Stories related to: NBA

The San Antonio Spurs' Big Three came through, but they'll still have to win one on the road to keep their title defense alive. Manu Ginobili scored 25 points, Tim Duncan had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Tony Parker added 15 points in the Spurs' 99-80 victory over the New Orleans Hornets in Game 6 last night. More »

Charles Barkley admitted today that he owes a Las Vegas casino $400,000 and promised to pay up quickly, the AP reports. The former NBA star fessed up after the Wynn Las Vegas casino filed a complaint and the local DA threatened felony charges. "I'm not broke, and I'm going to take care of it," said Barkley, who blamed the big debt on a bad Super Bowl bet. More »

So much for Kobe Bryant's sore lower back. Bryant scored 26 points, his teammates kept Utah at bay down the stretch, and Los Angeles Lakers extended the stunning home success by NBA teams in the second round of the playoffs, beating the Jazz 111-104 on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. More »

Someone is going to have to win in Boston to keep the Celtics from winning their 17th NBA title. Cleveland hopes for one more chance. Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 16 rebounds, Rajon Rondo added 20 points and 13 assists, and the Celtics beat the Cavaliers 96-89 on Wednesday night to move within a win of the Eastern Conference finals. More »

David West and the New Orleans Hornets sure looked happy to be at home. West had career playoff highs of 38 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots, lifting New Orleans to a 101-79 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night and a 3-2 series lead. New Orleans looked impressive in winning the first two games at home but stumbled in San Antonio. More »

The Detroit Pistons made just enough shots and stops to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for a sixth straight year. Richard Hamilton scored 19 of his 31 points in the first half, made victory-sealing free throws late in the game and Tayshaun Prince had a key block, helping Detroit hold off the Orlando Magic for a 91-86 win Tuesday night in Game 5 of the second-round series. More »

Mike D'Antoni is bringing his high-scoring brand of basketball to a Knicks team that seems ill-suited to run it. No matter. The former Phoenix Suns coach figures he'll come up with something that works. "I will adapt what I do. Now I like to play fast, move the ball and all that stuff, and we'll try to do that as best as we can," D'Antoni said Tuesday. More »

Back to even, and back to Boston—with authority. LeBron James scored 21 points, jamming in a powerhouse dunk over a defenseless Kevin Garnett in the final two minutes, as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the homesick Celtics 88-77 in Game 4 on Monday night to tie the best-of-seven series at 2-2. More »

Tim Duncan had 22 points and 15 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the New Orleans Hornets 100-80 tonight in Game 4 to even the Western Conference semifinals at 2-2. Tony Parker added 21 points for the Spurs, who led nearly the entire game and are assured of a Game 6 back in San Antonio. Chris Paul scored 23 for the Hornets. More »

Andrei Kirilenko blocked Kobe Bryant twice in overtime and converted a three-point play with 35 seconds remaining as the Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-115 on Sunday, tying the Western Conference semifinals at 2-2. The Jazz went 8-for-8 from the foul line in overtime and outscored the Lakers 15-7 in the extra five minutes. More »

Mike D'Antoni has agreed to coach the New York Knicks, bringing his entertaining offensive style from the Phoenix Suns to a team coming off one of the worst seasons in franchise history. The Knicks released a statement last night saying they had agreed in principle with D'Antoni and that a press conference would be held once the contract had been completed. More »

It was the Boston Celtics, not Ben Wallace, feeling dizzy after this one. Wallace started Game 3 despite occasional dizziness from an inner ear infection and had one of his best performances since joining Cleveland in a midseason trade. His defensive presence inside was a major factor in the Cavaliers' 108-84 win tonight, which pulled them within 2-1 in their Eastern Conference semifinal series. More »

Richard Hamilton scored 32 points and Hedo Turkoglu missed a layup with time running out as the Detroit Pistons beat the Orlando Magic 90-89 tonight to take a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference series. Tayshaun Prince scored 17 for Detroit, including an 11-foot runner for the go-ahead basket with 8.9 seconds left. Rasheed Wallace had 16 points and eight rebounds. Antonio McDyess had eight points and 14 boards. More »

Carlos Boozer broke out of his slump with 27 points and tied his career playoff-high with 20 rebounds, leading the Utah Jazz to a 104-99 victory over Los Angeles last night, cutting the Lakers' lead in the series to 2-1. It was the Lakers' first loss this postseason. Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinal is Sunday at Utah. More »

There was no third-quarter breakdown for the San Antonio Spurs last night, just the desperate play of a team whose quest for a second straight NBA title was on the line. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili both scored 31 points to lead the Spurs to a 110-99 victory over the New Orleans Hornets in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals. More »

Paul Pierce and Ray Allen found their shooting touch. LeBron James can only hope he left his in Cleveland. Pierce scored 19 points, Kevin Garnett added 13 with 12 rebounds, and Allen broke out of a seven-quarter scoring drought with 16 points to help the Boston Celtics beat the Cavaliers 89-73. More »

Kobe Bryant had 34 points, eight rebounds and six assists after receiving his first MVP award, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 120-110 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. The Lakers remain the NBA's only unbeaten team in the postseason. The series shifts to Utah for Games 3 and 4 on Friday night and Sunday. More »

Rashard Lewis scored a career playoff-high 33 points Wednesday and Orlando beat Detroit 111-86 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Magic's first win in the series. The Pistons lost point guard Chauncey Billups just four minutes into the game when he drove to the basket and got tangled up with Orlando's Jameer Nelson. More »

LeBron James couldn't make a basket down the stretch—or at virtually any other time—and the Boston Celtics eked out a 76-72 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night in the opener of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Kevin Garnett scored 28 points to make up for an off night for the rest of Boston's Big Three. More »

Finally, an MVP award for Kobe Bryant. Regarded as the NBA's best player for several years but never its most valuable, Bryant earned the honor at last after leading the Los Angeles Lakers to the best record in the Western Conference. He called the award a blessing and an honor and emphasized that he wants another trophy this year. More »