Raptors blow lead with 76ers, win in OT 128-123

Associated Press
April 3, 2010


Philadelphia, PA — The Toronto Raptors narrowly averted a costly letdown in their push to make the playoffs.

Toronto blew a 17-point third-quarter lead against the lowly Philadelphia 76ers and trailed in overtime Saturday before Chris Bosh stepped up with two key shots to keep the Raptors in control of the eighth and final playoff spot with a 128-123 win.

read more

Magic take Maveriks 97-82 with “Howard Power”

Associated Press
April 2, 2010


Dallas, TX — Dwight Howard regularly dominates in the paint for the Orlando Magic. The X-factor for the Magic is their 3-point shooting.

Howard had 17 points, 20 rebounds and five blocked shots, and his teammates converted 14 of 24 attempts from 3-point range as the Magic atoned for an earlier loss to Dallas with a 97-82 victory over the Mavericks on Thursday night.

read more

‘Wild’ times for Lakers are mild by Lakers’ standards

By Mark Heisler
March 28, 2010


Los Angeles, CA — Before I get to the latest Lakers crises as the team plunges into the abyss with Phil Jackson and/or Kobe Bryant leaving, I want to thank everyone in Lakerdom, just for being.

Without you, we'd just cover ordinary teams like the Clippers, whose dysfunction is entertaining but whose winning percentage isn't high enough for anyone to care about them but them, a.k.a. Clipper Nation.

read more

Boozer becomes Jazz's high note

By Ian Thomsen
March 24, 2010


Carlos Boozer chooses to hold some grudges, and others he lets go. He still remembers being stranded until the second round of the draft eight years ago.

"It was the first year that we had a lot of European guys," said Boozer, who at 6-foot-8 was deemed too short to excel at power forward.

read more

Spurs beat Thunder to forge tie for sixth place in the west

Associated Press
March 22, 2010


Oklahoma City, OK — George Hill scored a career-high 27 points, and the San Antonio Spurs overcame Kevin Durant's 45 points to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 99-96 on Monday night and forge a tie between the teams for sixth place in the Western Conference standings.

read more

Roy searching for his inner ruthlessness

By Marc J. Spears
March 16, 2010


The Portland Trail Blazers had just lost to the Denver Nuggets, and Brandon Roy was blaming himself for the defeat. His 12 points had hardly measured up to Carmelo Anthony’s 30, and with the Blazers clinging to the Western Conference’s last playoff seed, any loss was one they couldn’t afford.

read more

Bryant measures his leadership of Lakers

By Adrian Wojnarowski
March 13, 2010


Phoenix, AZ – Privately, people wonder: How many more passes does Kobe Bryant give Pau Gasol for speaking so boldly about him? How long until Bryant’s public and private reprisal comes with a ferocity that could bring a 7-footer to his knees?

read more

Caught in Durant’s shadow, Westbrook shines

By Marc J. Spears
March 9, 2010


Russell Westbrook wears a bright orange bracelet on each wrist during games. The same two words are printed on both: “Why Not?”

read more

Bobcats hand Lakers 2nd straight loss, 98-83

By Mike Cranston
March 5, 2010


CHARLOTTE, NC — The final seconds ticked down and Michael Jordan slowly rose from his seat. He waited until the final buzzer and then briefly clapped.

Jordan showed little emotion after the Charlotte Bobcats won their first game in three tries since he agreed to buy the team.

read more

Iverson will not return to 76ers

By Dan Gelston
March 2, 2010


Philadelphia , PA — The Philadelphia 76ers have said goodbye to A.I.

Allen Iverson’s second stint with the team he once led to the NBA finals ended Tuesday when the Sixers announced he would not return for the rest of the season.

read more

Howard powers Magic to 101-95 win over Cavs

Associated Press
February 21, 2010


Orlando, Fla. — Dwight Howard sat on a chair in front of his locker and plopped his son, Braylon, onto his lap. The 2-year-old was wearing a blue shirt with the Superman emblem stamped on the chest.

Statement? Hardly. The big man did that on the court.

read more

Howard powers Magic to 101-95 win over Cavs

Associated Press
February 21, 2010


Orlando, Fla. — Dwight Howard sat on a chair in front of his locker and plopped his son, Braylon, onto his lap. The 2-year-old was wearing a blue shirt with the Superman emblem stamped on the chest.

Statement? Hardly. The big man did that on the court.

read more

Rookies break sophomore hex in Dallas

Associated Press
February 12, 2010


DALLAS, Tx. — Sacramento's Tyreke Evans had 26 points and San Antonio's DeJuan Blair had 22 points and 23 rebounds to give the NBA rookies a rare victory over the sophomores, 140-128 in the Rookie Challenge on Friday night.

read more

Nugets see no reason to fear Lakers

By Marc J. Spears
February 5, 2010


Denver Nuggets coach George Karl believes he owns a recipe the rest of the NBA wishes it had: The Nuggets, Karl thinks, have all the ingredients necessary to beat the Los Angeles Lakers.

read more

Hawks beat Celtics 100-91 to sweep season series

By CHARLES ODUM
January 29, 2010


ATLANTA, GA — Joe Johnson(notes) scored 16 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and the Atlanta Hawks beat Boston 100-91 on Friday night to complete their first season sweep of the Celtics in 11 years.

learn more

Arenas awaits sentence on gun charge, fate in NBA

By MATTHEW BARAKAT and HOWARD FENDRICH
January 16, 2010


WASHINGTON — Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas(notes) will have to wait until March to learn if he will be sent to prison for a felony gun conviction, while his future with the NBA sits in limbo.

learn more

NBA gave Agent Zero his mission, laugh track

By Adrian Wojnarowski
Janury 7, 2010


Year after year, David Stern sits in his 15th-floor office of Olympic Tower and watches the stories unleash on the NBA like tsunamis – Latrell Sprewell, the Palace of Auburn Hills brawl, the debauchery of a Vegas All-Star weekend.

learn more

Can’t-Miss Prospect Who Did Returns at 28

By HOWARD BECK
December 24, 2009


GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Jonathan Bender was the quiet one, introspective and inconspicuous, despite his sinewy 7-foot frame and his outlandish skills. The impromptu dunk contest was not his idea.

learn more

History sides with Iverson in Philly reunion

By Adrian Wojnarowski
December 1, 2009


Thirteen months ago, Allen Iverson made a compelling case for change at the dining room table of Joe Dumars. He made something of a stump speech to the Pistons president, understanding what a champion wanted to hear, what would play to this audience.

learn more

Still-growing Bynum gives Lakers a limitless future

By Scott Howard-Cooper
November 13 2009


The Andrew Bynum progression chart is a roller-coaster diagram. Great expectations as the No. 10 pick in 2005 and the youngest player to ever get in an NBA game, only to spend that rookie campaign out of the Lakers rotation. He had substantial forward movement his third season, only to hurt his left knee and miss the final 46 games and L.A.'s run to the Finals. A recovery his fourth season, 2008-09, to the top 10 in the league in shooting and blocks at age 20, only to hurt his right knee and miss 32 games.

learn more

Red hot Carmelo gets fast start in Race to the MVP

By Frank Hughes
November 7, 2009


Had the initial Race to the MVP column been written a week ago, after only a handful of games, the list would have been infiltrated by the likes of Channing Frye(notes), who hit six three-pointers en route to 22 points in one of the Phoenix Suns' early victories, and Al Horford, who had 24 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks in the Atlanta Hawks' season-opening victory over the Indiana Pacers.

learn more

A little hate between these contenders is not a bad thing

By Vince Thomas
October 27 2009


Buried in the firestorm that followed Isiah Thomas' excoriation of onetime blood-brother Magic Johnson was an anecdotal revelation that had me wistful for the NBA of my childhood. Contending squads viewed each other different in that '80s Golden Age. Isiah's statement about when and how his relationship changed with Magic was indicative of the good ol' days when rivals were enemies.

"When we got to the ['88] Finals, our relationship became very different,'' Thomas acknowledged to SI.com. "It was OK for us to be friends when we weren't competing with the Lakers, but when we started competing with the Lakers, our friendship changed.

learn more

The 10 best NBA players of the last decade

By Kelly Dwyer
October 6, 2009


OK, we know the first decade of the 21st century doesn't really end until 2011. We think. But we also know there have been 10 full NBA seasons played since the phrase "Y2K" was on all of our lips (1999-2000), and here at Ball Don't Lie we've decided to use this as an offseason excuse to rank some of the best and not-so-brightest of the 10 campaigns in question. The result? Why, top 10 lists!

Let's just skip to what people have been asking for since the beginning. The 10 best players.

learn more

St. Albans native inducted into basketball Hall of Fame — Gail Marquis’ love of the sport led her to compete in the Olympics and on a European court

By Ivan Pereira
September 17, 2009


When Gail Marquis first started playing basketball in the gym of St. Catherine’s of Sienna in St. Albans, she displayed an athletic passion that led her to compete in the Olympics, take the court in Europe and help win the last major basketball title for a New York team.

In two weeks, her career will be immortalized for all of her fans and sports historians when she is inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. Marquis, who is a vice president of the wealth management firm Element Financial Group, where she heads the sports and fashion division, said she was flattered by the honor because she worked hard to be the best in her sport.

learn more

NBA preparing Twitter guidelines

By Marc J. Spears
September 6, 2009


NBA commissioner David Stern told Yahoo! Sports on Thursday the league will soon follow the NFL in announcing Twitter guidelines and other social media restrictions for its players and coaches.

“Obviously, there is a happy medium between tweeting before the game and tweeting from our bench during the game,” Stern said by phone. “You want to make sure that pop culture doesn’t intrude on what brought us here, which is the game, and that we show the right respect for the game.”

learn more

Greek team Olympiakos interested in Knicks David Lee, Nate Robinson

By Frank Isola
July 18, 2009


Maybe Olympiakos should be changing its name to the Greece Knicks.

The Greek club is not only pursuing Knicks guard Nate Robinson, but according to a source, it has also contacted his teammate, forward David Lee. It is unclear if Lee has received an offer or if he has interest in playing overseas. Lee's agent, Mark Bartelstein, would not confirm whether he had spoken to Olympiakos but Bartelstein said last night that he is confident that his client will play in the NBA next season.

"I've had a lot of dealings with Olympiakos over the years," said Bartelstein, whose client, Jannero Pargo, played for the Greek team last year. "I'll never say never, but that's not where we're looking right now."

learn more

Shaq goes back to No. 33

June 26 2009


CLEVELAND -- Shaquille O'Neal hasn't picked out a house in Cleveland yet. He has chosen a jersey number -- his old one.

Shaq is going back to No. 33.

Traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, the 15-time All-Star has decided to wear 33, the team confirmed Friday. That's the number O'Neal wore in high school and at LSU before turning pro. O'Neal wore No. 32 when he was in Orlando, Miami and Phoenix.

When he was with the Los Angeles Lakers, O'Neal wore 34 because Nos. 32 and 33 were retired for Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

learn more

Who's the NBA's MVP?
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant are in a scintillating race only one can win

By JONATHAN FEIGEN
April 2, 2009


LOS ANGELES — Shaquille O’Neal stumbled into a condition he did not recognize. He was stumped.

He had seen everything he needed to see... Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. He has watched more of their games than he ever thought he would. He has played with Wade and Bryant. He has been an MVP himself and had a two-time MVP, Steve Nash, for a teammate.

O’Neal was given a simple, direct question that has filled locker rooms, barrooms and chat rooms for weeks: Who is the NBA’s Most Valuable Player?
He had no idea.

“This year I can say it’s very close,” said O’Neal, unable to pick a preference. “Those three are playing above everybody else.

learn more

Valley's neediest get NBA assist
As All-Star Game draws near, league is repairing homes and helping out schools

By Jahna Berry
Feb. 4, 2009


This month's NBA All-Star Game won't just be a tourism bonanza for Phoenix; it will also pour tens of thousands of dollars into helping Valley kids and poor families.

Less than two weeks before the nation's top basketball players showcase their skills at US Airways Center, the league is shining the spotlight on its compassionate side as it pitches in on several charitable projects.

The National Basketball Association's officials and players, together with other groups, already have fanned out across the Valley, rebuilding homes, starting work on a new playground and rounding up computers for schools.

learn more

Jazz can't catch up in 4th
Classic San Antonio » Spurs use Tim Duncan excessively at game's end.

By Ross Siler
January 28, 2009


If there was any silver lining as the Jazz's season-high losing streak reached four games Tuesday night, it came with the knowledge that the San Antonio Spurs will be visiting EnergySolutions Arena only once this season.

The Jazz were able to withstand a barrage of Matt Bonner three-pointers, a tough call that sent them into halftime trailing and had them at an 11-point deficit in the third quarter. What did them in ultimately was a fourth quarter that could only be described as textbook Spurs.

learn more

Celtics Spoil Debut at Home for Iverson

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
November 9, 2008


The Boston Celtics showed the Detroit Pistons that Allen Iverson may not be the answer.

Tony Allen scored 12 of his 23 points in the pivotal second quarter, lifting Boston to an 88-76 victory against Detroit on Sunday night.

Iverson was given a standing ovation when he was introduced for the first time as a Piston at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons stayed in the game during the first quarter before being quieted in the second, when Boston used four reserves to outscore Detroit, 30-10.

The defending champion Celtics did not have any trouble keeping their big cushion in a rematch of the Eastern Conference finals.

Iverson finished his third home debut with 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting, with four assists and four turnovers.

learn more

Blazers head out on first lengthy road trip

By Brian Hendrickson, Columbian Staff Writer
November 9, 2008


PORTLAND — As Brandon Roy looked back on the Portland Trail Blazers’ early season Saturday night, one word kept describing their accomplishments.

Confidence.

It was confidence that Roy said helped Portland hold off a San Antonio rally to snap a 12-game losing streak to the Spurs.

And it was confidence that helped Roy score five points in 1.9 seconds to beat Houston on a buzzer beater.

And confidence again helped Portland shake off a rough start Saturday night and rally past Minnesota.

learn more

Driving in new lane
Hornets’ Paul gets chance to show skills at Games

By LES EAST
July 31, 2008


NEW ORLEANS — Hornets owner George Shinn recently recounted a story of sitting with former LSU star and Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Pettitt during a New Orleans playoff game.

They were watching Hornets point guard Chris Paul display the skills that vaulted him to All-Star status in just his third year in the NBA and helped lead New Orleans to its first division championship and within one victory of the Western Conference finals.

Pettitt noted how Paul made his teammates — particularly center Tyson Chandler, a frequent beneficiary of lob passes from Paul for easy dunks — better, something point guards are supposed to do.

learn more

NBA ref fixes over 100 games


With a lack of originality in much of Hollywood's stories, there has been a major push towards reality television. What's ironic is that the best original story Hollywood could have come up with is a reality for the NBA.

A gambling addict turned NBA ref fixes over 100 games. Just when we think it is a dead issue he blows the lid off the story by saying that other officials, coaches, and players were involved.

learn more

NBA Preview from The Sports Network

March 13, 2008


Golden State Warriors (40-23) at Phoenix Suns (42-22), 10:30 p.m.

(Sports Network) - A pair of teams battling for playoff positioning in the Western Conference meet tonight, as the Phoenix Suns welcome the Golden State Warriors to US Airways Center.

Golden State is 2-0 against the Suns this season, and has won three straight overall in the series. The Warriors have lost four in a row and six of their last seven at Phoenix.

The Suns are scheduled to host Golden State on April 14 in the fourth and final meeting of the regular season between the squads.

learn more

Shaquille O'Neal makes Suns-Lakers rivalry NBA best

Sam Smith | On Pro Basketball
February 11, 2008


No matter what becomes of the Shaquille O'Neal deal, and though O'Neal has been awful this season, I'm not quite ready to discount his trade to the Suns for its playoff impact.

One of the best games of the second half could be right after the All-Star break, on Feb. 20 in Phoenix. It's the last regular-season meeting between the Suns and Lakers. O'Neal should be playing by then, and Kobe Bryant will lead the Lakers into town.

O'Neal, who last year labeled Lakers coach Phil Jackson "Benedict Arnold," had to notice Jackson saying last week how Shaq would be used: "Taking the ball out of bounds and waiting for the other team to get back.

learn more

NBA Power Poll: Hornets move to No. 1

Stan McNeal, January 18, 2008


A drum roll please -- wait, make that a jazz saxophone riff -- for the new leader of the Power Poll ... the New Orleans Hornets.

Relax, Celtics fans. You, too, Pistons followers. The Poll doesn't believe the Hornets are going to the Finals or anything. But they are the only elite team to avoid a mid-season case of the blahs in the past week.

The Celtics lost back to back to the Wizards. The Pistons were blown out by the Knicks. The Spurs are struggling so much the Poll is beginning to wonder if they're as good as previously thought. The Lakers have lost Andrew Bynum. Rumors about team chemistry continue to dog the Suns. The Mavericks have taken a hiatus this week, thanks to their schedule. The Blazers have lost two of their first three on a road trip to the East.

learn more

Portland 97, Philadelphia 72

By ANNE M. PETERSON, AP Sports Writer


PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- While Brandon Roy is Portland's top scorer, the Trail Blazers look to Travis Outlaw in the fourth quarter.

Outlaw, a reserve, was 1-for-7 from the floor for the first three quarters, but took over in the fourth as the Blazers went on a 21-0 run to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 97-72 on Sunday for their league-leading 13th straight win.

learn more