Source: Reuters,
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Chicago Bulls' 93-82 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday not only clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs but also capped a transformation from up-and-comer to title contender.
The Bulls are assured of home court advantage through the Eastern Conference playoffs with the top seeding.
Chicago finished eighth in the East last season and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs but with a 59-20 record this season under first year coach Tom Thibodeau are now one of the favorites for the franchise's first NBA title since the departure of Michael Jordan in the late 1990s.
"Our growth has been formidable," center Joakim Noah told reporters. "Last year, we qualified for the playoffs on the last day (of the regular season).
"Today, we are the number one seed. That feels pretty good."
Carlos Boozer, a free agent acquisition in the off-season, had 24 points and 11 rebounds Friday, while point guard Derrick Rose had a quiet game with 11 points and eight assists but remains the favorite to capture the league's MVP Award.
Source: AFP,
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland Cavaliers averted a season sweep by Miami and exacted a dose of revenge against LeBron James by beating the Heat 102-90 on Tuesday.
Cleveland took a whopping 23-point lead, then lost it and had to storm back late in the game with a 12-0 run for the victory and a dose of revenge against former teammate James.
It was the second trip back to Cleveland for James since the all-star decided to become a free agent in the offseason and make the switch to Miami. The Heat won both games in Miami against the Cavs this season.
But James took the loss in his stride.
"Anytime we play anybody, we know we're going to get the best out of them," James said. "They came out and played extremely well. It was a good win for them."
JJ Hickson had 21 points and Anthony Parker netted 20 for Cleveland, who were embarrassed by Miami 118-90 on December 2 when James scored 30 points. That night Cleveland fans heckled and booed James throughout the contest.
"The first time we played them here, we were embarrassed and they took a little from us," Parker said. "This is the night that we wanted to get that back, for us, but more for the fans. That was great getting it back for them."
James still had a triple double Tuesday, finishing with 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds but couldn't get the win. Dwyane Wade had 24 points and six assists for the Heat, who had a five-game win streak halted.
Miami's Mike Bibby made a season-high seven three-pointers.
Cleveland fans have not forgotten James' snub but they weren't as outwardly angry towards James as they were in December. James was booed throughout but there were no blatant incidents. Cavaliers management also stepped up security for Tuesday's game.
James said things weren't as hostile as his previous visit.
"I expect the worst," he said. "But worse than last time, December 2? No."
Miami fought back from 23 down, and tied it 83-83 on Bibby's seventh three-pointer with 7:03 left. The Heat then went scoreless for the next four minutes.
The Cavaliers shot 56 percent from the field to post their 15th win and their most lopsided victory this season.
Baron Davis made his first start since coming to Cleveland in a trade and finished with 10 points.
Centre Ryan Hollins also made his presence known with 13 points and blocking three shots.
Source: Reuters
-- The Cleveland Cavaliers, who had the NBA's top record in the regular season, suddenly have their backs against the wall and need league MVP LeBron James to step up or else they will take an early playoff exit.
James behaved more like a passive bystander than the best player on the planet in the last three quarters of Tuesday's 120-88 home-court loss to the Boston Celtics in a game that gave Boston a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
National basketball team coach Mike Krzyzewski said he expects a bounce back from James, who helped the coach lead the squad to Olympic gold at the 2008 Games in Beijing.
"LeBron's a winner and when you lose you hate it. When you lose the way they did you really hate it," Krzyzewski said in an interview Wednesday with ESPN radio. "I would think (LeBron would) come out in an amazing fashion in their next game."
With the other three NBA title hopefuls -- the Magic, Lakers and Suns -- watching from the comfort of their couches after sweeping their conference semi-finals, the Cavs will be fighting for survival Thursday.
The lackluster performance by James, who scored 15 points on three-for-14 shooting, clouded expectations of an NBA Finals pitting the Cavs star against last year's MVP Kobe Bryant, winner of four championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Besides a first NBA crown for the man known as King James, his playing future in his home state of Ohio might also be hanging in the balance.
James, 25, becomes a free agent after the close of the season and some experts wonder if he might decide to seek a new address should he fall short of his maiden title.
Boston, the 2008 NBA champions, came alive with a team effort sparked by their aged Big Three.
Ray Allen, 34, led the scoring on Tuesday with 25 points. Paul Pierce, 32, added 21 points and 11 rebounds, while 33-year-old Kevin Garnett contributed 18 points.
Even if Cleveland can return the favor with a road win in Boston to set up a decisive Game Seven back home Sunday, they will head straight into an Eastern Conference finals against an Orlando Magic team that has not lost since April 2.
The Magic, who lost last year's NBA Finals 4-1 to the Lakers, have looked formidable trouncing the Atlanta Hawks by an average of 25 points a game after also sweeping the Charlotte Bobcats in the opening round.
Los Angeles and Phoenix will open their best-of-seven Western Conference finals on Monday.
Source: AFP
-- Ray Allen scored 22 points and the Boston Celtics beat Cleveland 104-86 on Monday to even their best-of-seven second round NBA Eastern Conference playoff series at one victory each.
Kevin Garnett added 18 points and 12 rebounds for Boston and Rasheed Wallace came off the bench to contribute 17 points while Rajon Rondo matched a Celtics playoff record with 19 assists.
The Cavaliers, 10-0 in playoff series after winning the opener as they did against the Celtics, now face Games 3 and 4 on Friday and Sunday in Boston.
One day after being named the NBA Most Valuable Player for the second season in a row, new concerns were raised about a sore right elbow for James as the Celtics overpowered the Cavaliers, who won an NBA-best 61 games this season.
James led Cleveland with 24 points but hit only 7-of-15 from the field and joined his teammates in struggling at the free throw line.
Boston seized a 91-66 lead, the largest any team had owned at Cleveland all season, before the Cavaliers struck back with a 15-0 run, keeping the Celtics scoreless for 5:30 and trimming the deficit to 91-81.
Paul Pierce snapped the drought for the Celtics and Boston awoke from the slump to finish off the Cavaliers over the final 3:28 despite the rally.
"We were playing the clock instead of the game," Rondo said. "We were looking at the clock instead of the score. We stopped pushing the ball up and lost our tempo."
The Celtics slammed shut the door on a comeback before Cleveland could seize any momentum ahead of Game 3, which is 4 days away but important to Boston, which swiped the home court edge and can win 3 at home to advance.
"It's important to do the same things we did in the first three quarters and the way we closed the game out," Rondo said.
Before the game, NBA commissioner David Stern said he hopes superstar playmaker James remains with the Cavaliers despite looking at free agent deals once the season is over.
"Hopefully he'll stay," Stern said. "That's the way the system is designed."
The current union deal allows teams to pay more money and add an extra year on contracts to retain free agents.
"That's the way it should be," Stern said. "It allows teams to keep their own players."
Source: AP
-- CLEVELAND – LeBron James has joined one of the NBA's most exclusive clubs.
Cleveland's superstar was voted the league's MVP for the second straight year, a person familiar with the announcement told The Associated Press on Friday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the league has not announced the results of the vote.
James, who averaged 29.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.6 assists this season, will receive the trophy Sunday at the University of Akron. The presentation by commissioner David Stern will come in front of Cleveland's fans. The Cavaliers play the Boston Celtics on Monday in Game 2 of their second-round playoff series.
James is the 10th NBA player to be the MVP in consecutive seasons. The 25-year-old star joins Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan and Steve Nash. Russell, Chamberlain and Bird won it three times in a row.
"I don't think anyone deserved it over LeBron," Miami's Dwyane Wade said. "LeBron could get it every year. It's his award to lose. That's how it is with certain players. Jordan didn't win it every year. Jordan could have won it every year. But the criteria was apparently a little different."
James' win was expected after he had the finest season of his seven-year pro career. What remains to be seen is his margin of victory. Last season, James received 109 of 121 first-place votes, winning in a landslide in voting by a nationwide media panel of sports writers and broadcasters over Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, who won the award in 2008.
The Plain Dealer of Cleveland first announced that James won the award.
For the second straight year, James will accept the award in his hometown. A year ago, he went back to Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, his alma mater, for a ceremony in the school's gymnasium that was attended by family, friends, former teachers and the student body.
As a high school star, James played many of his games at Rhodes Arena on Akron's campus. James also holds his summer basketball camps at the university and the Zips are coached by Keith Dambrot, who coached the All-Star for a time in high school.
James, paired this season with center Shaquille O'Neal to help Cleveland win its first NBA title, led the Cavaliers to 61 wins in the regular season and the top seed in the playoffs. Cleveland's lineup was constantly changing because of injuries, but the Cavs could always count on James, the first forward in league history to average more than eight assists a game.
James delivered nightly jaw-dropping highlights, many of them coming at the defensive end on chase-down blocks. His value was never more obvious than when he sat out the Cavaliers' final four games, and they lost each one.
Despite playing with a strained and bruised right elbow, James averaged 31.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 2.4 blocks and 1.2 steals as the Cavaliers eliminated Chicago in the first round of the playoffs.
"I give a lot of credit to my teammates, the coaching staff and my family," James said last week when asked about winning a second MVP. "It solidifies a lot of hard work and dedication I was able to put in the offseason to try to get better as an individual and bring it to this team."
Source: AP
-- LeBron James has a busy summer ahead. Maybe too busy to play basketball.
Cleveland's superstar said Wednesday night that he's "probably not playing" for Team USA this summer in the world championships in Turkey. James, who was a captain on the U.S. team that won a gold medal at the Beijing Games in 2008, is eligible for free agency after the season and is scheduled to film a movie.
His crammed itinerary may make it impossible to play for his country for the third time. James also was a member of the 2004 Olympic team in Athens — and choosing not to take part this summer could jeopardize his chances of playing in London in 2012.
"I got a really, really, really, really, really busy summer," James said about an hour before tip-off against the Milwaukee Bucks. "I would love if I had the opportunity and the time to play to represent my country and go out there and do that. But there's a lot of things I need to take care of first."
So will he play?
"It's very, very shady right now," he said. "I'm probably not playing. There are a lot of decisions I need to make this summer before I decide to get back out on the court."
USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said he won't worry about who is playing until July, when the Americans report to training camp. He was already aware that players such as James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh might be unavailable while dealing with free agency.
However, Colangelo also warned that blowing off the world championships without a good reason and then playing in the Olympics wouldn't be allowed, just as it wasn't last time around.
"Same thing has to apply here," he said.
"If someone chooses not to play this summer just because he chooses not to play, there's no guarantee he'll be in London."
James was one of the few Americans to play all three summers from 2006-08, but Colangelo said there are "no free passes, regardless who it is." Colangelo said he hadn't heard from James, but doesn't need to right now.
"Why speculate now when it's still too early?" he said. "I don't even care at this point. I'll care when we get to July."
Source: AP
-- LeBron James has a new All-Star sidekick.
The Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Antawn Jamison from Washington on Wednesday night, the forward they hope will fit in between James and Shaquille O'Neal on a championship front line.
Jamison was the centerpiece of a three-team deal that also sent Drew Gooden to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Washington received Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, a 2010 first-round draft pick and the rights to Emir Preldzic, who was selected in the second round of last year's draft from Cleveland.
The Wizards also received forward Al Thornton from Los Angeles.
Cleveland gets guard Sebastian Telfair from the Clippers.
"Antawn is a great pro. We are very excited to have an experienced all-star player of Antawn's caliber and character join us," Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry said in a statement announcing the trade. "He has the ability to add a special, unique dimension to our team with a strong inside presence and the ability to stretch teams defensively, while impacting the entire court."
The Cavaliers had long coveted an athletic power forward who could play on the perimeter after they were eliminated by the Orlando Magic in last year's Eastern Conference finals.
They had reportedly been involved in trade talks with Phoenix for Amare Stoudemire, but instead ended up with another former All-Star.
Jamison, who had been with the Wizards since 2004, is averaging 20.5 points this season. He was not in uniform for Washington's game with Minnesota on Wednesday.
"Antawn Jamison has been the embodiment of leadership on and off the court for this franchise for five-and-a-half seasons and we thank him for all he has done for the Wizards and the city of Washington," Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld said. "Unfortunately, our on-court results have not met our expectations and we felt it was necessary to make changes to improve our future and our financial flexibility. This trade accomplished both of those objectives."
Jamison left the arena shortly before the game. As he entered his car, he said to reporters: "Not now."
He did have a message for Wizards fans: "You know I love them more than they love me."
Jamison should immediately step in at power forward for Cleveland and supply James with another legitimate scoring option as the Cavaliers' seek their first championship. Jamison is still owed $28 million over the next two seasons.
Cleveland (43-11) has the best record in the NBA and can set a new franchise mark by winning its 14th straight game Thursday night against Denver. Still, the Cavaliers couldn't pass on the opportunity to add a proven veteran like Jamison, who can stretch opposing defenses with his perimeter shooting and open up the lane for James and O'Neal.
Ilgauskas, who is 34, has played his entire 12-year NBA career with the Cavaliers. He was supplanted as the starting center by O'Neal this season. He's averaging 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds this season. His career averages are 13.9 points and 7.7 rebounds.
"Z has been a cornerstone part of this franchise and his jersey will hang in the rafters here some day, not only because of his play, but because of the tremendous person he is and what he has meant to the franchise and the community," Ferry said. "He has represented the Cavaliers, Cleveland and the NBA at a consistently high level for many years. We wish Z and his family the best."
James can become a free agent this summer, leaving this as Cleveland's final shot at a championship before he decides to stay or go. The Cavaliers also had the league's best record last season, when they failed to reach the NBA finals.
Maybe Jamison can help them take that next step.
He was extremely popular not only with fans in Washington, but also with his teammates and the late owner Abe Pollin. After Gilbert Arenas was suspended indefinitely early last month, Jamison was the one who was chosen to speak to the crowd before the Jan. 8 game. He apologized for a skit that pantomimed shooting guns, calling it: "very embarrassing."
Now Jamison is gone and Wizards coach Flip Saunders lauded him.
"He's one of the most professional guys I've ever been around," Saunders said.
The Wizards acquired Gooden on Saturday in a multiplayer trade that sent Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson to the Dallas Mavericks.
Gooden was reportedly seeking a buyout. Unlike his three former Mavericks teammates, he did not practice with the Wizards on Tuesday, but was at shootaround Wednesday morning. He was listed as inactive.
"Basically, we started looking at opportunities to clear cap space for this summer and in the meantime acquire assets that we also liked," Clippers general manager Mike Dunleavy said. "In the last two days, we were able to do that. And it gives us the flexibility to pretty much go in a lot of different directions."
Jamison was an All-Star in 2005 and 2008, and averaged 20.5 points in 41 games. He missed the first nine games of this season with a sprained right shoulder.
The 33-year-old played his first five seasons with Golden State and after playing the 2003-04 season with Dallas, was traded to Washington. Jamison has a career average of 19.9 points.
The 6-foot-7 Thornton has averaged 13.7 in his three-year career with the Clippers.
Telfair, who's 24, will be playing for his fourth team. The former first-round pick has averaged 7.9 points in his career.
Source: AP
-- LeBron James scored 32 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to their 12th straight win Tuesday night, a 104-97 victory over the New Jersey Nets.
The win gives Cleveland the longest winning streak in the NBA this season. The Cavaliers (42-11) also have the best record in the league.
New Jersey (4-47) has the NBA's worst record and has lost seven straight. The Nets played without point guard Devin Harris, who has a sprained left shoulder. Courtney Lee led the Nets with 24 points.
James, who was named the Eastern Conference's player of the week for the fifth time this season Monday, was 13-of-21 from the field with 11 assists and three rebounds.
Jawad Willams scored a career-high 17 points while Anderson Varejao added 15 for Cleveland.
The Nets built an eight-point lead in the first quarter thanks primarily to 11 points by Jarvis Hayes, who hit three 3-pointers. Cleveland scored the last seven points of the quarter and went ahead for good early in the second period.
The Cavaliers' spurt was capped when with a highlight reel play at both ends of the court. It began when Shaquille O'Neal blocked Brook Lopez's shot at the basket. The 7-foot-1, 325-pound center grabbed the ball and dribbled up the floor before finding James on the wing. James made a perfect alley-oop pass to Varejao, who finished the play with a dunk, bringing the crowd to its feet. O'Neal then gave Varejao a resounding chest bump and the Nets called timeout.
James converted his own dunk off a lob pass from Daniel Gibson moments later.
The Cavaliers led by six points at halftime and stretched the margin to 10 on two occasions. The Nets cut the lead to four late in the period, but the Cavaliers put the game away with away with a 13-2 run to start the fourth quarter. Jawad Williams hit two 3-pointers while James added a 3-pointer and a fast break dunk, which built the lead to 91-74.
Lopez scored 23 points and Hayes added 19 for the Nets.
The Cavaliers are a league-best 23-3 at home, winning 10 straight and 21 of 22. The Nets have lost 15 straight on the road and are 1-27 away from home.
Cleveland hosts Orlando on Thursday night in a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference Finals, which the Magic won in six games.
Source: Associated Press,
-- LeBron James tied a career high with 15 assists to help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the worn-down Memphis Grizzlies 105-89 on Tuesday for their ninth straight NBA victory.
James scored 22 but was more focused on setting up his teammates. It was the fifth time in six games he has had at least 10 assists, accepting the challenge of running Cleveland's offense while the club waits for guards Mo Williams and Delonte West to return from injuries.
Shaquille O'Neal ruled beneath the hoop, collecting 13 points and 13 rebounds in 21 minutes as Cleveland again won comfortably — the Cavaliers have won their past four games by an average of 19 points.
Rudy Gay scored 15 for Memphis, playing its fourth game in five nights.
