandler said when asked what got them back into the game.

"We needed energy,'' said Brewer, who took a career-high 25 shots. "They came out firing on all cylinders. So, I just tried to come in and push the pace, get us running and it worked out for us.''

The Spurs weren't immune from the shooting foibles, missing 20 of 24 during one stretch as the Nuggets clawed their way back into the game and finally took a 38-37 lead into the locker room. That marked the Spurs' lowest-scoring half of the season and only Chandler's bucket in the final minute of the second quarter prevented the Nuggets from tying their low of 36 points for a half this season.

"I thought the whole game had a lot of weirdness to it,'' Karl said. "... I don't know if it was the way the game was refereed, two good offenses struggling to score, I'm sure they missed their playmakers; we missed our playmakers.''

Notes: Karl said his players complained about the two hard practices leading to the game and he thought that was why they walked the ball upcourt more than he'd like. So, he's giving them Thursday off yet hoping Lawson comes in for some work. ... The Nuggets went 54-28 in both 1987-88 and 2008-09. ... The Spurs' previous worst half was a 38-point effort at Minnesota on March 12. The Nuggets scored 36 points in each half against Memphis on Dec. 29.

 

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Bryant has 47 in Lakers' 113-106 over Blazers



PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) It didn't matter that it was the Rose Garden. The "M-V-P!'' chant for Kobe Bryant was loud and clear.

Bryant scored a season-high 47 points and carried the Los Angeles Lakers closer to a playoff berth with a 113-106 victory over the short-handed but tenacious Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.

The Lakers moved a full game up on the Utah Jazz for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

"We've got no breathing room at all,'' Bryant said. "I'm still on edge. We've got to win three more games and we're in.''

Portland, missing the playoffs for the second straight season, has lost nine straight, the most since an 11-game skid in the 2005-06 season. Rookie Damian Lillard led the Blazers with a career-high 38 points.

Pau Gasol had 23 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, while Dwight Howard added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers. Bryant was 18 of 18 from the free throw line and played the entire game, determined to pull out a win after trailing early.

"What he (Bryant) is doing is phenomenal. He's determined to get us in the playoffs,'' Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said. "That's what happens when you open your mouth and guarantee that we'll get in the playoffs.''

Bryant vowed in late February that his team would make it to the postseason. The Lakers wrap up the regular season at home with games against playoff-bound Golden State, San Antonio and Houston.

Gasol knotted the game at 96 with a layup and a jumper with 7:09 left. After Lillard's 15-footer, Gasol added another jumper to tie it again. His layup gave the Lakers a 102-100 edge before Bryant hit a pair of free throws and added a 23-foot jump shot with 4:09 left to make it 106-100.

Howard's alley-oop dunk from Gasol with 53 seconds left made it 110-104 and all but sealed it.

For much of the game, it seemed like Bryant the veteran against Lillard the upstart rookie.

"He's spectacular ... really fantastic,'' Bryant said of the Blazers' five-time rookie of the month. "A lot of players get hot, but he's got the moves, patience, intelligence, the balance on his jumpers. He's the real deal.''

Lillard has grown up admiring Bryant.

"I got to guard him and he got to guard me,'' Lillard said. "I enjoyed the challenge. "'

The deck was stacked from the start against the Blazers, who started four rookies for the first time in the team's history.

Portland was without starters Wesley Matthews (ankle), J.J. Hickson (back) and Nicolas Batum (right shoulder). As a result, two-time All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge was the only veteran starting with rookie forward Victor Claver, guards Lillard and Will Barton, and center Meyers Leonard.

Matthews injured his right ankle in Portland's 96-91 loss to Dallas on Sunday, while Batum was missing his fourth straight game with a sore shoulder. Hickson says he's been dealing with a painful lower back for the past several games.

But the rookies got off to an astonishingly fast start, going up 17-8 on Lillard's fadeaway jumper. Lillard banked in a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 22-12 and the Blazers made eight of their first nine shots from the field.

He hit another 3 to make it 35-25 and the Blazers went on to lead 41-33 at the end of the first, their most points in the opening quarter this season.

The Lakers chipped away at the lead and Bryant's long jumper on the baseline closed Los Angeles to 50-48.

The Blazers led 69-61 at the break, but the Lakers opened the second half with a 10-0 run capped by Howard's hook shot to pull ahead 71-69, their first lead of the game. Howard's layup extended the lead to 78-71.

The Blazers were hurt when Claver rolled his ankle late in the third quarter and retreated to the locker room, but they stayed on the Lakers' heels, coming within 86-85 on Eric Maynor's running jumper and pulling in front on Luke Babbitt's 3 pointer.

Maynor's fadeaway put Portland up 95-90.

"It was a very good effort by our team, but unfortunately we couldn't pull it out,'' Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "A couple of plays down the stretch could have gone either way, a couple of shots could have gone either way. For the most part, I thought it was a well-played game against a team that's pretty hungry to make the playoffs.''

Notes: Combined with the Lakers' 104-96 victory over New Orleans on Tuesday night, it was the first time this season the Lakers had won both games of a back-to-back. ... Lillard was awarded the NBA's Community Assist award for March because of his anti-bullying campaign. He is the fourth rookie to win the honor, and first since Atlanta's Al Horford in 2008. More than 5,000 fans have signed a pledge to help end bullying as part of Lillard's "Respect'' program. ... Lillard became second Portland rookie to go over 500 assists. Kelvin Ransey had 555 in the 1980-81 season. ... The Blazers had won three straight and 12 of their last 14 against the Lakers at the Rose Garden.

 

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Clippers rout Trail Blazers 93-77



LOS ANGELES (AP) Chauncey Billups is back in the starting lineup for the Los Angeles Clippers, just in time to begin what they hope is an extended run in the playoffs.

The veteran guard's mere presence was enough for his teammates in their sixth straight win, 93-77 over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night. He had four points - all on free throws - while playing 17 minutes, just under the limit set for him after he missed eight games with a strained right groin.

"I was happy to be out there running around,'' said Billups, who shot 0 for 5 from the field. "I was a little too excited with my shots.''

Caron Butler scored 18 of his 22 points in the third quarter in his return from a sore right knee. Blake Griffin added 16 points, DeAndre Jordan had 10 points and nine rebounds, and Chris Paul had 11 assists for the Pacific Division champions, who finished their home schedule with a 32-9 record.

They end the regular season on Wednesday at Sacramento, and another win or a Memphis loss would ensure the Clippers have home-court advantage to start the playoffs.

"Our mindset is we're going to go earn it,'' Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said.

The Clippers remain in the hunt for the No. 3 seed in the West, but they need help from Denver. The Nuggets would need to lose at home to Phoenix and the Clippers would need to win on the road to move up.

"We're playing the right way and jumping on teams early,'' Jordan said. "Our defense is really what's separating us as the games go on.''

Billups has had a front-row seat to watch his teammates while he's been out.

"The biggest thing that I like is that our emphasis on defensive end has been a lot better,'' he said. "Our focus on stopping guys on the pick-and-roll one night or rotating and running guys off the 3-point line one night. We've been able to change it up game-to-game pretty successfully and that's going to be big in the playoffs.''

Will Barton scored 17 points and Joel Freeland added 13 for the Blazers, who never led while losing their 12th in a row.

The Clippers were dominant in the paint (46-30) and on the boards (51-33) while wrapping up the season series 3-1.

"They picked up their defense and their energy, and as soon as that happens, it's tough to maintain yours,'' Freeland said. "They were running. They were beating us on the fast breaks and things like that. It was tough, but we had to try and keep more composed than what we were, but we couldn't seem to do that.''

Five of the previous six meetings between the teams in Los Angeles had been decided by 10 points or fewer. It was never that close after the second quarter, when the Clippers pulled away on the strength of their bench.

"There were a lot of possessions where we really executed,'' Paul said. "I really got excited when we ran some of our actions to perfection and really paid attention to detail because that's what we're going to have to do in the playoffs.''

The reserves scored 15 consecutive points for a 45-29 lead, including five by Ryan Hollins. He and Jamal Crawford combined for the quarter's most spectacular play, with Crawford flipping a no-look pass to a streaking Hollins on the fast break for a driving jam. Hollins got fouled and completed the three-point play.

The starters returned for the final four minutes and sent the Clippers into the half leading 54-36.

"We got stops and our second team did a great job, and made it tough for them to score,'' Griffin said.

Butler had the hot hand in the third, hitting four 3-pointers in his first game since sitting out the second half at Memphis last weekend.

The highlight dunk of the third belonged to Jordan. Paul found him on the break and Jordan dunked with his fingertips. The starters rested in the fourth. Twelve of the 13 Clippers scored in the game.


NOTES: Paul and Griffin addressed the crowd before tipoff to thank them for their support. "Are we having fun yet this year or what? The best is yet to come, folks,'' longtime Clippers broadcaster Ralph Lawler told the fans. ... The Blazers started four rookies - Barton, Victor Claver, Meyers Leonard and Damian Lillard - for the second time in franchise history. The quartet also started against the Lakers last week. ... Portland wraps up its losing season against Golden State on Wednesday. ... A 27-year-old man hit a half-court shot to win a new car, the second time it's happened this season. Jordan led the applause for him during a timeout.

 

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DeRozan, Gay lead Raptors past Hawks 113-96



ATLANTA (AP) The Atlanta Hawks want to be well-rested for the playoffs.

They certainly didn't use up any energy Tuesday night.

DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points, Rudy Gay added 22 and the Toronto Raptors ran all over the playoff-bound Hawks, 113-96.

The Raptors made two-thirds of their shots in the first half, sprinting to a 68-51 lead as DeRozan scored 19 points and Gay chipped in with 17. Atlanta went mostly with backups, showing no sense of urgency to claim the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference.

"I'm going to err on the side of caution,'' Hawks coach Larry Drew said.

Atlanta fell into a tie with Chicago for the fifth spot. The teams finish the regular season on Wednesday, with the Hawks traveling to New York to face the Knicks, while the Bulls are home against lowly Washington. Chicago holds the tiebreaker.

Kyle Korver led the Hawks with 13 points, extending his 3-point streak to 73 consecutive games.

But he didn't sound too thrilled about the way Atlanta is playing going to the playoffs.

"I just go in the game when they tell me to,'' Korver said. "For some people, the rest is good. But you also want to be in a rhythm. There's a balance to it. We're kind of walking that right now.''

Atlanta center Al Horford didn't play, sitting out because of soreness in his left chest, and the rest of the Hawks took the night off as well - certainly at the defensive end.

Toronto ran right through the Hawks for too many dunks and layups to count, making 26 of 39 from the field in the opening half. Amazingly, the Raptors put up 68 points before the break while turning it over 11 times. It was like watching the Globetrotters against the Washington Generals, as Toronto set season highs for points in a half as well as a quarter, scoring 38 in the second.

"Too bad it's coming at this time when we're out of the playoffs,'' Raptors guard Kyle Lowry said.

Atlanta was never up by more than two, and its last lead was 19-18. The Hawks trailed by double digits the rest of the way after DeRozan knocked down a 3-pointer with 4 minutes left in the opening half.

"We're playing freely. We're going out there and not thinking so much, playing with our abilities and instincts,'' DeRozan said. "We've got a lot of talent on this team. When we play like we played tonight, we're tough to beat.''

The Hawks are part of the only race left in the East, but they are playing like a team that wants no part of a position that might mean a possible meeting with the defending champion Miami Heat in the second round.

Then again, it may not matter where the Hawks finish. They are limping to the end of a season that will be surely be followed by major changes, with Drew and much of the roster - including Josh Smith - in the final year of contracts. Atlanta has lost 14 of its last 25 games, hardly a team on a roll heading to the playoffs.

"My focus right now is to try to keep this team competing at a high level, which I didn't think we did in the first half,'' Drew said. "We came out a little soft, and played as if we were just winding it down.''

The Raptors led 96-75 at the end of the third, allowing DeRozan and Gay to spend the entire fourth quarter on the bench. Jonas Valanciunas scored 13 points, Amir Johnson had 11 and Lowry dished out 11 assists.

Toronto is showing some life at the end of another disappointing season, winning its fourth in a row - all over playoff teams.

"Our start put us in this hole,'' coach Dwane Casey said. "We're going the direction we need to be going in as far as building a program.''

Korver hit a couple of 3-pointers in the opening minutes to keep his franchise-record streak alive. Rookie Mike Scott and Ivan Johnson each scored 12 points, with Scott also grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds for his first double-double in the NBA. Shelvin Mack added 11 points.

Toronto's Terrence Ross appeared to reinjure his left ankle late in the game when he landed on an Atlanta's player's foot. He hobbled off the court and didn't return.


NOTES: A moment of silence was held before the game to honor victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. ... The Hawks rested G DeShawn Stevenson. ... Valanciunas returned after missing two games with a whiplash-like condition. ... Toronto closes the season Wednesday at home against Boston. ... The Raptors improved to 16-16 since acquiring Gay from Memphis. ... The only Hawks starter to play more than 20 minutes was center Johan Petro. Smith played only 12:44 and spent the entire second half watching from the bench, a towel covering his head.

 

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Knicks win finale, Hawks get No. 6 seed in East



NEW YORK (AP) A patchwork lineup was good enough against an opponent that chose sitting over seeding.

Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and the rest of the New York Knicks will be back Saturday against a team that will bring its best.

Chris Copeland scored 33 points on a night that belonged to the benches, and the Knicks wrapped up their winningest season in 16 years by beating the Atlanta Hawks 98-92 on Wednesday.

With Anthony, the NBA scoring champion, and just about every important player on either side sitting, the Knicks finished 54-28, their most victories since going 57-25 in 1996-97.

"A good team effort,'' coach Mike Woodson said. "I thought they fought all the way to the end and were able to come out with a "W' and now we have to get ready for Saturday.''

New York is the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and will host the No. 7 Boston Celtics on Saturday afternoon.

"It's going to be a war. It's going be a battle every game,'' Knicks forward Iman Shumpert said. "We're just hoping to win our four games and keep moving.''

Atlanta would have earned the No. 5 seed in the East with a victory and a Chicago loss but apparently had no interest, resting Josh Smith, Al Horford, Jeff Teague, Devin Harris and Kyle Korver.

The Bulls beat Washington anyway, and the Hawks settled for sixth and will face No. 3 Indiana in the first round.

"They are a good team and it is going to take a heck of an effort to beat them in a seven-game series,'' Hawks coach Larry Drew said.

Anthony finished with 28.7 points per game to end Kevin Durant's three-year run as scoring champion. Durant also sat out Wednesday and stayed at 28.1 per game, making Anthony the first Knicks player since newly elected Hall of Famer Bernard King in 1984-85 to lead the league.

J.R. Smith, Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd also sat, while Chandler and Kenyon Martin remained out with injuries, but are expected to be ready for the playoff opener.

But it was an otherwise bad day in a strong regular season for the Knicks, as Rasheed Wallace retired again earlier Wednesday because of continued pain in his left foot.

Sidelined since December, Wallace came back Monday against Charlotte but lasted just 4 minutes before pulling himself out.

He had quickly become a key contributor on the court and an important leader in the locker room after ending a two-year retirement to join the Knicks. He was at the game sitting behind the bench, and coach Mike Woodson said he hopes the 38-year-old forward will hang around.

Guard Pablo Prigioni, who had moved into the starting lineup late in the season, sprained his right ankle in the first quarter and didn't return. The Knicks said X-rays were negative and Woodson said he wasn't sure if Prigioni would be ready for Saturday's game.

Shumpert motioned to come out of the game immediately after throwing a lob pass on the fast break in the fourth quarter and remained on the bench for the rest of the game. His injury was just a cramp and he said afterward he was fine. Copeland hurt his shoulder but kept shooting through the pain, going 14 of 29 in his second straight 30-point performance.

James White scored 20 points for the Knicks and Shumpert had 18. Earl Barron, signed earlier Wednesday, finished with 11 points and 18 rebounds.

Mike Scott had 23 points and 14 rebounds for the Hawks, who lost their final two games. John Jenkins scored 20 points.

Notes: Quentin Richardson, signed Tuesday by the Knicks, scored five points on 1-of-11 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds. ... New York swept the series for the first time since 2003-04 and has won the past four meetings. ... Referee Courtney Kirkland appeared to injure his left knee in the fourth quarter and had to be helped to the bench.

 

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Curry sets 3s mark; Warriors beat Blazers 99-88



PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Stephen Curry couldn't wait to get his record out of the way.

Curry broke the NBA single-season mark for 3-pointers with 272 and the Golden State Warriors defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 99-88 on Wednesday in the regular season finale for both teams.

Curry surpassed Ray Allen's 3-point total of 269 set in 2005-06. Needing two for the record, Curry opened the game with two straight misses from beyond the arc, but hit his first midway through the first quarter before making the record-breaker with 6:49 to go in the second.

"I was nervous to be honest with you. I had butterflies,'' Curry said. "It was like the elephant in the room.''

The feat accomplished, Curry was able to help the Warriors get the win and secure the sixth seed in the Western Conference.

Golden State will face the Nuggets in a first-round game Saturday in Denver.

"I was just so happy to get it out of the way so I could focus on the game,'' he said. "It's hard to do both, to be honest with you.''

His backcourt teammate Klay Thompson led the Warriors (47-35) with 24 points.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 30 points and a season-high 21 rebounds for Portland (33-49), which lost its 13th straight game to equal the franchise record set in the 1971-72 season. It was the Blazers' eighth straight loss at home, a franchise record.

"We started out the season doing better that everyone thought. We kind of stalled there at the end with injuries and guys being out, but I thought throughout the whole year guys tried to get better and worked hard every day,'' Aldridge said after the Blazers thanked their fans in a postgame T-shirt giveaway. "The young guys came in and they tried to learn the game. That's all you can ask right now.''

Golden State led by as many as 16 points in the first half but the Blazers closed the gap to 66-60 late in the third quarter on rookie Damian Lillard's layup. Sasha Pavlovic followed with a 3-pointer to pull Portland within 3.

Meyers Leonard hit a jumper to get the Blazers within 76-73 with 7:36 left in the game, but Thompson answered for the Warriors with a 3 and Portland couldn't get any closer.

Curry hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game with 5:56 to go, putting Golden State up 91-77. He finished with 15 points.

"That's a lot of 3s,'' Warriors coach Mark Jackson said about Curry's record. "Just unbelievable. An unbelievable season, and a great accomplishment for him.''

The Warriors saw the return of center Andrew Bogut, who missed two games because of a bone bruise on his left ankle. Bogut has missed 42 games this season because of the ankle, which he had microfracture surgery on last April. Bogut finished with two points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes.

Portland was without starting forward Nicolas Batum, who missed the team's final eight games with a right shoulder injury, and shooting guard Wesley Matthews, who missed the last five games with a sprained right ankle.

"It's up to us to make sure that we erase this as soon as possible next year, Matthews said following the game.

The Warriors led by as many as eight points early, but the Blazers kept it close and pulled within 26-24 on Aldridge's jumper. Golden State answered with an 18-5 run to go up 44-29 on Thompson's 3-pointer.

The Warriors took a 50-36 lead into the half.

David Lee had 20 points and 10 rebounds for his league-leading 56th double-double, becoming the first Warrior to finish atop the league since Wilt Chamberlain had a double-double in all 80 games in the 1963-64 season.

Lillard finished with 21 points for the Blazers.

"They had something to play for, and we had something to prove,'' Lillard said. "They are a top team in the West and we wanted to come out and compete with them.''

Notes: Blazers owner Paul Allen presented Damian Lillard his Rookie of the Month award for March. Lillard has won all five of the rookie awards this season. ... Allen met with reporters before the game on Wednesday night to assess the season. "It's painful to be on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs,'' Allen acknowledged, but noted that he is encouraged for the future by Portland's young talent. ... Chuck Charnquist, the Blazers' media room manager and team historian, worked his final game after 43 years with the team. ... ... Curry is donating three bed nets for every 3-pointer he makes this season to the Nothing But Nets campaign, which seeks to protect families in Africa from mosquitoes that carry

 

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Lakers hold off Rockets, take West's 7th seed



LOS ANGELES (AP) Dwight Howard had a simple message for the Lakers after Chandler Parsons' 34-foot, line-drive 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer added five more minutes to the final game of Los Angeles' already exhausting regular season.

Nothing has been easy for the Lakers all year long, Howard told his teammates. Why should the finale be any different?

With five more minutes of perseverance, the Lakers ended up with quite a reward. After getting up Wednesday morning with no guarantee their season wouldn't end that night, they surged into the seventh playoff spot in the West with a 99-95 overtime victory over the Houston Rockets.

Steve Blake scored 24 points and Pau Gasol added his seventh career triple-double for the Lakers (45-37), who only clinched a postseason berth about 10 minutes before tipoff. Despite Parsons' improbable tying basket, Los Angeles won again without Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash, earning a first-round date with second-seeded San Antonio.

"I'm proud of the whole team and the way they stepped up at the end of the year,'' said Blake, who added seven assists and seven rebounds to cap his second impressive game in Bryant's absence. "We definitely expected more at the beginning of the year, but we're proud we're here. ... I couldn't believe it when a couple of days ago somebody said we even had a chance to be in the seventh spot, and now we're there.''

Gasol had 17 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists in his second triple-double in three games for the Lakers, who avoided the embarrassment of missing the playoffs for just the second time in Bryant's 17-year career.

Howard had 16 points and 18 rebounds for the Lakers, and the All-Star center blocked James Harden's shot in the final seconds of overtime to finish up the Lakers' fifth straight win, their eighth in nine games.

"From where we were 20 or 30 games ago, a seven (seed) is pretty good,'' coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We shouldn't have been in that spot in the first place, but it's our fault.''

Antawn Jamison added 16 points as the Lakers won their second straight without Bryant, who tore his Achilles tendon last Friday and watched another game from his home in Orange County. Nash hasn't played in eight games with a hamstring injury, but the Lakers finished the regular season with a gritty comeback win despite Chandler's heroics.

"We've fought through so much adversity already,'' Gasol said. "We knew we could handle a little more.''

Parsons hit a tying 3-pointer from three steps behind the line at the regulation buzzer for the Rockets (45-37), who will face top-seeded Oklahoma City after losing four of six to end the regular season.

Harden scored 30 points and Parsons had 23 for the Rockets, who already knew they were back in the postseason after a three-year absence, but could have ended up in three seedings depending on Wednesday's results. Houston had a shot at the No. 6 spot before Golden State beat Portland earlier, but Los Angeles holds the tiebreaker on the Rockets.

"If we play their pace, their two big guys just control the game after a while,'' Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "We went through some stretches where we struggled offensively. We were stopping them, but they were just getting second and third shots. That killed us.''

Houston led for most of the night before the Lakers went ahead with 6 1/2 minutes to play, but both teams struggled offensively in the final minutes before Parsons ended up alone with the ball near midcourt in the final seconds after a broken-play scramble. His desperate 3-pointer had almost no arch, but dropped in to force overtime.

Neither team made a shot in overtime until Gasol's jumper with 2:26 left, ending a field-goal drought of more than eight minutes for the Lakers. After Jodie Meeks drove the baseline and dunked in the final minute, Howard stepped in front of Harden and blocked the Houston star's drive with 20 seconds left.

Blake and Meeks hit free throws in the final seconds to wrap it up.

"The Lakers did a good job down the stretch, and we didn't do as good of a job,'' said Jeremy Lin, who had 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting. "We didn't get the looks we wanted to get, and we ended up with a lot of tough shots down the stretch.''

The Lakers nursed a small lead over the Jazz (43-39) down the stretch of their tumultuous season, but Utah held the tiebreaker. The Lakers were aware that the Jazz's 86-70 loss in Memphis had clinched Los Angeles' eighth straight postseason berth, but the Lakers still had ample reason to play hard against the Rockets, given their likely preference for facing San Antonio instead of Oklahoma City, which easily ousted the Lakers in last season's second round.

Houston stayed ahead for most of the first 3 1/2 quarters with steady offense from Harden and Parsons, particularly in transition. The Lakers' personnel deficiencies showed in their second game without Bryant, with coach Mike D'Antoni even fielding a backcourt in the first quarter featuring seldom-used Darius Morris and Andrew Goudelock, signed from the NBA D-League last weekend.

Houston built its lead up to 11 points in the third quarter, but Los Angeles chipped away steadily in the fourth, going ahead 81-79 on Blake's fourth 3-pointer with 6:36 to play.

NOTES: Howard grabbed his 9,000th career rebound in the first quarter, becoming the youngest player to reach the mark, 14 days faster than Wilt Chamberlain. Howard, who went straight from high school to the NBA, is only the 13th-fastest in terms of games (697). ... Houston has won just one playoff round since 1997. The Lakers haven't been knocked out in the first round of the postseason since 2007. ... Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki of "The Big Bang Theory'' attended the game, with Houston native Parsons wearing a Rockets hat.

 

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Clippers edge Grizzlies 93-91 on Paul's shot



LOS ANGELES (AP) Making game-winning shots in the final seconds is one reason the Los Angeles Clippers brought Chris Paul to town. He came up big with a tenth of a second left against the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.

Paul's running jumper against Tony Allen's defense gave the Clippers a 93-91 victory and a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.

"Tony played as good as defense as you can,'' Paul said. "I looked up at the clock and thought I better get a shot off.''

Both teams stayed on the court while the referees reviewed the play. It was declared good, leaving Memphis a tick of the clock to inbound the ball but not enough to get off a final shot.

"It hurts,'' said Mike Conley, who scored a playoff-career high 28 points for Memphis. "We wanted to come here and steal one.''

Paul finished with 24 points and nine assists, Blake Griffin added 21 points and eight rebounds and Jamal Crawford scored 15 points on the day he finished second to J.R. Smith of the Knicks for the league's Sixth Man of the Year award.

"We were on him, the kid made a tough shot,'' Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said of Paul. "He's a great player and he made a big shot.''

Paul carried the Clippers in the final 3:46, scoring eight straight points, including a basket that gave them a 91-89 lead with 1:20 to play.

"The way Conley was blowing by me at the other end, the least I could do was make a couple shots,'' Paul said.

Conley led the Grizzlies' fourth-quarter charge that came up just short. He had 10 points in the period, while Darrell Arthur scored five straight when Randolph was on the bench to pull Memphis into an 89-all tie.

Conley found Marc Gasol alone in the paint and the big man dunked to tie the game 91-all with 13 seconds left.

Griffin won a hard-fought jump ball, but Paul missed a 3-pointer. He redeemed himself and set off a raucous reaction - with longtime Clippers fan Billy Crystal pumping both arms in the air - when he drove the right baseline against Allen and banked in the game-winner.

"I was supposed to send him back to the left. He got right and that's what he does in close games,'' Allen said. "I definitely let my team down by not sending him back to his weak hand.

"The guy made an amazing shot and all you can do is just deal with the results.''

Gasol added 17 points, Allen had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Zach Randolph had 13 points while racking up five fouls for the second straight game.

Game 3 is Thursday in Memphis.

The Clippers' bench started the fourth quarter and ran off eight straight points for the game's first double-digit lead, 81-71. Eric Bledsoe and Matt Barnes had four points each.

Conley answered with five straight points to close the Grizzlies within seven points.

Griffin and Paul joined the second unit, and Griffin scored on a driving dunk for an 85-76 lead. The Clippers returned to their high-flying ways after Lob City managed just one dunk in the series opener.

"My teammates got me open shots and easy looks and that gets me going,'' Griffin said. "We kept moving the ball.''

The Clippers led by seven points early in the third before the game turned into a back-and-forth affair. Memphis briefly regained a one-point lead and then tied it 59-all on Arthur's dunk before Paul scored six of the Clippers' final 13 points to send them into the fourth leading 75-71.

Neither team led by more than eight points in the first half, with the Clippers ahead 50-44 at halftime. The Grizzlies led most of the first quarter before the Clippers tied it late on a 3-pointer from the right corner by Crawford.

Los Angeles controlled the second quarter, when Crawford got hot. He was 6 of 6 for 13 points before missing a shot.


NOTES: The Clippers have won nine in a row, including seven straight to end the regular season. ... The Clippers owned a 40-38 edge on the boards for the second straight game. ... Los Angeles County Coroner's officials said Monday that the son of Clippers owner Donald Sterling died from a pulmonary embolism after injecting narcotic medication meant to be taken orally. The report also listed diabetes as a significant condition in the death of Scott Ashley Sterling, who was found in his Malibu apartment on Jan. 1. He was 32. ... Former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt made a rare public appearance at the game.

 

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Bulls shut down Nets 90-82, even series at 1-1



NEW YORK (AP) Whatever pain Joakim Noah was feeling in that achy right foot would have to wait.

Blowing a chance to even the Chicago Bulls' playoff series would have hurt so much worse.

Noah gutted his way through a foot injury that made it difficult to even run in Game 1, making three fourth-quarter baskets as the Bulls beat the Brooklyn Nets 90-82 on Monday night to tie their first-round series at one game apiece.

"I thought overall, I thought Jo was very rusty in the first game but willed it, and I thought he willed it again tonight and we needed every bit of it,'' Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "To me, it's obvious we're a much better team with him on the floor.''

Carlos Boozer had 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Luol Deng bounced back from a poor opener with 15 points and 10 boards for the Bulls, who became the first team to win a road game this postseason.

They did it the only way they know how: with bruising Bulls defense.

"I feel like overall our team played passionate basketball tonight and that's a plus, because it was ugly in that Game 1,'' Noah said.

Chicago held the Nets to two baskets in the third quarter to build a big enough lead to hold off a charge in the fourth.

Noah finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, who host Game 3 on Thursday.

Brook Lopez scored 21 points for the Nets, who shot 35 percent from the field and were just 4 of 21 from 3-point range. Star point guard Deron Williams was 1 of 9, finishing with eight points.

"We didn't get stops, which was the key for us because then we couldn't get out and run like we wanted to,'' Williams said. "We have to do a better job defensively next game. I've got to do a better job of everything really. This was a bad one for me.''

After an unrecognizable defensive effort in a 106-89 loss in Game 1, when they allowed the Nets to shoot 16 of 20 in the second quarter, the Bulls got back to the mentality that has helped them overcome a number of injuries, including the season-long absence of Derrick Rose.

Noah, who has battled plantar fasciitis and whose status was in question coming into the series, played 25 1-2 minutes, just passing the 20-to-25 that Thibodeau said he would be limited to.

The All-Star center, who grew up and played high school basketball here, missed 12 of the final 15 games of the regular season. He was ineffective in 13 minutes Saturday, finishing with four points, but he was all over the court in the second half Monday, scoring 11 points and grabbing seven rebounds and fighting for any loose ball he could get near.

"He's willing it is what he's doing, and to his credit,'' Thibodeau said.

Joe Johnson scored 17 points but shot 6 of 18 for the Nets, who couldn't even reach the 87.5 points they averaged against the Bulls in the regular season, let alone the 106 they rang up in the opener.

Two nights after the first major postseason game in Brooklyn since the 1956 World Series, the crowd wasn't as energetic and neither were the Nets, who didn't give the fans much to cheer about with poor starts in both halves.

"Our execution when they made an adjustment or when they increased the defensive pressure, we didn't handle it or react as well as we need to,'' Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said.

The Nets didn't make their first field goal of the third quarter until Williams' only basket of the game with 6:35 remaining in the period. Reggie Evans dunked less than a minute later, but that was about it for the Nets' offense.

Boozer converted a three-point play to start a 9-2 run to end the period, and Chicago was ahead 69-57.

Brooklyn was 2 of 19 (10.5 percent) in the quarter, missing all three 3-point attempts. Noah's low-scoring backup, Nazr Mohammed, had as many baskets in the period as the Nets.

Chicago pushed it to 14 points early in the fourth before Brooklyn cut it to five. Noah had two baskets around a 3-pointer from Nate Robinson as the Bulls seemed in control again with an 80-68 lead, but Johnson hit two 3-pointers in an 8-0 surge that trimmed it to 80-76 with 4:12 to play.

But Johnson missed an open 3-pointer that could have cut it to one, and back-to-back baskets by Deng and Noah extended the lead to 86-78.

The Nets were trying for their first 2-0 lead in a series since the first round in 2004, when they swept the Knicks. But they couldn't get the quick pace that favored them in Game 1, forcing themselves to beat Chicago's defense in the half court, and they couldn't do it.

There were even some boos from the fans who stuck around to the end and had lost interest much earlier. The overhead video board encouraged them to wave towels during a third-quarter timeout, but it seemed it was mostly missed or ignored, as there was no noticeable response.

The Nets missed eight of their first 10 shots, allowing the Bulls to get into the defensive game they need. Brooklyn shot just 33 percent in the first quarter, missed five of its six 3-point attempts, and Chicago led 20-17.

The second quarter is where it got away from the Bulls on Saturday, but this time they methodically increased their lead to seven midway through the period. A 12-3 run by the Nets, capped by three straight jumpers by Lopez from about the same spot, gave them a 39-37 lead, though Chicago quickly stopped the momentum by answering with six straight and let 47-46 at the break.

Kirk Hinrich finished with 13 points and Robinson had 11.


Notes: This will be the first Chicago-Nets series that isn't a sweep. The Bulls won 3-0 in the first round in 1998 during their last title run. ... Former New York Giants teammates Justin Tuck and Michael Strahan sat together. ... The 11 points tied the Nets' franchise record low for the third quarter in a playoff game

 

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Heat take off late, top Bucks 98-86 for 2-0 lead



MIAMI (AP) Everyone in the Miami huddle was bracing for a grind to the finish. On the other end, the sense around the Milwaukee bench was that an upset was there for the taking.

Then the Heat landed a swift knockout punch.

Dwyane Wade scored 21 points, LeBron James finished with 19 and the Heat used a frantic start to the fourth quarter to pull away and beat the Bucks 98-86 in Game 2 of the teams' Eastern Conference first-round series on Tuesday night.

It was 68-65 entering the fourth. With James and four backups on the court, the Heat needed only 2 minutes, 22 seconds to outscore Milwaukee 12-0 and stretch the lead to 80-65 - ensuring the reigning NBA champions would take a 2-0 series lead into Game 3 on Thursday night.

"We held court,'' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We protected it for two games. We did what we're supposed to do. And that's it.''

Chris Bosh, Shane Battier and Chris Andersen all scored 10 points for the Heat. James' postseason streaks of 22 straight games with at least 20 points, and 16 straight games of at least 25 points, both came to an end.

Ultimately, none of that mattered.

"We didn't get into our game like we wanted to in that third quarter,'' James said. "But we went into the fourth with a (three-point) lead and we were able to jump on them.''

Ersan Ilyasova scored 21 points for Milwaukee, which got 16 from Mike Dunleavy and 14 from Larry Sanders. The Bucks' starting guards, Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis, combined for only 15 points - after teaming up to score 48 in Game 1.

"It's a series,'' said Sanders, who had a sore right ankle after he collided with Battier in the fourth quarter. "We made progress this game.''

They'll need to make more, and do it quickly. James has never lost in 10 previous series where his team takes a 2-0 lead, and Wade is 8-0 in that same situation.

"In the playoffs you've got to find different ways to win,'' Wade said. "No matter what everybody says on the outside, (Milwaukee) is a good team. They played us very well.''

For about 46 minutes, the Bucks played them even.

It was that 12-0 run that was the difference - in what finished as a 12-point game.

Andersen started it with a three-point play, James had a layup not long afterward and the Heat were starting to roll. Another basket by Andersen off a pass from Ray Allen made it 77-65, and James found Norris Cole for a 3-pointer that capped the flurry and made it 80-65.

Just like that, it was over, even to Miami's surprise.

"They were doing some things that had us spinning around a little bit defensively, got us on our heels, and offensively we never got into a rhythm,'' Spoelstra said. "So we figured we were just going to have to find a way to grind in the fourth quarter, figuring it was going to be a close game.''

The Heat have raved about their depth all season, so they had no qualms about sending James out to start the fourth with Cole, Andersen, Battier and Ray Allen.

By the time starters like Wade and Bosh got back onto the court, the task was merely protecting the lead, which the Heat did with relative ease.

"We felt pretty good about the position we were in, giving ourselves an opportunity on the road with 12 minutes to go,'' Bucks coach Jim Boylan said. "You feel good about that. Then they come out, go on a 12-0 run and it changes the complexion of the game. Playing catch-up is very hard to do against a high-quality team like Miami.''

Jennings and Ellis combined for 48 points in Game 1, and the Bucks got blown out. So in the first half of Game 2, they combined for one point, were held to five shots that all missed ... and the Bucks were within 47-43 at halftime.

Chances are, very few would have seen that coming.

But play was sloppy from the outset, with the teams combining for eight turnovers in the first 6 minutes to set the tone for a clumsy first half. Wade, James and Chalmers shot 15 for 19 combined in the first half for Miami - and the rest of the Heat were 3 for 17. For Milwaukee, Ilyasova had 12 points in the first 10 minutes, then two points the rest of the half.

So much like in Game 1, Milwaukee came out for the second half with a chance of stealing home-court advantage.

And for the entirety of the third quarter, the Bucks hung around, though the Heat showed some signs of getting things going. Bosh had a dunk for a six-point lead, then made a jumper - on a play that James started by running down a loose ball and flicking it between his legs for a save along the sideline - for a 68-60 lead, what was then the biggest Heat margin of the night.

The Bucks got within 68-65 to end the third, but then came the run that Miami had been waiting for all evening.

Jennings said Milwaukee would win in six games before the series began, and his confidence didn't waver even now with his club in an 0-2 hole.

"We showed a lot of improvement tonight,'' said Jennings, who shot 3 for 15. "Aside of making that run in the fourth I think we should have won this game.''

Both teams got a big scare with 6:59 left. Battier drove for a layup from the right wing, and Sanders rushed down the middle of the lane to attempt a block. A collision ensued and both players hit the court awkwardly, Battier hitting his head on the hardwood and Sanders - who fell over Battier - grabbing at his right leg.

Battier made two free throws, then departed for the Heat locker room to get stitches on his chin.


NOTES: It's the 11th time the Heat have gone up 2-0 in a playoff series. They're 10-0 in the previous instances. ... Milwaukee has lost 21 of its last 29 playoff games. ... Sanders was third in the NBA's Most Improved Player voting, behind Indiana's Paul George and New Orleans' Greivis Vasquez. "Look where he was last year and where he is today. The improvement is very obvious,'' said Boylan, who thought Sanders should have won. ... Jennings was held without a first-half basket for only the fifth time all season.

 

[fastbreak]

Anthony, Knicks rout Celtics for 2-0 series lead




NEW YORK (AP) The New York Knicks are heading to Boston, then perhaps finally back to the second round.

The once-mighty Celtics don't seem capable of stopping them.

Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points, Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith added 19, and New York opened a 2-0 lead over Boston with another dominant second half in an 87-71 victory on Tuesday night.

Raymond Felton added 16 points for the Knicks, who used a 27-4 run spanning halftime to blow it open and move halfway to their first series victory since the 2000 Eastern Conference semifinals. This is their first 2-0 lead since sweeping Toronto in the first round that year.

"For us, we know what type of team we are,'' Anthony said. "We know when we really buckle down on the defensive end, it's been hard for teams.''

It's been brutally difficult for Boston.

Paul Pierce scored 18 points for the Celtics, who will host Game 3 on Friday in their first home game since the Boston Marathon bombings.

They will have to be much sharper to avoid their first opening-round elimination since 2005, before they became one of the NBA's power teams again.

"We have to figure out the offensive side of the ball and not be so stagnated,'' Boston's Kevin Garnett said. "Figure out ways to score more often.''

Garnett had 12 points and 11 rebounds, but battled foul trouble and spent too much time walking back to the bench with a raucous Madison Square Garden crowd finally experiencing playoff success again hounding him every step of the way.

Plagued by turnovers in Game 1, when they managed eight points in the decisive fourth quarter, the Celtics watched it all fall apart 12 minutes earlier this time. They managed only 23 points after halftime, two fewer than in their 85-78 loss Saturday.

"I thought we attacked them in the first half, but they hung in there,'' Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "They didn't let us throw a knockout punch and I thought in the second half they turned that on us and they threw a knockout punch. Several.''

Anthony followed his 36-point opener by making 8 of 13 shots in the second half to finish 11 of 24 for the game.

He had said the Knicks needed to treat the game as a "must-win,'' aware of the difficulty of winning in Boston on Friday with the emotional boost the Celtics will get from finally being home.

They showed that mentality after halftime, outscoring Boston 32-11 in the third quarter.

"I think guys know what's at stake. We don't have to talk about it,'' veteran forward Kenyon Martin said. "Guys know what it's about right now and it's about winning a championship.''

Iman Shumpert drilled two 3-pointers to open the third and tie it before Pierce scored to give Boston its last lead at 50-48. The Knicks scored 18 of the next 20 points, with the Celtics getting just two free throws from Jeff Green over the next 5-plus minutes. Anthony's jumper with 4:25 remaining in the third capped the run before Garnett finally gave Boston its second basket of the quarter 10 seconds later

The Celtics missed 10 of their first 11 shots of the third while getting outscored 24-4 to open the period.

"I thought in that third quarter we were as good as we've been all year in terms of ball movement and pushing it and making shots,'' Knicks coach Mike Woodson said.

The Celtics vowed to get Garnett more involved after he shot 4 of 12 while scoring eight points in the opener. But that plan was quickly wrecked when he picked up two fouls in the first 3 minutes, 20 seconds. The Celtics shook it off and led 20-15 when Jason Terry made a 3-pointer with 1:57 left for his first basket of the series.

But the Knicks scored 11 straight to end the period. Smith, recognized before the game for the award he won Monday, kept the celebration going with five points in the final 6.8 seconds, hitting a 36-footer at the buzzer with Celtics all over him to make it 26-20.

The Celtics quickly settled down again, ripping off an 11-0 run to take a 31-27 lead on another 3-pointer by Terry. The lead later grew to eight when Pierce made a jumper, then fired a lob pass that traveled about three-quarters of the court to a streaking Green.

They led 48-39, gave up the last three points of the half - and probably never realized they gave away momentum for good with it.

"We made a good run in the first half, we played our style of basketball,'' Terry said. "But in the second half we definitely got away from what gave us success.''


Notes: Amare Stoudemire still hopes to return from right knee surgery for the second round if the Knicks advance. He hopes to be running full speed soon so he can see how the knee responds to the additional work. ... NBA TV's analysts have made their postseason awards picks, and former Knicks coach and president Isiah Thomas chose Woodson, his friend and former Indiana University teammate. "That's good, but I mean, again, I'm not in this for Coach of the Year, I'm in to try to see if we can get this team to the championship round to try to win a title,'' Woodson said. "If that happens, it happens, but I'm not sitting here holding my breath about a Coach of the Year award.'' Woodson added that he and Thomas are friends and talk all the time.

 

[fastbreak]

Curry leads Warriors past Nuggets 131-117



DENVER (AP) The Golden State Warriors hardly missed much of anything Tuesday night.

Not their shots.

Not their injured All-Star.

Stephen Curry had 30 points and 13 assists and the scrappy Warriors handed the Denver Nuggets their first loss at home in more than three months, a 131-117 stunner that evened their playoff series at a game each.

Rallying around injured David Lee, who cheered on the bench in street clothes, the Warriors got 26 points from surprise starter Jarrett Jack, a career-high 24 from rookie Harrison Barnes in his debut at power forward and 21 from Klay Thompson.

The sixth-seeded Warriors, who became the second road team to win in the postseason following Chicago's victory at Brooklyn on Monday, wrested homecourt advantage from the NBA's best home team in the series that shifts to Oakland for Game 3 on Friday night.

"They were knocking down shots,'' Denver's Andre Iguodala said in an understatement

Better than they ever had before in a playoff game, a franchise playoff-record 64.6 percent from the field (51 of 79).

"We are a very good shooting basketball team,'' Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "We've got guys that can knock down shots. You talk about Klay Thompson and Steph Curry, in my opinion, they're the greatest shooting backcourt in the history of the game.''

The third-seeded Nuggets were an NBA-best 38-3 at home during the regular season but needed Andre Miller's last-second shot to beat Golden State by a basket in the opener and extend their franchise-best winning streak to 24 games.

With Golden State losing Lee to a torn hip flexor and the Nuggets getting top rebounder and energizer Kenneth Faried back from a sprained ankle, this one looked like a mismatch, even Curry acknowledged.

And it was, only not the way the Pepsi Center crowd anticipated.

"We're a resilient team, said that all year. When guys go down, other guys step up,'' said Curry, who played through a tender left ankle after turning it late in the third quarter. "We showed that tonight. Big road win for us. We've got to go home and protect our homecourt.''

Even without their All-Star, the Warriors outrebounded the Nuggets 36-26.

"We didn't do much of anything very well,'' Nuggets coach George Karl lamented. "I don't think I ever coached a game when a team got three 35-point quarters, maybe in my career. Ever.''

The best anybody shot against Denver during the season was 54 percent, by the Los Angeles Lakers way back on Nov. 20, and the most points the Nuggets had allowed was 126 at San Antonio on Nov. 17.

Ty Lawson and Corey Brewer each scored 19 points for Denver and Iguodala and Miller both had 18, but the Nuggets were playing catch-up from the middle of the second quarter and couldn't keep up with so many of the Warriors' shots falling, negating Denver's league-best transition game.

Lee led the league in double-doubles with 56 and had another before getting hurt in the fourth quarter of the series opener on Saturday. The Warriors were 3-18 without him over the last three seasons, but Jackson mixed and matched his lineup to make up for his All-Star's absence on this night, when Lee gave advice to his teammates during timeouts.

The Nuggets were hoping the return of Faried would help them reverse their 10-point disadvantage on the boards in Game 1. But he was rusty and the same problems that plagued Denver in the opener - missing too many open shots, getting outmuscled on the glass and giving up open 3s - haunted them once again and even more so.

Curry scored 15 points in the second quarter and hit four jumpers during a 14-5 run the Warriors used to grab control and take the air out of the Pepsi Center as they cruised into halftime with a 61-53 lead that would never be threatened in the second half.

Curry swished another sweet jumper to start the third quarter and the Warriors opened up a 17-point lead they would stretch to 20 in the fourth quarter.

"The game plan tonight was to keep the ball out of Stephen Curry's hands, but he came off (the pick-and-rolls) and had open looks and then he started finding people,'' Lawson said. "After that, we started scrambling and we can't play like that.''

The Nuggets pulled within 76-69, but Thompson hit a 3-pointer from the right corner and Curry a 3 from the left to make it 82-69. Both were wide open as Denver's mismatched defenders were again running ragged trying to keep up with the Warriors, who handled the altitude just fine.

Denver got its deficit down to 115-105 but this time it was Jack's turn to make a wide-open 3 with the Nuggets defenders scrambling around.

Faried finished with four points and two rebounds in 21 minutes.

The arena was half-empty by the time the horn sounded, a solitary fan yelling derisively, "Tacos!'' when Evan Fournier's free throw fell through the hoop to give the Nuggets 110 points, the magic number for a promotion in which fans get discounted tacos.


Notes: The Warriors shot a sizzling 61 percent in the first half, when they outrebounded the Nuggets 21-14. ... The Nuggets' last loss at home was 112-108 to the Washington Wizards on Jan. 18. ... Denver had just eight fast-break points, compared to Golden State's 14. ... Curry's 30-10 playoff game was the first for the franchise since Sleepy Floyd on May 10, 1987.

 

[fastbreak]

Thunder respond to Houston rally, win 105-102



OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Russell Westbrook relishes the moments when an opponent challenges him and his Oklahoma City Thunder teammates and it becomes time to respond.

Rookie Patrick Beverley showed a willingness to go toe-to-toe with the Thunder's All-Star point guard, and the Houston Rockets didn't back down despite a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

Then it was up to Westbrook and the Thunder to come up with an answer.

Westbrook and Kevin Durant each scored 29 points, and Oklahoma City recovered after squandering its big lead to beat Houston 105-102 on Wednesday night and take a 2-0 series lead.

"It's fun. During this time of the year, as a team we've got one goal and we can't let nobody get in the way,'' Westbrook said. "That's how I feel and that's how I want my team to respond as well.''

Durant hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:28 to play after the Rockets had turned a 15-point deficit into a four-point lead, and the Thunder didn't relinquish the lead. Durant missed a free throw with 1 second left, but Houston was out of timeouts and Carlos Delfino couldn't connect on a desperation shot at the final buzzer.

"It's frustrating and it hurts really bad right now,'' said Chandler Parsons, who scored 17 points for Houston. "But you've got to take some positives out of it. It's a long series.''

Game 3 is Saturday night in Houston.

The Thunder's big lead melted away with nine straight empty possessions as the Rockets mixed in a zone defense. James Harden spearheaded a 21-2 Houston comeback by getting into the lane to create his own opportunities, and he also kicked the ball out to set up two 3-pointers by Delfino. His second 3, from the right wing, provided a 95-91 lead with 3:27 to go.

But the Rockets couldn't keep it up.

Oklahoma City came back to tie it before Harden knifed to the basket for a layup to give Houston its last lead at 97-95 with 2:42 to play. Durant answered right away with a deep 3 from the left wing at the opposite end, and the Thunder came up with back-to-back stops before Thabo Sefolosha's 3 provided a little breathing room at 101-97.

Serge Ibaka added a long jumper to make it 103-98 after Durant was forced to give up the ball. Durant and Kevin Martin, both in the top 5 in the league in free-throw percentage, both went 1 for 2 at the foul line in the final 12 seconds to give the Rockets one last chance.

"We all stuck together,'' Westbrook said. "They made a run when we weren't able to make shots, but I thought everybody had a big role toward the end of the game and we came up with the win.''

Harden ended up with 36 points and 11 rebounds, and Beverley had 16 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for Houston. The Rockets made up for a 40 percent shooting mark with a 57-40 advantage on the boards and a 50-30 scoring edge in the paint, engineering a massive turnaround after getting blown out 120-91 in Game 1.

And they did it without starting point guard Jeremy Lin, who didn't play in the second half because of a muscle contusion in his chest.

"Our team is a young team and we're not a perfect team by any stretch of the imagination, but they'll fight,'' coach Kevin McHale said. "They're a bunch of scrappers. They'll go out and fight you for it. So, I knew our team would play well today. That's who they are.''

Beverley moved into the starting lineup as Houston went with a three-guard unit, and it didn't take long for the rookie to get under Westbrook's thin skin. Beverley lunged for a steal as Westbrook stopped to call a timeout after Houston took a 42-41 lead midway through the second quarter, with his hip slamming into Westbrook's right knee.

Westbrook smashed his right hand onto the scorer's table in anger and hobbled back to the huddle, but was able to stay in the game. He stripped Beverley for a runout layup two possessions later, but the Thunder still couldn't shake free.

Later in the half, Beverley knocked Westbrook down on a foul and then reached out to help him up. Westbrook slapped his hand away.

"It's part of basketball, playoff basketball. Everyone wants to go out there and win,'' Beverley said. "Anyone who knows me, knows my character, that I'm not going to back down from anyone, Russell Westbrook or anybody else.''

Another rookie, Greg Smith, drew a technical foul when he jawed at Ibaka after dunking on the NBA's top shot-blocker and Houston was still within 57-55 at halftime.

Just after Harden's driving throwdown put Houston ahead 63-61, Oklahoma City raged back with a string of 13 straight points with Ibaka keying the run. He swatted Omer Asik's dunk attempt, hit two free throws and grabbed an offensive rebound that set up Westbrook's three-point play. The Thunder started the fourth quarter with an 11-2 to run to push their lead to 89-74 after Martin's 3-pointer with 9:22 to go.

McHale called time out, and the Rockets immediately responded with Beverley's 3-pointer off a set play - and that was only the beginning of the comeback.

"We were down 15, we could have just given up the game and said, "Let's go to Game 3,' but we fought back and took the lead,'' Harden said. "So, we definitely have some confidence going into Game 3 and going back home.''


Notes: Beverley had not started any games during his rookie season, moving into the rotation midway through the season and playing 41 games. ... After finishing second to Tyson Chandler last year's voting for NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Ibaka was third this year behind Marc Gasol and LeBron James. Ibaka has led the NBA in total blocks the past three seasons. "He led the league three years in blocks. I guess that don't mean nothing nowadays,'' frontcourt partner Kendrick Perkins said. "At the end of the day, I think he deserves it. He should have won the thing. But it's over with, so we're just going to move on.''

 

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George leads Pacers past Hawks 113-98 for 2-0 lead



INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Indiana had everything covered Wednesday night.

When Atlanta tried to get tough, the Pacers buckled down and got even tougher. When the Hawks tried to run, the Pacers simply slowed them down. And when the Hawks tried to rally, well, the Pacers punched back with Paul George, George Hill or any other open shooter.

The result was the same.

George scored 27 points, his second straight playoff career high, Hill finished with 22 and the Pacers pulled away from the reeling Hawks 113-98 to take their first 2-0 lead in a playoff series since the 2004 Eastern Conference semifinals.

"We naturally just play physical,'' George said. "It wasn't like "Hey, let's play physical, let's retaliate.' That's just how we play. That's how we approach the game. We just have to keep playing how we play.''

Indiana made it look easy.

They matched Atlanta's intensity step for step, and when they had a chance to put things away, they didn't hesitate.

Three days after George posted the second triple-double in the franchise's NBA postseason history, he put on another brilliant show. The league's Most Improved Player rebounded from a 3-for-13 shooting effort to go 11 of 21. He finished with eight rebounds, three assists, four steals and turned in another sterling defensive performance as the Pacers won their fourth straight at home over Atlanta.

There was plenty of credit to go around.

After a slow start, Hill knocked down four 3-pointers before hitting his right elbow hard on the court late in the game. He said he expects to play in Game 3 on Saturday.

Roy Hibbert wound up with 15 points and nine rebounds, and Gerald Green came off the bench, made his first three 3s and finished with 15 points. Indiana, which relied primarily on defense to win its first Central Division crown in nine years, has topped the 100-point mark in consecutive playoff games. And the 113 points was the highest postseason total for the Pacers since a 120-87 rout over the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2000 NBA Finals.

Everything seems to be clicking for Indiana after a late-season stumble to the finish.

"Not only were they being physical, but they were trying to our air space and trying to pressure us more defensively, trying to force more turnovers,'' Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "We had less turnovers in Game 2 than we did in Game 1.''

For the Hawks, their second straight double-digit loss means two more days of misery.

Following Game 1, coach Larry Drew chastised his players for their continual complaints about calls and their sub-par effort. The Hawks vowed to make amends Wednesday and they did play harder.

But, at times, it got them in trouble.

Atlanta's top scorer, Josh Smith, played with a sprained right ankle but wound up on the bench with two fouls barely 2 minutes into the game. He spent the rest of the game in foul trouble and finished with 16 points and six rebounds.

In the second quarter, an uncharacteristically angry Al Horford charged toward an official after being called for a technical foul. Devin Harris alertly grabbed Horford with both arms and pulled him away - a play that kept Horford and the Hawks in the game a bit longer. The Hawks' other big inside players, Johan Petro and Ivan Johnson, wound up in foul trouble in the second half, and the combination allowed Indiana to again shoot more free throws and again finish with the rebounding edge.

What can Atlanta do now?

At least the Hawks are heading home and will play the next two games in a venue where they have won 11 straight over the Pacers.

The bad news: Indiana seems to have an answer for anything Atlanta tries.

Harris led the Hawks with 17 points and Jeff Teague added 16.

"They handled their home court and now Game 3 is crucial for us, and now we have to handle ours,'' Horford said. "I think we need to have better ball movement on offense and I think we'll be all right.''

But in many ways, Wednesday looked a whole lot like Sunday.

After scoring the first six points in Game 1, Atlanta opened Wednesday's game with the first five points. Then, just like Sunday, the Pacers rallied to take the lead after one quarter. Indiana extended its 25-19 lead to 59-50 at halftime and to 16 late in the third quarter. The Hawks did get within 88-76 after three, then watched Indiana go on a 9-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to take a 104-85 lead with 5:41 to go and never got another chance to make it close.

"The end of the season was kind of sluggish for us, kind of out of character for us,'' Green said. "But this is the most important time in basketball right now and we're confident going to Atlanta 2-0.''


Notes: Indiana lost starting guard Lance Stephenson late in the first quarter when he landed hard on his right hip after being called for a charge. He was diagnosed with a bruised right hip and did not return until the start of the second half. ... The Hawks have lost four straight to Indiana, all at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. ... The free-throw discrepancy continued Wednesday. Indiana is 51 of 63 from the line over the first two games. Atlanta is just 18 of 34.

 

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Parker leads Spurs to 102-91 win over Lakers



SAN ANTONIO (AP) The San Antonio Spurs kept insisting the playoffs were a new season and that their woeful finish to the regular season was not as grave as it appeared.

After 16 straight postseason appearances, San Antonio should know what it's talking about.

Tony Parker had 28 points and seven assists and the Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers 102-91 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference first-round playoff series.

Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard had 16 points each, Manu Ginobili added 13 points and Matt Bonner had 10 for San Antonio, which had lost three straight entering the series.

"I thought we played two pretty good games on the defensive end of the court back-to-back,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "That was our goal at the beginning of the season and we did it for most of the year, as I said, until maybe the last three weeks of the season it dissipated. We got it back for these two games.''

Dwight Howard and Steve Blake had 16 points each to lead Los Angeles. Metta World Peace and Pau Gasol added 13 points each, but no other player had more than nine as the Lakers shot 45 percent from the field.

Game 3 is Friday night in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles said a key to winning was shooting better, and they did - but so did San Antonio.

"They are just much more efficient than we are,'' Los Angeles coach Mike D'Antoni said. "They are playing better than we are right now.''

The Spurs shot 51 percent from the field after shooting 38 percent in Game 1. San Antonio was 7 for 14 on 3-pointers, including 5 for 7 in the first half.

Parker had 15 points in the third quarter after going 1 for 6 in the first half. He scored 12 straight points on a series of layups and floating jumpers against Blake. Parker's run gave the Spurs a 75-65 lead with 3 minutes left in the third.

"You see Tony tonight and that's probably the best part of the whole game,'' Duncan said. "He's getting his rhythm back. He felt good tonight. He shot the ball well tonight. He looked like Tony of midseason tonight and that's great for us.''

The Lakers shot 37 percent (9 for 24) in the first quarter, a slight improvement over their 7-for-20 performance (35 percent) in the opening quarter of Game 1.

Gasol posted early, tipping in a miss by Howard for the game's opening basket and missing a 5-footer before Duncan blocked his 5-foot hook.

Gasol was 5 for 14 overall, including 1 for 6 in the second half.

"I didn't get into a good rhythm out there,'' Gasol said. "This first half was better, but in the second half I struggled with my shot. I can't be short on my shots; fatigue kicked in a little bit and I'm fighting through some stuff myself physically. But at this point, we're in fight mode; we'll fight through whatever is on the table. Try to stay alive in this series and fight for our lives.''

The Lakers went to the perimeter following the block, resulting in consecutive 3s by Blake and World Peace for an 8-6 lead with 8:23 left in the first quarter.

Ginobili once again energized the Spurs, sparking runs of 13-4 and 10-3 to close the first and second quarters. He had 12 points in the first half and was 3 for 4 on 3-pointers.

"He's playing very well right now,'' D'Antoni said. "There's not a whole lot of adjustments; we try to push him to his weak hand and try to get up in him, but at some point you just have to man up and just do the best you can.''

Ginobili had six points with two assists and a block in 6 minutes to bridge the first and second quarters.

He hit two 3s in the final minute of the second quarter, including one off his initial pass that bounced off DeJuan Blair's head but eventually found its way back to him. He also fed a streaking Leonard for a dunk off a turnover.

"You have to give credit to them,'' D'Antoni said. "When the ball hits somebody in the head, bounced around and went over to the 3, that didn't help any. That's why they are good. They are a better team.''

In the first quarter, Ginobili hit a step-back 3 and then drew the defense and fed Gary Neal for an open 3, which he made to give the Spurs a 28-23 lead at the close of the first quarter.

The Lakers went on a 9-2 run to close within 33-32 with 8 minutes left in the first half. Nash opened and closed the run with jumpers.

Nash continued to play after tweaking his hamstring, finishing with nine points in 31 minutes.

Bonner's 3 on an open look with 7 minutes left in the first half drew a cry of frustration from Gasol, who shouted at the bench and pointed at Bonner over an apparent missed assignment.

"(Bonner) was a key player for us today,'' Ginobili said. "He was very active defensively. Of course he's giving Dwight a big advantage in size, strength and quickness, and I could keep going. But he did a great job getting around him, fronting him from behind.''

Howard had heated battles with Bonner and Duncan in the first half. After getting tied up midway through the second quarter, Duncan and Howard walked down the court glaring at each other with Howard jawing at Duncan.

"It is frustrating,'' Howard said of the defensive pressure. "I just have to trust my teammates to make shots. On whatever they do defensively, I have to be aware of my arms and try not to get tangled up.''

Howard was later grabbed from behind by Bonner and his arm was pulled by Ginobili, but the Lakers All-Star still managed to bank in a layup, flexing his muscles after the shot. Howard even made the ensuing free throw, giving the Lakers a 44-43 lead with 3 minutes left in the first half.

Howard was 2 for 4 on free throws.

Bonner followed with a 3, however, to put the Spurs back on top at 46-44.


NOTES: The Spurs have the second-most playoff wins since selecting Duncan with the top overall pick in 1997. San Antonio is 119-77 since 1998, trailing only the Lakers' 133-81. ... Duncan has 139 double-doubles in the playoffs, fourth all-time behind Magic Johnson (157), Wilt Chamberlin (143) and Shaquille O'Neal (142). ... Lakers C Jordan Hill played for the first time since undergoing left hip surgery Jan. 23. He was listed as "out'' for Game 2, but came off the bench with 3 minutes left in the game. . The Lakers had six players listed as probable, but all played. Gasol (foot), Howard (shoulder), Jamison (wrist), Jamal Meeks (ankle), Nash (hamstring) and World Peace (knee) all played at least 20 minutes. ... Ginobili and Duncan had their customary snack of red Lifesavers before the game, sending a trainer over to collect a handful from an official scorer before pre-game introductions.

 

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Boozer helps Bulls beat Nets 79-76 in Game 3



CHICAGO (AP) Every play near the basket looked like a traffic accident. There were long scoreless stretches. Shooting from outside was a dicey proposition.

It was ugly for everyone but the Chicago Bulls. This was their type of game.

Carlos Boozer had 22 points and 16 rebounds, Luol Deng added 21 points and 10 boards, and the Bulls held off the Brooklyn Nets 79-76 in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series Thursday night.

"We did what we had to do to win the game,'' Boozer said. "In the playoffs you have to win different ways. Nothing is perfect.''

Chicago had no field goals and two foul shots over the final 5:46 of its second straight win in the series. It will try for a 3-1 lead when the banged-up teams return to the court Saturday afternoon in a quick turnaround.

Brooklyn shot 35 percent for the second straight game. Brook Lopez had 22 points, nine rebounds and seven blocked shots, and Deron Williams finished with 18 points on 5-for-14 shooting.

"When we get the ball swung to the weak side and we get some movement, we're fine,'' Williams said. "But when we just let them keep us on one side, we're struggling. We're struggling to shoot the ball, score the ball, and we're playing right into what they want to do.''

Deng led the way as Chicago grabbed control in the third quarter for the second consecutive game. The All-Star forward scored 12 points in the first 4 minutes of the period, seemingly scoring at will against Gerald Wallace as the Bulls turned a seven-point halftime advantage into a 16-point lead.

"I had a few good minutes,'' Deng said. "I felt like I could have shot the ball a lot better. I don't know how many minutes, seven or so of great minutes. They could have sent me home after that.''

Deng connected on four long jumpers before he drove inside for a three-point play off a foul on Wallace. A free throw by Boozer made it 54-38 with 7:36remaining.

Brooklyn made one last charge when Lopez had eight points in a 10-2 spurt that trimmed Chicago's lead to 77-74 with 14.4 seconds left. But Nate Robinson and Joakim Noah each hit a free throw and former Bulls guard C.J. Watson missed an open 3 at the buzzer.

"I was surprised I was open and I just tried to get it off before the clock went out and just missed it,'' he said.

Joe Johnson got a cortisone shot for his ailing left foot and finished 15 points for Brooklyn, while Noah's foul shot was his only point of the game while dealing with his own painful right foot injury. Noah also had eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

"I felt pretty good the whole game, other than probably about the last two to three minutes. It had kind of tightened up,'' Johnson said. "But other than that, I felt all right.''

The Nets cruised to an easy victory in the playoff opener and flopped in Game 2, when they managed only 11 points in the third period of a 90-82 loss on Monday night that handed home-court advantage to the Bulls. There was no word on Johnson until the starting lineups came out right before Game 3, but coach P.J. Carlesimo was more focused on Brooklyn playing with more aggression and getting off to a fast start than whether the guard was going to be able to play.

That emphasis worked at the beginning, but it quickly fell apart when the Nets went cold again on offense and the Bulls started to find their rhythm on both ends of the court.

"They came out and jumped on us pretty good,'' Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "So we had to dig out of that hole. Once we did that, I thought for the most part in the second and third quarters we played well.''

Williams had eight quick points, matching his total from all of Game 2 and helping Brooklyn to a 17-5 lead with 6:25 left in the first quarter. The Nets then went scoreless for the next 6 1/2 minutes and missed 25 of 26 shots overall while Chicago moved in front.

Hinrich made a layup, Marco Belinelli hit two foul shots and Boozer made a jumper to close out a 28-4 blitz that made it 33-21 with 5 minutes left in the half. But the biggest highlight was a pick and roll with Robinson and Taj Gibson, who finished it off with a poster-worthy dunk over Kris Humphries.

"It's been very difficult for us to finish, we have been struggling inside and we can't win if you're not making shots in the paint,'' Nets coach P.J. Carlesimo said.


NOTES: Brooklyn went 5 for 21 from 3-point range and is 15 for 56 from beyond the arc for the series. ... The Bulls handed out red flashlight key chains as part of their "See Red'' playoff campaign, and the lights dotted the stands when Chicago's starting lineup was announced. ... The Nets haven't won a road playoff game since a 96-91 victory at Toronto on April 21, 2007. ... Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, who helped the Bulls win six NBA championships in the 1990s, received a huge ovation when he was shown on the videoboard in the first half.

 

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Allen, Heat up 3-0 after 104-91 win over Bucks



MILWAUKEE (AP) Every game, someone different steps up for the Miami Heat.

Well, someone different and that guy named LeBron.

Ageless Ray Allen scored 23, setting the NBA career playoff record for 3-pointers in the process, and LeBron James had seven of his 22 points during a decisive run that closed out the third quarter - and maybe the Milwaukee Bucks. The Heat's 104-91 victory Thursday night gave the defending champions a 3-0 lead, with a chance to complete the sweep Sunday afternoon at the Bradley Center.

"That's been our calling card all year, the depth that we have,'' said Allen, whose five 3s gave him 322 for his career, two more than Reggie Miller. "

"As a team, you've got to find way to plug in the holes, and every night we find somebody different.''

Chris Bosh added 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Heat, who have won 11 straight dating to the regular season and 40 of their last 42. Chris Andersen had another big game, scoring 11 on 5-of-5 shooting and grabbing six rebounds in less than 14 minutes.

Dwyane Wade had just four points, and his 1-of-12 shooting was his worst in a postseason game. But he contributed 11 assists, nine rebounds, five steals and two blocks.

"I shot the ball terrible,'' Wade, who is still nursing a bruised right knee, said with a laugh. "But we played a good game. Game 3 is a tough game. I thought, as a team, we showed a lot of guts, a lot of grit. When those guys came out hot, we stayed with it, we stayed with our game plan and were able to get a great win. There's nothing as satisfying as winning a Game 3 on the road. But it's over now. Now we have to focus on closing the series out.''

Milwaukee, meanwhile, will simply try and avoid being swept.

Larry Sanders and Brandon Jennings had 16 each to lead six Bucks in double figures, and Sanders added 11 rebounds while Jennings contributed eight assists. But the Bucks couldn't maintain the 10-point lead they took in the first quarter, when they shot 57 percent (12 of 21) and were 5 of 10 from 3-point range. Milwaukee was just 12 of 21 over the final three quarters (41 percent), and made only two more 3s.

"I hope we're still confident,'' Jennings said. "As a team, we need to stay together.''

The defending champions still haven't played their best game. But it hardly matters with their ability to pull off one of their patented runs.

After leading for much of the game, Milwaukee was trying to pull away early in the third. Jennings was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws, then followed with a one-hand slam after Ersan Ilyasova's steal. Luc Mbah a Moute made two sets of free throws, and the Bucks were back up 61-55 with 7:14 left in the third.

But the Heat have made a habit of putting the Bucks away with runs, and this game was no different.

Udonis Haslem made a layup and a pair of free throws, Mario Chalmers followed with a layup and the Heat were off on what would be a 23-7 run to close out the quarter. The Bucks got to 67-66 on a layup by Mbah a Moute, but James answered with a monster 3. After a pair of free throws by Mbah a Moute, Chalmers stripped Monta Ellis and fed James, who sprinted to the other end for the layup as the Bucks watched helplessly. Chris Andersen scored on a reverse, James made a layup and then fed Andersen for another layup that gave Miami a 78-68 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The Bucks never got within single digits again.

"A three-, four-minute stretch just like in the first two games, where they kind of blitzed us,'' Bucks coach Jim Boylan said. "We dug ourselves a big hole that we could not come back from.''

Allen made sure of that, knocking down a huge 3 from the right corner with 8:38 to play to give Miami a 90-73 lead. That broke Miller's record of 320, and Allen added one more two minutes later.

"I think about when I first stepped on this floor for the very first time, I thought about what I was going to be able to contribute to this game,'' said Allen, who spent his first six-plus seasons in Milwaukee. "It's ironic that I'm on this floor right now, because this is where it all started.''

And this could be where the playoffs end for the Bucks.

With no team ever rallying from a 3-0 deficit, Thursday night's game was a must-win for the Bucks. Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said his team expected a "desperate, competitive response'' from the Bucks, and the Milwaukee players were hoping for a boost by being back home - the first playoff game at the Bradley Center in three years.

Milwaukee certainly looked sharper early on. After struggling to get their entire offense going at the same time in the first two games, the Bucks finally had everything clicking in the first quarter. Sanders set the tone from the first possession, scoring on a layup and converting the three-point play after he drew a foul.

The Bucks would shoot 57 percent in the first quarter, getting field goals from six different players - including Jennings, whose struggles in Game 2 contributed to Milwaukee's demise. Jennings' reverse layup sparked a 9-2 run that gave Milwaukee an early 18-11 lead. He then made a 3, the first of four straight for the Bucks, and Milwaukee found itself with a 10-point lead, double its largest margin in either of the first two games.

"We had to fight for this one,'' Spoelstra said. "They came out with a great deal of intensity as we expected. Got us on our heels.''

But no lead is safe when the Heat are hanging around, and this game was no different.

Allen made three 3-pointers in the last four minutes of the first half and James scored his only field goal of the second quarter at the buzzer, a jumper at the buzzer that pulled Miami within 50-48 at the half.

"Consistent effort on their part,'' Sanders said. "They didn't get shaken, rattled by us playing hard. They expected it. When they started playing harder, we got shaken, rattled a little bit. We got to expect that. Keep pushing.''


Notes: Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was at the game. ... Bucks fans were tough on all of the Heat players, even Allen, who spent his first six-plus years in Milwaukee, and Wade, whose No. 3 at Marquette hangs from the rafters at the Bradley Center. "I expect that,'' Allen said. "Even though I played quite a while here and won some big games, I'm still the opposing team. I didn't expect any special favors.'' ... Wade is the first player since Rajon Rondo on March 23, 2011 to have at least 11 assists, nine rebounds and five steals in a game.

 

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Grizzlies beat Clippers 94-82 to pull to 2-1



MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Zach Randolph's fast start helped the Memphis Grizzlies return to their inside dominance.

Randolph had 13 of his 27 points in the first quarter, and he finished with 11 rebounds and the Grizzlies beat the Los Angeles Clippers 94-82 on Thursday night to pull within 2-1 in this first-round series.

"Zach was huge,'' Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "He got started quickly. He had 18 at halftime, and that got us going and everyone else just flowed into that. I thought our defense, for the most part, was solid.''

Randolph hadn't scored more than 13 in each of the first two games and had only 12 rebounds combined in Los Angeles. He looked much more like the All Star who had 45 double-doubles this season, and he also had six offensive rebounds after leading the NBA with 310 in the regular season.

The man known as "Z Bo'' was the last of the Grizzlies off the court in pre-game warmups, and he had his shot working early.

"I definitely wanted to come out and be aggressive,'' Randolph said. "They've been double-teaming, triple-teaming me. So just go fast, you know hit a couple jump shots and open it up. Most definitely, I wanted to come out and be aggressive.''

The Grizzlies snapped the Clippers' nine-game winning streak by outrebounding and dominating on second-chance points, the same things Los Angeles did so well on its home court to start the series in beating Memphis at its own style.

Game 4 is Saturday in Memphis.

Marc Gasol accepted his trophy as the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year before tipoff, then scored 16 points. Quincy Pondexter and Tony Allen had 13 each. Mike Conley was 1 of 9 but had 10 assists and no turnovers on a night where he was so sick he sipped on soda and didn't talk much.

Pondexter said Gasol anchored the Grizzlies on the defensive end to help them return to "Grizzlies' basketball'' and called Randolph and Gasol two of the best big men in the NBA.

"They are really great,'' Pondexter said. "Marc is the best center in my eyes. Zach has the ability to play like the best power forward in the league. When those two guys are doing what they do, it's hard to stop us.''

Blake Griffin scored 16 points for the Clippers. Matt Barnes had 12, Chauncey Billups 11 and Jamal Crawford and Caron Butler 10. Chris Paul had eight points on 4-of-11 shooting and added six assists.

"We didn't make any adjustments,'' Hollins said of defending Paul. "We just played better.''

Paul wasn't happy with himself after he had five of the Clippers 18 turnovers. He also didn't get to the free throw line either.

"It's uncharacteristic of us. You know I mean especially me,'' Paul said. "I had five turnovers tonight, and our turnovers led to 17 of their points. They got offensive rebounds, things we hadn't let them do in Game 1 and Game 2. We just got to be better.''

The game was a continuation of the roughness in Los Angeles with a flagrant foul, three technicals and a lot of whoofing along with a bear hug by Randolph after Barnes' flagrant foul.

The Clippers had beaten the Grizzlies three straight in Memphis, including a Game 7 win in the first round a year ago. They also had won six of the last seven in the series overall.

Memphis outrebounded the Clippers 45-33, including 17-5 on the offensive boards. That gave the Grizzlies a 22-4 edge in second-chance points, which was similar to what the Clippers did to Memphis in Game 1 when they held a 25-5 advantage. The Grizzlies also outscored Los Angeles 40-26 in the paint and led by as much as 16.

"That's what they do,'' Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We have been able to contain it pretty well for the first couple of games, but we just didn't do a good enough job. We've got to find a way to get everybody in there.''

The Clippers last led 10-8 in the first quarter before the Grizzlies took control with Randolph hitting four of his first five shots and all five free throws for 13 points in the quarter.

They tried to make a run late in the third and into the fourth as they have so often to beat Memphis in this series. They got as close as 74-69 with 8:39 left on a pair of free throws by Barnes.

"He came out aggressive, and that's what they needed,'' Griffin said of Randolph.

Memphis answered with a 7-2 spurt to push the lead back to double digits on a reverse layup by Pondexter off an assist from Randolph. During the run, Paul stole the ball from Grizzlies guard Jerryd Bayless and passed to Eric Bledsoe for a 3 he missed. Gasol got the rebound.

The Grizzlies outscored the Clippers 23-20 in the first quarter and 24-19 in the second, taking a 47-39 lead into halftime. They hadn't led by more than six in Los Angeles and were up by seven in the first quarter back on their own court. They pushed that to 12 in the second quarter.

Memphis' lead grew to 14 a couple times in the third, the last at 68-54 on a pair of free throws by Pondexter with 1:22 left.

That's when the Clippers went on a 10-2 run featuring back-to-back 3s by Crawford and then Lamar Odom. Ronny Turiaf dunked to pull the Clippers to 70-64 with 11:04 to go.

Pondexter then scored five points for Memphis as he got the rebound after he missed his second free throw attempt and put it back while being fouled by Barnes.

Pondexter added the free throw, pushing Memphis' lead back up to double digits with 10:16 remaining.


Notes: Randolph wound up part of a double foul situation for a third straight game in this series with Griffin late in the game. ... The Clippers hadn't lost in Memphis since Game 5 last year in the playoffs and won 24 road games during the regular season. ... The Grizzlies went 28-of-38 at the free throw line compared to 21-of-23 for the Clippers. ...The Clippers' 82 points were two shy of a franchise low in the postseason. ... Pondexter had only five total points in the first two games of the series. ... Paul had averaged 23.5 points in the first two games of the series.

 

[fastbreak]

James leads Heat over Bucks and into next round



MILWAUKEE (AP) LeBron James can cross another item off his to-do list.

James scored 30 points, Ray Allen had another big game against his old team and the Miami Heat got their first playoff sweep in the Big Three era, advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals with an 88-77 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.

"It was our next big step as far as our growth,'' James said. "It's so hard to win on the road in the playoffs, in someone's building - especially when someone is playing for their last life. It's a big step for us.''

And now the Heat have some much-needed time to rest. Dwyane Wade sat out Sunday's game, only the second postseason game he's missed in his career, because of his aching right knee. But with Miami not playing until next Saturday, at the earliest, he'll have plenty of time to treat the three bone bruises that caused him to miss six games near the end of the regular season.

Miami plays the winner of the Brooklyn-Chicago series. The Bulls lead that series 3-1, with Game 5 on Monday night in New York.

"It's big,'' Wade said of the time off. "Obviously, we're one of the oldest teams in the league, maybe the oldest team in terms of rotation players. Guys have some bumps and bruises coming out of this series, so it's going to be great to get some rest. But also we have to take this time to continue to stay sharp, to continue to stay in shape as well.''

Judging by the clinical way in which the Heat dissected the Bucks in this series, that isn't likely to be a problem.

The defending NBA champions won each game by double digits, getting contributions from their stars and subs alike. Allen finished with 16 points, the third time in the series he scored in double figures, and was 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

Udonis Haslem added 13 points and five rebounds, and Mario Chalmers kicked in eight rebounds and six assists for Miami, which never trailed Sunday.

"They had the whole package,'' Bucks coach Jim Boylan said. "When you can afford to sit guy like Dwyane Wade and perform at the level they performed at, that's a championship-caliber team.''

Monta Ellis led the Bucks with 21 points, and Larry Sanders had 11 rebounds to go with seven points.

But Milwaukee got almost nothing again from Brandon Jennings, who didn't even play in the fourth quarter. Jennings, who had guaranteed the Bucks would win the series in six games, finished with three points on 1-of-7 shooting.

After scoring 26 points in Game 1, Jennings had 27 total in the final three.

"Frustrated, a little down because I came into this season with so much confidence,'' he said. "I thought we had a chance to steal a game in Game 1, Game 2. We let that slip away from us. Game 3, we came back home. Had a 10-point lead, lost that. I mean it's frustration all around.''

The Heat had chances to sweep their first-round series in each of the last two seasons, taking 3-0 leads on Philadelphia (2011) and New York (2012). But they couldn't close it out, losing Game 4 each year.

That wasn't going to happen against the Bucks. Even with Wade reduced to a spectator.

Wade got treatment "around the clock'' the last two days in hopes of playing Sunday, and he tested his knee before the game. But he and the Heat decided it wasn't worth risking aggravating the injury further, and he spent the entire game on the bench in his warmups.

"He gave me the nod saying he wasn't going to go, so I knew had to pick it up a little more and try to bring us home, bring this win home for us,'' James said.

That he did, adding eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals to his 30 points.

"We just space the floor and see if they can stop him. If not, he knows where we are,'' Allen said. "We just give him that room to operate.''

The Heat led by as many as 11 in the first half, only to see the Bucks steadily chip away at the lead. When Mike Dunleavy drained a 3 and Ellis scored on a floater, it cut Miami's lead to 69-67 with 9:34 to play.

Ellis was fouled by Allen on the play, but he missed the free throw and James grabbed the rebound. He fed Allen, who knocked down - what else, a 3. J.J. Redick missed a long 3 and James found an open Chalmers for another 3 that gave the Heat a 75-67 lead with 8:27 left.

The 3 was Chalmers' 80th in the postseason, tying Tim Hardaway's franchise record.

After Luc Richard Mbah a Moute made the second of two free throws, James scored on a layup. Redick made a jumper, but Shane Battier and Allen closed out the Bucks with a pair of 3s. James then converted a three-point play and added a layup to complete the 19-5 run - a spurt in which he had a hand in every single Miami score.

"At some point during that stretch right there, he decided he was going to put his imprint on the game and he did. In a big way,'' Boylan said. "When you're a superstar player like he is, that's what superstar players do.''


NOTES: The Heat have won eight straight postseason games dating to last season. That matches the franchise record. ... NBA Commissioner David Stern was in attendance. ... James scored 30 or more for the 54th time in the postseason, second only to Kobe Bryant among active players. ... Milwaukee had seven of its 16 turnovers in the first quarter. ... The Bucks are now 20-26 in elimination games. ... Packers LB Clay Matthews was at the game.

 

[fastbreak]

Curry leads Warriors past Denver 115-101 in Game 4



OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) His star point guard slowed by a sore left ankle, Warriors coach Mark Jackson told Stephen Curry in the first half he might shut him down for the rest of the game.

Curry quieted his coach with a resounding answer.

Curry shook off the soreness in his ankle to score 22 of his 31 points in a spectacular third quarter, leading the Warriors past the Denver Nuggets 115-101 on Sunday night for a commanding 3-1 series lead.

"It was almost like a boxer that knew he was on the ropes, because it was just a matter of time'' said Jackson. "I told him I don't need him to be a hero. Talk about smart coaching. And I guess he realized and sensed it. He captured and embraced the moment. The thing that stood out to me, it was almost as if he had been waiting for this his entire career and he wasn't going to allow his body to tell him it was too hurt to match the moment.''

Curry finished 10 of 16 from the floor, including 6 of 11 from long range, and added seven assists in a dominant and dazzling display that rivaled his days in the NCAA tournament for tiny Davidson. Only this time, he stole the spotlight in the NBA playoffs, earning praise from Hall of Famers and past and present All-Stars all over social media.

Curry took a pain-killing injection before the game for the first time in his career, though he looked slow early and even covered his head in a towel on the bench late in the first quarter. Then, he hit five 3-pointers in the third quarter to lift Golden State to a 20-point lead and its third straight victory in this frenetic and flashy series.

"I don't know what happened. Something kicked in there,'' Curry said.

Jarrett Jack added 21 points and nine assists and Andrew Bogut broke out in the first half with 12 points and five rebounds for the sixth-seeded Warriors, who can close out the Nuggets in Game 5 on Tuesday night in Denver.

Ty Lawson scored 26 points and Andre Iguodala had 19 for the third-seeded Nuggets. Denver won the rebounding battle for the first time in this series - 37 to 29 - but Golden State didn't miss much.

The Warriors outshot the Nuggets 55.7 to 46.5 percent.

"The next 48 hours are going to be difficult, to say the least,'' Nuggets coach George Karl said. "They found some magic, and we have to find a way to take it away.''

The Warriors lost All-Star forward David Lee to a season-ending hip injury in Game 1, and Curry sprained his left ankle late in Game 2. Seemingly down and out, Curry has carried the load anyway.

The quick-shooting point guard hit 5 of 8 from beyond the arc in a jaw-dropping third quarter, when nearly every gold-shirt wearing fan in the sellout crowd of 19,596 stood and cheered. Curry scored all 22 points in the final 6:22 of the quarter, showing the kind of range that helped him make 272 3-pointers in the regular season - three more than Ray Allen's record set in 2005-06 with Seattle.

Curry capped his remarkable run with two of his most highlight-reel plays.

He stole the ball from Lawson, stopped in heavy traffic and dropped in a 27-footer before sprinting all the way to the bench high-fiving and chest-bumping teammates. Following a timeout, Curry sprung free near for a corner 3 - looking back right in front of Denver's bench - that gave Golden State a 91-72 lead entering the fourth.

Curry's five 3s in the quarter were a Warriors playoff record for a half.

"As soon as he gets the ball in the half court, he's in range,'' Bogut said.

Curry, wearing heavy tape around his nagging ankle, gave fans another scare when Corey Brewer poked Curry in the right eye going for a rebound early in the fourth. He returned about 4 1/2 minutes later, receiving another standing ovation from the home fans and later said his eye wouldn't be an issue.

While Curry scored only seven points in the first half, Bogut broke out in a big way to provide the one-two punch Golden State had long envisioned.

The 7-footer from Australia had three big dunks in the first half, including a thunderous right-handed slam over JaVale McGee. Bogut, who received a technical foul in Game 3 for daring Denver's big man to punch him on the chin during a face-to-face altercation, stared back at McGee while backpedalling down court.

"I just gathered myself and the ankle held up,'' Bogut said.

Bogut sat out the final 4:37 of the first half with three fouls, and Andre Miller - whose last-second shot in Game 1 is the only thing keeping Denver alive - almost single-handily brought the Nuggets within a bucket. Then Curry hit his first 3-pointer of the game - officially a 27-footer that seemed closer to the scorer's table than the arc - as Golden State scored the last 11 points before the break to go ahead 56-44.

Lawson, who scored a career-playoff high 35 points in the Game 3 loss, rallied from a slow start to highlight a 14-4 run that sliced Golden State's lead to 62-58 midway through the third quarter. Just when it seemed they might crawl back, Curry countered one devastating swish after another to put a major dent in Denver's playoff hopes.

That's not the only patchwork needed, either.

Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried kicked a hold in the wall just inside the visiting locker room afterward that symbolized his team's frustration. The scene was reminiscent of the hole Dirk Nowitzki put in the wall outside the locker room- which remains till this day - when he threw a chair after his top-seeded Dallas Mavericks were upset in the first round by Golden State in 2007.

"There's no good news,'' said Faried, who had eight points and 12 rebounds. "The effort of coming back and trying to keep playing, it was there. But when they come down and just hit 3s when you've just crossed half-court, you can't scheme around that. You can't stop that. We just have to find a way to not let them do that.


NOTES: For the third straight game, Jackson listed Carl Landry at power forward in his starting lineup submitted before the game, even though Harrison Barnes started at power forward and Landry came off the bench. Jackson said beforehand that he'd do it again because "it worked.'' Karl said it's not what coaches typically do but joked that Jackson is "consistent'' and maybe "superstitious.'' ... Jackson's wife, Desiree Coleman Jackson, sang the national anthem.