NBA Playoff and NBA Finals Tickets and Game Information.
Kobe Bryant couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate his first MVP award. He had 34 points, eight rebounds and six assists Wednesday night, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 120-110 to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals and remain the NBA’s only unbeaten team in the postseason.
Rashard Lewis was due for a breakout game. It couldn’t have come at a better time for the Orlando Magic. Lewis, Orlando’s big offseason acquisition, scored a career playoff-high 33 points and the Magic beat the Detroit Pistons 111-86 on Wednesday night to gain a little momentum in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Rick Carlisle is still on the verge of becoming the next coach of the Dallas Mavericks. Carlisle is the only candidate the team has interviewed since firing Avery Johnson last Wednesday. Negotiations turned serious over the weekend and have continued all week, but as of Wednesday night there were some points still not settled.
Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum might undergo exploratory arthroscopic surgery on his injured left knee if there is no significant improvement in the next three to four weeks. Lakers spokesman John Black said Bynum was examined Wednesday by Dr. Steven Gecha in Princeton, N.J. Black said the team was told there had been some improvement in the 20-year-old center’s knee, but Gecha’s…
Gilbert Arenas insists he won’t return to the Washington Wizards if forward Antawn Jamison isn’t re-signed by the team. “If he doesn’t come back, I’m not coming back,” Arenas said Wednesday in a posting on his blog, a rambling entry of more than 2,800 words. Arenas, a three-time All-Star who missed most of this season after two operations on his left knee, can opt out of his contract.
Chris Paul turned 23 on Tuesday. The New Orleans Hornets’ talented point guard said he had a low-key birthday, just hanging out with his teammates. The big surprise party might happen Thursday night, courtesy of Paul and his team if they can beat the defending champion San Antonio Spurs yet again by picking up a Game 3 win to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
Billy Knight says he’s leaving the Atlanta Hawks “in much better shape than it was in when I took over.” Knight stuck to his slow, often painful plan to build with youth. The plan meant enduring repeated last-place finishes, but the Hawks showed steady if slow improvement and finally ended a nine-year playoff drought this season.
LeBron James says he won’t miss baskets like he did in the series opener between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics. Neither, James believes, will Paul Pierce or Ray Allen. James missed all but two of his 18 shots from the field Tuesday night in Cleveland’s 76-72 loss, including a layup that would have tied it with 9 seconds remaining.
Rockets guard Tracy McGrady could need three months to recover following operations on his knee and shoulder. “I don’t expect these issues to impact his ability to prepare for the upcoming season,” said team physician Tom Clanton, who operated on McGrady’s knee. Loose tissue was cleared out of the left knee and left shoulder.
Denver Nuggets All-Star Carmelo Anthony has been ticketed for speeding, three weeks after he was cited on a charge of driving under the influence. Police say Anthony was pulled over Saturday for driving 60 mph in a 45-mph zone. The 23-year-old was arrested on a DUI charge in Denver on April 14. He apologized the next day.
