Source: ABS-CBN News
-- The short-handed Miami Heat turned to LeBron James for crunch time heroics and the two-time MVP responded, scoring the Heat's final 17 points as they rallied past the New Jersey Nets, 101-98.
James finished with a game-high 37 points on top of six rebounds and seven assists for the Heat, who were without All-Star guard Dwyane Wade. Chris Bosh added 22 points and 15 rebounds.
The Nets, playing without Deron Williams, led for most of the game but could not stop James in the final five minutes of the fourth period.
James put the Heat ahead for good with a driving lay-up with less than a minute to go, 97-96, then padded the lead to 99-96 with a jump shot with 13 seconds left.
"We know, no matter who we're playing, if it's in Miami or if it's on the road, we’re going to get everybody's best," James said. "No matter the records, no matter what's going on."
"That's why, it's a 48-minute game and we wanted to keep plugging away until we were able to take the lead," he added.
Kris Humphries had 29 points and eight rebounds for the Nets, while rookie MarShon Brooks added 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Trailing 96-99, the Nets still had a chance to tie the game but committed a five-second inbound pass violation.
"I am at a loss for words. I don't know what to say," Nets head coach Avery Johnson said. "Our guys played their butts off. It's a winnable game, but we didn't execute offensively down the stretch."
The Heat improved their record to 43-17 and have a realistic chance of catching the Chicago Bulls (46-15) for the top spot in the Eastern Conference with six games remaining on their schedule.
The Bulls made the Heat’s life a little easier after they stumbled to a shocking upset at the hands of the Washington Wizards, 87-84.
Chicago was playing without reigning league MVP Derrick Rose and All-Star Luol Deng, but were still expected to roll over the hapless Wizards who came into the game with the second-worst record in the East (14-46).
Instead, the Bulls got defeated on their own homefloor as the Wizards rallied from an 11-point fourth quarter deficit.
Kevin Seraphin had 21 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks, while John Wall added 16 markers.
Maurice Evans sparked the Wizards’ comeback when he scored back-to-back three-pointers in the final period, part of a 13-0 run that put Washington ahead.
Richard Hamilton had a chance to win the game for the Bulls, but his three-pointer was blocked by James Singleton with less than six seconds to go, and CJ Watson also missed as time ran out.
"I challenged them tonight. If we're going to go down, let's go down as aggressive as we can," Wizards coach Randy Pittman said. "I thought to a man we had that tonight. Our defense is pretty darn good."
But Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said "We beat ourselves" after his team committed 17 turnovers and allowed the Wizards to score 20 fastbreak points.
The Chicago players said that the absence of Rose and Deng does not excuse their loss.
"It doesn't really affect us that much, because we have been playing short-handed all year," said Taj Gibson.
Chicago's record now stands at 43-17. They still have a 2.5 game advantage over the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference standings.
Meanwhile, the shorthanded Orlando Magic routed the Philadelphia 76ers, with three Magic players logging double-doubles.
The Magic were missing Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu and Glen Davis due to various injuries but got strong performances from Ryan Anderson (26 points, 16 rebounds), Jameer Nelson (16 points, 13 assists) and Earl Clark (14 points, 11 rebounds).
Indiana solidified its place as the third team in the East after hammering the Minnesota Timberwolves, 111-88.
Source: AFP,
ORLANDO, Florida – Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard gained a new supporting cast Saturday (Sunday, in Manila) with hopes 2 major trades will lift the NBA club alongside Miami and Boston as an Eastern Conference title contender.
The Magic, 16-9 but losers in five of their past six games, added Turkish forward Hedo Turkoglu and playmaker Jason Richardson from the Phoenix Suns and controversial long-distance shooter Gilbert Arenas from the Washington Wizards.
"We needed a little bit more punch," Magic president Otis Smith said. "All those guys coming in have an ability to move the ball. After looking at our team through 25 games, we were missing a little something. I thought change was needed."
Orlando traded Rashard Lewis to the Wizards for Arenas, best known for being banished for 50 games last season for bringing guns into the Wizards locker room and faking an injury to avoid playing in a pre-season game last October.
"We have a tendency not to forgive people in this country," Smith said. "We have a tendency to hold onto things a little bit longer, particularly if they play professional sports."
Arenas has struggled with knee injuries and the suspension that have kept him to only 47 games over the past three seasons, but he has averaged 17.3 points and 5.6 assists a game this season.
Arenas scored a season-high 31 against Orlando three weeks ago.
Orlando's major reshaping came by obtaining Richardson, Turkoglu and Earl Clark from the Suns in exchange for US veteran Vince Carter, French guard Mickael Pietrus, Polish center Marcin Gortat and a first-round pick in the 2011 NBS Draft plus three million dollars.
The Magic, trying to entice fans to their new 18,500-seat arena, have fallen from first to fourth in the Eastern Conference, with the Miami Heat, 20-8, and Boston Celtics, 21-4, surging on double-digit winning streaks in December.
Turkoglu has averaged 12.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists a game in 10 NBA seasons and played a key role in helping Orlando make the 2009 NBA Finals but was traded to Toronto last year in a move that proved to be a blunder.
"I don't think it's admitting a mistake," Smith said of reacquiring Turkoglu. "I don't regret breaking up the finals team. I think it was the right decision at the time."
The Wizards gladly ditched Arenas, enabling the team to make this year's top draft choice, John Wall, their focus and escaping their former star's pricey contract.
"We're totally in a rebuild," Wizards coach Flip Saunders said. "We've said that. We were in a situation where we had three of our top players play pretty much the same position in John and Gilbert and Kirk (Hinrich)."
The Suns, 12-13, added height and defensive skill to try to compete with the reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers and NBA win leaders San Antonio and Dallas in the Western Conference.
"Carter and Pietrus give us a great defensive presence on the perimeter and they should be extremely dynamic offensively," Suns president Lon Babby said. "And Gortat is really someone that we've had our eye on."
Losing Gortat leaves the Magic without a true backup for big man Howard.
"We think it was worth the gamble," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said.
Source: AP,
DENVER —The Denver Nuggets pulled away in the final five minutes to beat the Orlando Magic, 111-94, in the NBA on Tuesday, with Carmelo Anthony scoring 35 points.
With Denver leading 92-91, Arron Afflalo’s 3-pointer jump-started the Nuggets on a 19-3 run to close out the game.
Anthony hit 14 of 21 shots from the floor and pulled down 11 rebounds. Nene had 10 points and 10 boards for the Nuggets, who improved to an NBA-best 11-1 at home.
J.J. Redick scored a career-best 29 points for Orlando.
Source: Reuters,
MIAMI – The much anticipated home debut of the Heat's "Big Three" exceeded expectations as Miami routed their interstate and divisional rival Orlando Magic 96-70.
The Heat dominated the second half defensively, limiting the Magic to just 25 points to turn a narrow six point halftime lead into a comfortable victory.
"The guys now can't go back on this," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "They've showed me defensively what they're capable of."
Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 26 points, including 12 in the third quarter as the Heat took command of the game.
LeBron James had 15 points and seven assists and Chris Bosh had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Forward Udonis Haslem had a double-double coming off the bench with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
"When me and Chris (Bosh) decided to join him (Wade), and even the rest of the guys, this is what we envisioned," said James.
"Is it going to be a 26-point win every night? No, it's the NBA and we know that, but the fans, they came out and the least we could do is play hard for them."
Dwight Howard scored 19 first half points for Orlando but fouled out midway through the fourth quarter without scoring in the second half to lead the Magic. The Magic starters combined for a meager 37 points, and just seven in the second half.
"I think their defense was very good," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said.
"I think that their length and the way that they got into the passing lanes made it tough for us to get good ball movement. Passing's a major problem with our team. It really is."
Source:
-- Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers gave the sore knees of center Kendrick Perkins a rest by keeping him out of Saturday's practice session ahead of an NBA playoff opener against Orlando.
The Celtics will face the defending Eastern Conference champion Magic in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals starting Sunday. The winner will face either the Phoenix Suns or Los Angeles Lakers in next month's NBA Finals.
Perkins tried to practice but Rivers told him to take a seat after Perkins admitted his sore right knee "bothered him a lot". Perkins kept ice on his right knee during most of the workout session. Both knees had protective wrapping.
Perkins will be relied upon to try and contain Orlando Magic star center Dwight Howard in the upcoming series.
Source: AFP
-- Rashard Lewis scored 22 points and the Orlando Magic routed Atlanta 105-75 on Saturday, winning for the 13th time in a row and moving one victory shy of reaching the NBA Eastern Conference finals.
Dwight Howard had 21 points and 16 rebounds and Jameer Nelson added 14 points as the Magic extended an unbeaten run that includes the final six games of the regular season and a first-round sweep of Charlotte.
"It feels pretty good but we have to keep our focus and intensity," Howard said. "We have to not worry about the scoreboard. We are trying to do more than just win one game."
Orlando seized a 3-0 lead over Atlanta in the best-of-seven matchup and can complete the sweep by winning game four on Monday. No team in NBA history has ever recovered from losing the first three games in a series to advance.
The Magic has not lost since falling 112-100 at San Antonio on April 2 and Orlando has not dropped back-to-back games in four months, including wins in 27 of their past 30 starts overall.
Orlando won the opener against the Hawks by 43 points and took game two last Thursday by 14, humiliating an Atlanta club that was taken to the maximum seven games by Milwaukee in the first round.
Jamal Crawford scored 22 points to lead Atlanta, which trailed by 10 or more points for 36 of the game's 48 minutes. Joe Johnson scored only eight points on 3-of-14 shooting.
The Magic lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in last year's NBA Finals after defeating Cleveland for the Eastern Conference title and Orlando looked geared for another run to the NBA's final four.
"They're as good as anybody out there," Hawks guard Jamal Crawford said. "I think they're built for a championship."
