i TV Pinoy

Source: AP,

SALT LAKE CITY — Tim Duncan set San Antonio's career scoring record as the Spurs beat the Utah Jazz 94-82 on Friday for their ninth straight NBA win.

Duncan needed 13 points to eclipse the mark set by David Robinson over 14 seasons (20,790), and finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds for yet another double-double.

Tony Parker blocked out jeers from the crowd for 24 points as the Spurs improved to 10-1 for the first time.

Utah, plagued by another slow start, rallied from a 15-point deficit to tie the game late in the third quarter. But unlike road wins against Miami, Orlando, Atlanta and Charlotte, the Jazz couldn't pull off another comeback.

Source: AP,

MIAMI —Dwyane Wade had 39 points. LeBron James had a triple-double. The Miami Heat had a 22-point lead.

The Utah Jazz were unimpressed on all counts.

Paul Millsap scored a career-high 46 points—11 coming in the final 28 seconds of regulation as Utah rallied from eight down—and the Jazz stunned the Heat 116-114 in overtime on Tuesday night.

“I guess when it rains, it pours," Millsap said.

Utah never led by more than three points, which didn’t matter. The Jazz had more than enough at the end, and Francisco Elson’s free throws with 0.4 seconds left won it.

“At some point in the year, unfortunately, we have to go through something like this," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

It’s still early, but Utah can make an argument for being the NBA’s comeback kings so far. The Jazz rallied from 18 points down to beat the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, and dug themselves an even bigger hole this time around, trailing by 22 in the second quarter and 51-32 at halftime while getting run out of Miami’s building.

Deron Williams had 21 points and 14 assists before fouling out late in regulation, and Andrei Kirilenko scored 16—including a 3-pointer with 1:50 remaining, after which the Jazz wouldn’t trail again.

“It’s speechless, to be down like that to a team like this and to come out with a win," Millsap said. “We clawed our way out of it. But this says a lot about our team."

Wade’s 39 came on 12-of-23 shooting. James finished with 20 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds for his 29th triple-double, the seventh that came in a loss. Chris Bosh scored 17, James Jones added 11 and Carlos Arroyo had 10 for the Heat, who gave up a staggering 84 points after halftime.

“I think we panicked a little bit as a group," Wade said.

Source: AP

-- Just in case the Utah Jazz forgot how Kobe Bryant finishes games, he provided another painful playoff reminder.

Bryant scored 11 of his 31 points in the final four minutes, and the Los Angeles Lakers blew a fourth-quarter lead before rallying for a 104-99 victory over the Jazz in their second-round series opener Sunday.

Pau Gasol had 25 points and 12 rebounds for the top-seeded Lakers, who played a dismal final period before Bryant seized control. Last season's NBA finals MVP coolly scored seven consecutive points to erase Utah's four-point lead, followed by a dynamic slice through the lane for a layup with 22.6 seconds left.

The clubs are meeting in the postseason for the third consecutive year after the Lakers ended Utah's last two seasons, including a first-round victory in 2009. In each of the teams' previous five playoff meetings, the winner went on to the NBA finals.

Deron Williams scored 24 points for fifth-seeded Utah, which managed just one more field goal after taking a 93-89 lead with 4:10 to play. Utah has lost 15 straight to the Lakers at Staples Center, including seven playoff games.

Los Angeles will host Game 2 of the best-of-seven series on Tuesday night.

Carlos Boozer had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Utah. Paul Millsap and C.J. Miles contributed 16 points apiece, including several difficult baskets in the fourth quarter while the Jazz surged ahead with a 12-1 run.

It wasn't enough to stop Bryant, who took over right when Utah's excited bench seemed certain it was headed to an upset win.

Both teams finished their first-round series roughly 36 hours earlier, with the Lakers winning at Oklahoma City on Gasol's last-second tip-in shortly before Utah held off Denver.

Lakers center Andrew Bynum started and played 24 minutes after discovering a small tear in the meniscus of his right knee Saturday. The 7-footer wore a large brace on his knee, but didn't appear limited while collecting eight points and 10 rebounds.

Utah also has pronounced injury problems. With Andrei Kirilenko still sidelined with a strained left calf and center Mehmet Okur out for the postseason, the Jazz struggled to guard the Lakers inside when Los Angeles forced the ball down low.

But the Lakers sometimes seemed disinterested, a mood matched by the home crowd. After the Lakers' consecutive losses to Oklahoma City inspired a crackling atmosphere for their blowout victory in Game 5 last week, Staples Center was back to its usual relaxed state.

Los Angeles gave out thousands of white T-shirts in an apparent attempt at a whiteout crowd to go with the Lakers' Sunday white uniforms, but the majority of fans didn't bother to put on the shirts. Lakers fans get excited about titles, not T-shirts — and despite an inconsistent regular season, their team appears capable of contending for its 16th crown.

Williams injured his elbow late in Utah's series-clinching win over Denver, putting his availability for Game 1 in doubt. He forced the Jazz to call a full timeout just 20 seconds in after hurting his arm on their first possession. Yet he showed no obvious favor toward the injury while scoring 17 points in the first half.

Los Angeles opened with 15-for-19 shooting in the first quarter, including five shots without a miss by Bryant. The Lakers led by 14 in the first half, but Utah sliced the lead to three in the third quarter before heading into the final period trailing 81-73.

With both teams using four reserves apiece to open the fourth quarter, Utah trimmed the Lakers' lead to 82-81 on Millsap's layup with 7:43 left. Miles' free throws gave Utah its first lead since the first quarter moments later — but then Bryant got started.

Source: AP

-- Deron Williams had 13 points and 13 assists, and rookie Wesley Matthews had 16 points on 6-for-6 shooting to help the Utah Jazz win their seventh straight game, 118-105 over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.

Mehmet Okur scored a season-high 28 points and had eight rebounds, and Andrei Kirilenko added 22 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Utah.

The Jazz beat the Trail Blazers for the second time in a week and improved to 3-0 in the Northwest Division rivalry this season.

LaMarcus Aldrdige had 27 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Blazers, playing their eighth straight game without scoring leader Brandon Roy (right hamstring).

Martell Webster added 20 points, and Jerryd Bayless finished with 14 points, but the Blazers continued to struggle without Roy. Portland is 3-5 since Roy was injured on Jan. 20 against Philadelphia.

The Jazz also were without their leading scorer. Carlos Boozer missed his third straight with a strained right calf, and Paul Millsap filled in well again, finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds. Millsap also had five assists, and Kirilenko had a pair of blocks and two steals to lead Utah's defense.

Utah was 24 for 34 in the second half and used an 8-1 run late in the fourth quarter to finally pull away from Portland.

The Blazers got to 97-90 on a jumper by Aldridge, then Utah was able to outrun Portland for a brief stretch that clinched it.

Williams started it with a a defensive rebound, then drove all the way down the court and dished it off at the last second to Matthews for a layup. Matthews followed with another layup, Kirilenko added a dunk and Okur hit a long jumper that gave the Jazz a 105-91 lead with 3:46 left.