Dallas at Los Angeles

Mavericks-Lakers10:30 PM ET, May 4, 2011
STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, CA
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      Points     Rebounds     Assists
DAL    Nowitzki 27.4    Chandler 9.4    Kidd 7.1
LAL    Bryant 24.4    Bynum 9.6    Gasol 4.1

Gameday Matchup
    
Dallas
   
Los Angeles
W-L    57-25    57-25
Avg Points    100.2    101.5
Avg Points Allowed    96.0    95.4
Home Record    29-12    30-11
Road Record    28-13    27-14
Current Streak    W4    W2
Last 10    5-2    4-3
Team Stats: Dallas | Los Angeles
Injury Report
Dallas

    * Caron Butler SF - Apr 29: OUT
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Los Angeles

    * Kobe Bryant SG - Apr 30: Day-to-Day

Fantasy Injury News | View NBA injury report
Depth Chart
    
Dallas (PPG)   
Los Angeles (PPG)
PG            J. Kidd 11.0    D. Fisher 9.1
SG            D. Stevenson 2.4    K. Bryant 24.4
SF            S. Marion 10.4    R. Artest 10.4
PF            D. Nowitzki 27.4    P. Gasol 13.7
C            T. Chandler 7.1    A. Bynum 14.1
View full depth chart: Dallas | Los Angeles
Team Stat Leaders
    
Dallas   
Los Angeles
Points    D. Nowitzki 27.4    K. Bryant 24.4
Rebounds    T. Chandler 9.4    A. Bynum 9.6
Assists    J. Kidd 7.1    P. Gasol 4.1
Steals    J. Kidd 1.6    K. Bryant 1.4
Blocks    B. Haywood 1.1    P. Gasol 2.1

Atlanta at Chicago

Hawks-Bulls

8:00 PM ET, May 4, 2011
United Center, Chicago, IL
      Points     Rebounds     Assists
ATL    Crawford 20.7    Horford 10.6    Horford 3.7
CHI    Rose 27.0    Noah 10.3    Rose 6.8
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Gameday Matchup
    
Atlanta
   
Chicago
W-L    44-38    62-20
Avg Points    95.0    98.6
Avg Points Allowed    95.8    91.3
Home Record    24-17    36-5
Road Record    20-21    26-15
Current Streak    L6    W9
Last 10    5-2    4-2
Team Stats: Atlanta | Chicago
Injury Report
Atlanta

    * Kirk Hinrich G - May 2: OUT

Chicago

    * Carlos Boozer PF - May 1: Day-to-Day

Fantasy Injury News | View NBA injury report
Depth Chart
    
Atlanta (PPG)   
Chicago (PPG)
PG            J. Teague 5.0    D. Rose 27.0
SG            J. Johnson 20.3    K. Bogans 5.0
SF            M. Williams 5.9    L. Deng 19.0
PF            J. Smith 13.4    C. Boozer 10.7
C            A. Horford 11.6    J. Noah 11.8
View full depth chart: Atlanta | Chicago
Team Stat Leaders
    
Atlanta   
Chicago
Points    J. Crawford 20.7    D. Rose 27.0
Rebounds    A. Horford 10.6    J. Noah 10.3
Assists    A. Horford 3.7    D. Rose 6.8
Steals    K. Hinrich 1.2    D. Rose 2.5
Blocks    J. Smith 1.4    J. Noah 2.3
Atlanta leads 1-0 (Game 2 of 7)

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Atlanta leads 1-0
Game 1: Monday, May 2nd
Hawks    103    Final
Bulls    95
Recap »Boxscore »
Game 2: Wednesday, May 4th
Hawks        8:00
PM ET
Bulls   
Preview »
Game 3: Friday, May 6th
Bulls        7:00
PM ET
Hawks   
Preview »
Game 4: Sunday, May 8th
Bulls        8:00
PM ET
Hawks   
Preview »
Game 5: Tuesday, May 10th
Hawks        TBA
Bulls   
Preview »
Game 6: Thursday, May 12th
Bulls        TBA
Hawks   
Preview »
Game 7: Sunday, May 15th
Hawks        TBA
Bulls   
Preview »
Hawks

(44-38, 20-21 away)
Bulls

(62-20, 36-5 home)

Memphis at Oklahoma City

 Grizzlies-Thunder
9:30 PM ET, May 3, 2011
Oklahoma City Arena, Oklahoma City, OK

Points      Rebounds      Assists
MEM    Randolph 23.3    Gasol 12.4    Conley 6.3
OKC    Durant 32.5    Ibaka 11.0    Westbrook 6.2

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The arrival of Kendrick Perkins was expected to give the Oklahoma City Thunder the kind of inside muscle they needed to stand their ground with some of the NBA's beefiest big men.

In the opener of their Western Conference semifinal series with Memphis, it was the Grizzlies who did the bruising.

Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol combined for 54 points and 23 rebounds in leading eighth-seeded Memphis to a road victory in Game 1 for the second straight series. The Grizzlies got 52 points in the paint, more than any team but the Los Angeles Lakers have scored against Oklahoma City with Perkins in the lineup.

"They played physical, they bullied us in the first game," guard James Harden said after practice Monday. "So, the second game, we just have to prepare and go out there and not make excuses and win a game."

Game 2 is Tuesday night in Oklahoma City.

The Grizzlies, who led the NBA with 51.5 points per game in the paint, averaged a whopping 59 against Oklahoma City while winning the regular-season series 3-1. The Thunder's only win came when Memphis scored 60 points inside but went 10-for-38 outside the paint, including 1 for 15 on 3-pointers.

"We just have to pack the paint," Harden said. "Pack the paint, clog it up, make them shoot outside jump shots. They lead the league in paint points, so we have to cover that up."

Randolph has set the Grizzlies' playoff scoring record in back-to-back games, with 31 points in Game 6 against top-seeded San Antonio and then 34 -- along with 10 rebounds -- in Game 1 at Oklahoma City.

He's had three games with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds against the Thunder.

"I think Zach showed you how much he can do if they don't double-team him," teammate Darrell Arthur said. "And if they do double-team, he's such a great passer out of the post that it doesn't really matter."

Randolph has become one of the stars of the playoffs, a player with no history of postseason success during his 10-year career leading a franchise that had never won a playoff series until knocking off top-seeded San Antonio a few days ago.

He was better known for some run-ins with the law. But after bouncing from Portland to New York to the Los Angeles Clippers, he has found a fit in Memphis.
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"I think Zach is the epitome of life," Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said. "When we're young people, we make mistakes. We do things that we shouldn't do, and we grow and become better men. Whether it's in this game or in life, that's what this world is all about."

Randolph has looked unstoppable, even against a front line that added Perkins -- one of the NBA's top low-post defenders -- at the trade deadline in February. The move allowed Serge Ibaka, the league's top shot blocker, to move from center to his natural power forward position.

Coach Scott Brooks thought the Thunder did a decent job of getting Randolph and Gasol out of the areas where they're strongest, but it still wasn't good enough.

"Zach made eight shots from the perimeter. There's nothing you can do about that, other than pushing him outside a few extra feet and crowding his space. Gasol made four jump shots, and that's not his strength of his game," Brooks said. "But they made them and give them credit. They stepped up and they made those shots."

Gasol went 4 for 4 on jumpers from at least 14 feet and Randolph hit eight jumpers from at least 10 feet out, including a 3-pointer.

"We can shoot the ball, pick and roll. It ain't just coming down and throwin' it in the post," Randolph said. "We can do different stuff a lot of the other big guys can't do."

Perkins said "that wasn't Thunder basketball (Sunday), and it's going to be a different game tomorrow."

"It wasn't nothing like they had a lot of shots in the paint. He hit a lot of outside shots (Sunday) -- contested, tough shots at that -- so you're not overreacting to nothing," Perkins said. "I feel like we just didn't play our game.

"I don't get too much concerned about what the other team's doing. I'm always concerned about what we do."

The Grizzlies -- who led the NBA in steals and turnovers forced -- also scored 23 points off of 18 Oklahoma City turnovers and 22 second-chance points off of 17 offensive rebounds.

"That has to change," Brooks said. "We have to get better in those areas because that's their strength, and they had their way with their strength. We don't want that to happen."

Brooks said he was hesitant to double-team Randolph too much because he's become a quality passer when the Grizzlies send players cutting to the basket.

"There's only so many things you can do on a basketball court," Randolph said. "They could double-team me and push me baseline. There's only two things. I've seen almost anything, so I'll be ready for whatever they throw at me."

Boston at Miami

Celtics-Heat

7:00 PM ET, May 3, 2011
AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami, FL

Points      Rebounds      Assists
BOS    Allen 22.6    Garnett 10.6    Rondo 11.0
MIA    Wade 24.8    James 9.8    James 6.0

MIAMI (AP) -- Paul Pierce  is from Los Angeles, so he knows a thing or do about Hollywood.
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And he knows he'll have to act better if the Boston Celtics are going to avoid getting into a quick two-game hole in their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Miami Heat.

A day after getting ejected from Boston's Game 1 loss, Pierce acknowledged that his actions were "selfish" and that he needed to do a better job keeping his composure. Nonetheless, he still believes that he was more victim than aggressor during the two plays in which he got technical fouls that sent him to the locker room with 7 minutes left in Miami's 99-90 win.

Game 2 is Tuesday, and Pierce isn't sure if the physicality both teams offered Sunday would carry over.

"This is not a movie or a script," Pierce said. "It's hard to really say what's going to happen game in, game out."

The Heat don't necessarily agree with that.

They think they know exactly what's coming on Tuesday -- a much better effort from the Celtics. Boston missed 20 of its first 26 shots in Game 1, never got Kevin Garnett rolling offensively and had Rajon Rondo limited by foul trouble. Even after all that misfortune, the Celtics had their chances to recover from what was once a 19-point hole in Game 1.
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"We're physical teams, we're defensive-minded teams, play a similar style of basketball and it's the playoffs," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "That's all it is. We're not overblowing the physicality part of it. We're not trying to be somebody we're not. They're not trying to be anyone they're not. ... We know what our tenets are."

Pierce spoke to reporters Monday for the first time since the ejection. He was not available Sunday night, after he clashed with James Jones with 7:59 remaining following a hard foul, then exchanged words with Dwyane Wade 59 seconds later after the Heat guard ran into his screen. Double-technicals were called after both plays, and Pierce's ejection was automatic on the second.

"I thought I was fouled excessively on both plays," Pierce said.

So did Boston coach Doc Rivers, who is not wavering from the stance he offered in the minutes following Game 1, when he said the Heat were more "chippy" than "physical."

But on Monday, while not backing off that assertion, Rivers said the Celtics had bigger issues than whistles that didn't go their way.

"We didn't handle it very well," Rivers said. "Overall, I thought they hit first the entire game. I'm talking legally -- I'm talking their picks, their cuts, their actions. I just thought they played the game with a better force than we played the game, and that's something that shouldn't happen. Both teams should play with the same force."

What Wade and Jones did that hurt Boston most had nothing to do with the two plays that ended Pierce's night. They combined for 63 points on 19-for-28 shooting from the field and an 18-for-19 combined performance from the foul line. Those numbers made LeBron James' 22-point, six-rebound, five-assist statline seem quiet by comparison.

"I would approach this game just like I would approach this game whether I had 12 points (in Game 1) or 38," Wade said. "For me, every game is different with this team. Certain nights, my job is going to be different. They put a lot of attention toward LeBron so I got an opportunity to not have all eyes on me so I got into a rhythm. It might be different next game."

So might the lineups.

Rivers said Monday's practice might move Shaquille O'Neal closer to a return after missing nearly all of the last three months with leg problems. A decision on his Game 2 status likely won't be finalized until Tuesday morning's pregame shootaround. And Miami forward Udonis Haslem worked out again Monday, a day after he nearly made the active roster for the first time since rupturing a foot ligament on Nov. 20.

Both sides would see their depth bolstered if those big men returned, but the Celtics know an O'Neal comeback alone won't be enough of a change if they plan on returning to Boston with a 1-1 split in Miami.

"Miami has two of the best athletes in the game in LeBron James and Dwyane Wade," Celtics center Jermaine O'Neal said. "When they get into the open court, they tend to be very, very tough."

James knows a 1-0 lead against Boston is not enough. When he was with Cleveland a year ago, the Cavaliers had both 1-0 and 2-1 series leads over the Celtics in the East semis.

Undeterred, Boston won in six games -- a decision that still stings James.

"We're naturally confident," James said. "But you never get too high or too low in a playoff series. It's one game. Series is not won in one game."

 

Dallas at Los Angeles

Mavericks-Lakers

10:30 PM ET, May 2, 2011

STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, CA
     Points      Rebounds      Assists
DAL    Nowitzki 27.3    Chandler 9.5    Kidd 6.5
LAL    Bryant 22.5    Bynum 10.3    Bryant 3.8

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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) -- Although they had quite a combustible meeting last month, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks  claim the clubs' first playoff meeting in 23 years is too important for any thuggish, boorish behavior.

Matt Barnes has already been there, done that, and got the T-shirt.

The Lakers forward's sportswear company is selling shirts generated out of the clubs' ejection-plagued meeting on March 31, but he realizes neither team can waste time shoving anybody around in the postseason.

"We're not worried about anything that happened in the past," said Barnes, who was tossed from that game after a physical confrontation with Jason Terry, who clobbered Steve Blake with a hard foul. "I'm not carrying anything over. I'm not trying to get into trouble or technical fouls or hurt my team in any way. We're going out there to try to win, play hard. That's the only chance any team has to beat us, to play harder."

Game 1 is Monday night at Staples Center.

Dallas is the second-seeded Lakers' highest-seeded remaining road block to their fourth straight NBA finals, and the Mavericks have a combination of inside toughness and depth that could play well against Los Angeles' weaknesses. The Lakers rarely hesitate to get physical when necessary, and the New Orleans Hornets reacted poorly to that postseason toughness in the first round -- a mistake the Mavs insist they won't make.

"You've just got to know what you're there for," Dallas big man Brendan Haywood said. "You can't get suckered into any fake tough-guy stuff, or pushing and shoving. You've got to go out there and do your job, stand your ground."

The clubs' leaders have kept the peace so far -- even if it might be paining them. Phil Jackson and Mark Cuban are two of the best needlers in basketball, but the Lakers' 11-time champion coach and the Mavericks' billionaire owner kept their barbs to themselves over the weekend.

Jackson was full of praise for the Mavericks' consistent excellence and Cuban's role in it, even after a season in which Cuban referred to Jackson as Lakers executive Jeanie Buss' "boy toy" after Jackson made a crack about officiating.

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Even something that sounded like an insult was intended as a compliment.

"They're the best team money can buy, really," Jackson said after a summation of Dallas' strengths.

Then, after a beat: "So are we."

Jackson kept his focus on more important matters, such as the continued progress of Kobe Bryant's sprained left ankle. Although Bryant insisted his latest injury is no problem, Jackson worries about the effect of inactivity on his leading scorer's sore joints.

The Mavericks are worried about Bryant for different reasons -- including their lack of a defender who's likely to be able to guard Bryant by himself. After watching Bryant's performance on that sprain in the final two wins over the Hornets, Dallas isn't buying any suggestion Kobe isn't 100 percent.

"(Shawn Marion) will be on him at times," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "Shawn is experienced. He's played him a lot. (DeShawn) Stevenson has played him a lot. (Jason) Kidd has played him. We'll have other guys ready. We'll have the kitchen sink ready. He's a great player and all that, but we're focused on our own game."

Dallas and Los Angeles both finished the regular season with 57 wins apiece. The Lakers won two of three meetings for the tiebreaker, and they kept that home-court advantage by the slimmest of margins, needing an overtime victory in their season finale at Sacramento.

That game turned on a desperation 3-pointer by Bryant, but the two-time NBA finals MVP had already forgotten about it Saturday.

"I don't care about home court, I really don't," Bryant said. "It makes a lot of people nervous, but I don't care."

While the Mavericks have disappointed their fans during most every postseason in the otherwise wildly successful Cuban era, the Lakers' title banners delineate the difference between the franchises. Bryant has declared that Los Angeles' back-to-back championships guarantee nothing this spring, while the Mavericks realize a win over the Lakers would be a tremendous breakthrough and a springboard to the success they've never achieved.

Lakers center Andrew Bynum thinks these Mavs are good enough to do it, and he gives much of the credit to Haywood and Tyson Chandler, the 7-footers brought in to fix many of Dallas' historic playoff flaws.

"It just makes their team a little more defensive-oriented," Bynum said. "You can't win in the playoffs without defense, and picking up 7-footers is one way to address that."

Two years ago, Bynum worked out in the summer with Chandler, the Compton product and NBA journeyman who has blossomed in Dallas. Unlike most Los Angeles kids, Chandler says he didn't dream of taking the court in that famed gold uniform.

He dreamed of doing exactly what he'll try to do Monday night.

"When you're in the backyard and you're putting up shots and you're doing the countdown, some players would imagine themselves being other players," Chandler recalled. "I would imagine I was killing the Lakers, so hopefully my dreams come true. I guess that I didn't think I could be one, so the next-best thing was beating them."

Atlanta at Chicago

Hawks-Bulls

8:00 PM ET, May 2, 2011

United Center, Chicago, IL

Points      Rebounds      Assists
ATL    Crawford 20.5    Horford 10.2    Horford 3.7
CHI    Rose 27.6    Noah 10.6    Rose 6.2

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DEERFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- Pushed hard in the opening round, Derrick Rose  wasn't letting out any sighs of relief once the Chicago Bulls  found out they'd be facing Atlanta in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

It's all well and good that he won't have to worry about getting flattened in the lane by Dwight Howard after the Hawks knocked off Orlando in six games, but he's not expecting an easy ride, either, in a series that starts Monday at the United Center.

The Bulls got all they could handle from Indiana while taking out the Pacers in five games, and Rose expects more of the same from the Hawks -- except, maybe, the hard fouls.

He sees a team led by Joe Johnson that's athletic, balanced and figures to pose a threat even though guard Kirk Hinrich will likely miss the series.

"I think it's going to be tougher, with all the guys that they have in," said Rose, who had an excused absence from practice Sunday for personal reasons. "They've got guys that can really jump and contest my shots -- really big guys. (Zaza) Pachulia and (Al) Horford are tough players. If anything, I'm (expecting) the worst because it's going to be a tough series."

A healthy Carlos Boozer would help, but what they'll get from him remains to be seen. He was struggling against the Pacers even before turf toe surfaced on his right foot in Game 5.

He participated on a limited basis in Sunday's practice after sitting out the previous two days. The Bulls were off Wednesday and Thursday.

"Basically, he just did a little more shooting," said Tom Thibodeau, who was announced as the NBA's Coach of the Year on Sunday. "He's moving a lot better. He did his lifting and he was on the bike. He's feeling a lot better. We'll see what he can do (Monday). Each day he's gotten better and better, so we're encouraged by that. We'll see if he can get through the shootaround (Monday), then we'll let him warm up (Monday) night and see if he's ready to go."

Many figured the Bulls would have an easy time in the opening round after breezing to a league-leading 62-20 record and securing home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, but the Pacers had other ideas.

They hit hard, making Chicago players pay anytime they got near the basket, and Indiana threw the offense out of sync with its taller guards and steady diet of double-teams on Rose.

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The Hawks aren't as physical. They don't have Paul George or Dahntay Jones to disrupt Rose, unlike the Pacers. More important, they won't have Kirk Hinrich, either.

The former Bulls point guard will likely miss the entire series after severely straining his hamstring in the closing minutes of the Hawks' series-clinching win over Orlando.

"He does look like he's walking better than he did the other night," coach Larry Drew said.

Even so, he's not counting on a return by Hinrich in this round.

"Kirk's a tough guy," Drew said. "I never say never. But right now, it doesn't look like it."

Hinrich's injury left Atlanta looking for a point guard to run the offense and give Rose all he could handle on the other end.

Jeff Teague figures to get the shot. A former first-round pick from Wake Forest, he will likely play a key role after failing to find any real consistency during the season and winding up with long stints on the sideline to go with the occasional start.

With the Hawks using a bigger lineup to counter Howard in the opening round, Teague barely got off the bench and played a total of nine minutes over two games, but he has shown promise at times.

"The decision I kind of have to ponder is whether to disrupt what we do off the bench versus just going back to starting him (Teague)," Drew said. "These last few days, we've looked at both situations, the things we have done, we've used him in the starting lineup and out of the starting lineup. We'll talk more about it as a staff and then tomorrow, we'll have a decision what we're going to do."

Jamal Crawford and Pachulia will also factor into the decision as well. Either way, containing Rose won't be easy. And it won't be a one-man task.

"The challenge is there, especially for a guy like Jeff, who hasn't played a lot, who doesn't really have a lot of experience in the postseason," Johnson said. "His opportunity has arrived, and we look forward to him stepping up and playing big minutes and doing positive things on the court.

"But I'm sure in the second half and down the stretch, I'll be guarding Derrick Rose."

Rose had his difficulties against Indiana, committing 19 turnovers in the series, but the Hawks simply don't take the ball away.

They forced 12.5 turnovers per game and ranked 29th in the league, and Orlando averaged 12.8 in their series. Howard committed 33 of those, with Jameer Nelson giving it away just eight times.

They'll have to do a better job on Rose, who averaged 25.3 points and had a total of 10 turnovers over three games against the Hawks.

He finished with just 12 points on 5-of-21 shooting and six turnovers in a loss at Atlanta on March 2 but looked more like an MVP in their next two meetings. He hit 14 of 15 free throws while scoring 34 nine days later in a win at home against the Hawks and hit 6 of 8 3-pointers while pouring in 30 as the Bulls won big at Atlanta on March 22.

But now?

"They're playing with confidence," Rose said. "They let a team sweep them the previous year, and to come out and beat that team ... it means a lot. They're playing with a lot of confidence. They believe in each other, and they believe they can win."

Boston at Miami

Celtics-Heat

3:30 PM ET, May 1, 2011
AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami, FL

MIAMI (AP) -- LeBron James planned to spend a large part of Saturday studying film, looking for any edge that the Miami Heat may use against the Boston Celtics.

Film from this season, that is.

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No need to watch the Celtics inflicting past playoff wounds on him. Those remain fresh -- and time has not yet healed them.

The inability to beat Boston is one of the biggest reasons why James is now wearing a Miami Heat uniform. He'll get a third attempt to top the Celtics in a postseason series starting Sunday when the teams collide in Game 1 of what may easily become an epic Eastern Conference semifinal.

"It is personal," James said Saturday as the Heat finished practice. "It is. Absolutely right. You don't want to keeping getting beat by the same team, the same team keep sending you home to plan a vacation. So it is personal."

The Celtics expected him to say nothing less.

"It would be personal for me," Boston forward Paul Pierce said. "I'm sure he's going to take it personal and you've got to expect his best."

Unwittingly or not, the Celtics played a huge role in setting up an offseason unlike any other in NBA history. Boston gave James a big push toward Miami for a strength-in-numbers approach with the Heat that wasn't possible during the two-time MVP's stint with the Cavaliers.

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Collectively, James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh figure to rate a better chance, and that theory is about to get put to the real test. They left a combined $51 million on the bargaining table last summer, and victory in this best-of-seven series may make that money seem exceptionally well-spent.

"I think you've got two really good teams, two teams with a lot of will, two teams with a lot of pride," Celtics general manager Danny Ainge said. "And I think it's going to be a great series."

The Celtics have 17 NBA championship banners, and there's at least that many story lines for this matchup.

Boston's Shaquille O'Neal wants to come back from injury for this series, as does Udonis Haslem for Miami. The Heat know they need to find ways of getting Wade going against the Celtics, which didn't happen in the regular season. Boston wants to exploit what it figures to be a significant edge at point guard with Rajon Rondo over the duo of Mike Bibby and Mario Chalmers.

And there's that small matter of the teams just plain not liking one another.

"Playoffs is a new season," Boston forward Kevin Garnett said. "New situations, new scenarios. So everything we've done up to this point is just history."

In Miami's case, the history is not good.

Not only did Boston oust both Wade (in the first round) and James (in the second round) from last year's playoffs, but the Celtics have won 18 of their last 21 meetings overall against Miami -- even after the Heat rolled to a 100-77 win at home on April 10, the lone time they knocked off the defending East kings in four matchups this season.

The dominance has extended into the playoffs, too.

Of the 15 players on Miami's roster, nine have been ousted from past postseasons by the Celtics, with James and Zydrunas Ilgauskas enduring that fate in both 2008 and 2010 with the Cavaliers. Only one player -- James Jones, a reserve with Indiana in 2005 -- knows how it feels to beat the NBA's all-time championship leaders in a playoff series.

"I look forward to the challenge," Wade said. "I know I haven't played well against this team. That's no secret."

In Boston's eyes, Miami's hopes may not be pinned on Wade or James. The Celtics say the key may be Bosh.

Sometimes the forgotten man in the series of megadeals that reshaped the Heat last summer, Bosh had three double-doubles in five games against Philadelphia in the opening round. When he gets to at least 10 points and 10 rebounds, the Heat win at a 77 percent clip (24-7).

"LeBron and Wade are LeBron and Wade," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "They're going to be great. They were great before the series, they'll be great during it and they'll be great after and this summer when you're talking about it, you'll say 'LeBron and Wade are great players.' That's not going to change. But when Bosh plays great, then their team is great. And so, he's a key guy for them."

Boston hasn't played for a week since sweeping the New York Knicks out of the first round, and the Heat had slow starts in all five games of their series against Philadelphia.

"We've prepared a long time for this," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It's time to toss the ball up in the air."

Memphis at Oklahoma City May 1,2011

 Grizzlies-Thunder
1:00 PM ET, May 1, 2011

Oklahoma City Arena, Oklahoma City, Ok

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Memphis
   
Oklahoma City
W-L    46-36    55-27
Avg Points    99.9    104.8
Avg Points Allowed    97.6    101.0
Home Record    30-11    30-11
Road Record    16-25    25-16
Current Streak    L2    L1
Last 10    4-2    4-1
Team Stats: Memphis | Oklahoma City
Injury Report
Memphis
No significant injuries
Oklahoma City
No significant injuries
Fantasy Injury News | View NBA injury report
Depth Chart
    
Memphis (PPG)   
Oklahoma City (PPG)
PG            M. Conley 14.3    R. Westbrook 23.8
SG            S. Young 9.8    T. Sefolosha 5.0
SF            T. Allen 9.0    K. Durant 32.4
PF            Z. Randolph 21.5    S. Ibaka 10.2
C            M. Gasol 14.2    K. Perkins 5.4
View full depth chart: Memphis | Oklahoma City
Team Stat Leaders
    
Memphis   
Oklahoma City
Points    Z. Randolph 21.5    K. Durant 32.4
Rebounds    M. Gasol 12.3    S. Ibaka 11.0
Assists    M. Conley 6.2    R. Westbrook 6.2
Steals    T. Allen 2.3    J. Harden 1.2
Blocks    M. Gasol 1.5    S. Ibaka 4.8
Team rosters: Memphis | Oklahoma City
Research Notes

ESPN Stats & Information

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The new kids in town are trying to take over the Western Conference.

The Memphis Grizzlies already knocked out the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs and will now face the Oklahoma City Thunder in a series that ensures one of the NBA's rising young teams will make it to the conference finals.

The Thunder and Grizzlies were the league's two youngest teams at the start of last season, then improved their win totals more than any other teams. That rapid ascent has carried both into the second round of the playoffs, with Game 1 on Sunday in Oklahoma City.

"We're both bad teams that have risen up and become good teams," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said Saturday. " ... Our transformations started the same way, and they actually were ahead of us. We're here, and they're here."

But who would have ever believed it just two years ago?

The Thunder started out that season 3-29 and were on pace for the worst season in NBA history before a strong finish left them with 23 wins in their first season after relocating from Seattle to Oklahoma City. Memphis finished that year with 24 wins and started the next one 1-8 during the failed Allen Iverson experiment.

Both fired their coaches during the 2008-09 season and hired new ones who paved the way to the postseason.

Scott Brooks led Oklahoma City to a 27-win improvement last season -- from 23 to 50 -- and was named coach of the year after getting the Thunder into the playoffs.

Hollins produced a 16-win improvement that was the second-best. Then came this year's breakthrough, with the first playoff win -- and series win -- in franchise history for the Grizzlies, who have been in Memphis for 10 years after moving from Vancouver.

"I think both teams really have done a good job of just playing hard and learning the game by playing with a lot of effort," Brooks said. "You can make up for your mistakes and you will improve along the way much quicker if you're playing with a lot of effort. Memphis does play hard, and I really believe that we play as hard.

"It's kind of like us in a way that they didn't give up a couple years ago when they didn't have a good record either. Both teams just kept punching the clock and getting better every day."

Each team is built around a superstar who can take over a game, and who just proved it in the first round.

NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant scored 14 of his 41 points in the final 4 minutes of Game 5 to lead Oklahoma City back from a nine-point deficit and finish off Denver. Zach Randolph scored 17 of his 31 in the fourth quarter of the clinching Game 6 against San Antonio.

The Grizzlies got the better of the Thunder in the regular season, winning the series 3-1 as Randolph averaged 26.5 points and 13 rebounds.

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Durant, the league's leading scoring the past two seasons, needed a 40-point performance to get Oklahoma City its only win. Durant still got his numbers against the Grizzlies, but had to work for it while ace defender Tony Allen was busting through screens to harass him.

"I just take pride in my defense," said Allen, whose 18.8-point average against Oklahoma City was his best against any team this season. "I don't like getting scored on. Hopefully, all my teammates can help me.

"I'm going to need help with this guy."

Allen will have reinforcements with Memphis' addition of another top perimeter defender, Shane Battier, at the trade deadline. And similarly, the Thunder have something new to throw at Randolph: deadline pickup Kendrick Perkins, Allen's teammate on Boston's 2008 championship team with the same tough-as-nails demeanor.

Perkins didn't play in any of the four regular-season meetings, but should allow Serge Ibaka -- the NBA's top shot blocker -- to slide over and defend Randolph.

"Memphis is one of the biggest teams in basketball. They have size and strength and toughness, and they're the best scoring team in the paint," Brooks said. "So, it's certainly going to help."

The two may be labeled the NBA's teams of the future, but there's no reason they can't be successful in the present. Ahead in the Western Conference finals would be a matchup against one of two veteran-laden teams -- the Dallas Mavericks or the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers.

"We don't feel like we're just happy to be here or don't belong," said the Thunder's Nick Collison, the only player other than Durant who's left from the franchise's days in Seattle.

"We feel like we belong on the court with anybody."

The postseason is the time to prove it.

"Two young, athletic teams striving for greatness, striving to move the organization to another level, to a top level," Memphis guard O.J. Mayo said. "They got two great players in Durant and (Russell) Westbrook. We got a great core team right here and we're just looking forward to putting together a great series."

NBA Live Streaming: San Antonio at Memphis

NBA Live Streaming: San Antonio at Memphis: "Spurs-Grizzlies 9:00 PM ET, April 29, 2011 FedExForum, Memphis, TN Points Rebounds Assists SA Ginobili 21.8 Duncan 10.6 ..."

San Antonio at Memphis

Spurs-Grizzlies

9:00 PM ET, April 29, 2011
FedExForum, Memphis, TN

Points     Rebounds     Assists
SA    Ginobili 21.8    Duncan 10.6    Parker 5.4
MEM    Randolph 19.6    Gasol 12.2    Conley 6.8

WATCH IT LIVE

Grizzlies forward Shane Battier says Memphis is electric, and he sees no problem with his teammates rebounding from Wednesday night's 110-103 overtime loss in San Antonio. They are trying to become the fourth No. 8 seed in NBA history to beat a top seed to win a playoff series, holding a 3-2 lead going into Friday night's game.

"Ah, pressure, shmessure," Battier said. "We're playing with house money. I still contend that. We've proven we can come in here, and we've played well. So we want to win because we want to win, and we want to play well because we want to play well. Bottom line."

His teammates say they can't wait for Game 6 and would've tipped at noon Thursday if they could. Neither can their fans. Tickets went on sale Thursday morning, and the franchise notched its fastest sellout ever less than an hour.

Grizzlies guard Mike Conley said they aren't dwelling over Gary Neal's dagger of a 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left to force overtime or that the Spurs avoided elimination by outscoring them 13-6 in the extra period.

"We're ready to play," Conley said. "After we lost (Wednesday) night, we can't wait to get back in front of the fans and put on a show for them and get a win."

Memphis fans would welcome a series-clinching victory Friday night. Neal's shot dredged up painful memories of Mario Chalmers' three-pointer for Kansas at the end of regulation against the Tigers in the 2008 NCAA national championship game. The Tigers, Memphis' first basketball love, let a title-clinching lead dwindle away with Chalmers' three-pointer forcing OT where Kansas finished off the victory and the title.

Making it even worse those Tigers lost in San Antonio.

The Game 5 loss was so bad for Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph that he barely slept. He scored 18 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and overtime but couldn't help Memphis hold on for the win. Randolph said the Grizzlies know they were supposed to have won that game but also understand Neal hit a tough shot.

Now the Grizzlies face a must-win.

"We don't want to go back" to San Antonio, Randolph said.

That might sound odd considering only eight NBA teams have ever rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win a series. Then again Memphis had never even won a playoff game before this year, let alone a series.

NBA Live Streaming: Dallas at Portland

NBA Live Streaming: Dallas at Portland: "Mavericks-Trail Blazers 10:30 PM ET, April 28, 2011 Rose Garden, Portland, OR Points Rebounds Assists DAL Nowitzki 26..."

Dallas at Portland

Mavericks-Trail Blazers

10:30 PM ET, April 28, 2011
Rose Garden, Portland, OR

	Points     Rebounds     Assists DAL    Nowitzki 26.2    Chandler 10.0    Kidd 6.6 POR    Aldridge 20.2    Camby 9.8    Miller 5.8
	PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- If the Trail Blazers demonstrated anything this season, it's that they're not about to let a little challenge throw them off.WATCH LIVE STREAMING Portland has become adept at surpassing expectations. But the ultimate test of the team's resolve will come Thursday night, when the Trail Blazers face elimination trailing 3-2 in their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks. "When you get in these loser-out games, sometimes everybody tries to do it all, and then you get out of character," guard Brandon Roy said on Wednesday. "So the biggest thing tomorrow is that we stay in character and don't panic if they get up two points or we're up two. We need to play within our game plan like we've done all season, and we can beat this team." Perhaps nothing demonstrates the Blazers' ability to deal with adversity more than their last win in the series. Down 67-44 in the third quarter, Roy led his team on a stunning comeback for an 84-82 Game 4 victory on Saturday. Roy, a three-time All-Star who had been troubled by his knees all season and came on as a reserve, finished with 24 points -- 18 in the fourth quarter. For Roy, there was satisfaction in the performance given what he had gone through. In early December, it became apparent that something was amiss for Roy, the face of the franchise. It was later learned that the cartilage in both of his knees was so depleted that he was nearly playing bone-on-bone. While the condition is something that will likely dog him for the rest of his career, Roy opted to have arthroscopic surgery on both knees in January. All told, he missed 35 regular-season games. When Roy returned from surgery, LaMarcus Aldridge had taken over as the team's top playmaker, and second-year guard Wesley Matthews had taken his spot in the starting rotation. Roy's minutes were tightly controlled off the bench. As they had with other key injuries -- most notably to centers Greg Oden and Marcus Camby -- the Blazers picked themselves up and moved on. They made the necessarily adjustments, and helped themselves by adding forward Gerald Wallace from Charlotte at the trade deadline, to wind up the sixth seed in the Western Conference. Dallas, the third seed, took control of the series with a 93-82 victory at American Airlines Center on Monday night in Game 5. The Mavs caught the Blazers off guard with the emergence of Tyson Chandler and by going to the zone. While the Mavericks have seen the steady play of Dirk Nowitzki all series long, they've also managed to compliment him with a different player each game, ranging from Jason Kidd to Peja Stojakovic and Jason Terry, and finally Chandler, who had 14 points and 20 rebounds in Game 5. The Mavericks are hoping to overcome their recent history of wilting in the playoffs. Since the start of the 2006 NBA Finals -- which the Mavs lost in seven games to Miami after taking a 2-0 series lead -- Dallas has gone just 2-18 on the road in the postseason. Dallas has been eliminated in the first round in three of the past four seasons. "We know what we gotta do. We're a veteran team. If we don't have to play a Game 7, then we don't want to play a Game 7," forward Shawn Marion said. "That's our mentality and that's what we gotta do." The Blazers must improve in several areas -- and quick. They've been unable to deal effectively with the Mavs' pick-and-roll. They've sent Nowitzki to the free throw line too often. And, aside from Roy's big breakout, they've seen too little noise from their own bench. Portland has never overcome a 3-2 deficit to win a playoff series, and the team has been unable to get beyond the first round for the previous two seasons. But they certainly have home court advantage. The Trail Blazers have won each time the Mavs have visited their building this season, twice in the regular season and twice so far in the playoffs. Portland has won 12 of its last 13 at the Rose Garden. Overall against the Mavericks, the Blazers are 46-18 all-time in Portland, and 8-1 in playoff games. It's likely that all eyes Thursday will be on Roy, and whether he can stage another comeback -- this time not just to win a game, but to save a series. "I don't think it's any secret that I've got to play well. And not only play well, I've got to be more aggressive," Roy said. "When I'm more aggressive it puts pressure on Dallas' defense to game plan and figure out how to stop me, and then I think it give other guys easier shots. "My goal tomorrow is to go all-out and be as aggressive as I can."

NBA Live Streaming: Los Angeles at New Orleans

NBA Live Streaming: Los Angeles at New Orleans: "Lakers-Hornets 8:00 PM ET, April 28, 2011 New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA Points Rebounds Assists LAL Bryant 22.2 Byn..."

NBA Live Streaming: Orlando at Atlanta

NBA Live Streaming: Orlando at Atlanta: "Magic-Hawks 7:30 PM ET, April 28, 2011 Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA Points Rebounds Assists ORL Howard 27.4 Howard 15.6 N..."

Los Angeles at New Orleans

Lakers-Hornets

8:00 PM ET, April 28, 2011
New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA

 Points     Rebounds     Assists
LAL    Bryant 22.2    Bynum 10.0    Bryant 4.2
NO    Paul 24.4    Ariza 6.8    Paul 11.6

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Two transcendent playoff performances by Chris Paul made the Hornets' first-round series with Los Angeles far more interesting than the defending champion Lakers would have preferred.

The question now is whether the Hornets' four-time All-Star can summon another big game back in the Big Easy on Thursday night.

At the very least, Paul welcomes the pressure that comes with a game in which a loss ends the season for his team.

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"This is all or nothing for us," Paul said. "I can't wait."

When Paul has been sensational -- with his 33-point, 14 assist performance in Game 1 and his triple-double in Game 4 -- the Hornets have pulled out a pair of hard fought victories. In the series' other three games, when Paul has still been exceptional, but short of dominant, the Lakers have won -- including twice by double digits.

Now ahead 3-2 in the series, Los Angeles needs only one more win to dispatch pesky New Orleans. If the Lakers own key statistical categories as thoroughly as they did in their 106-90 Game 5 triumph on Tuesday night, the series isn't likely to make it back to the West Coast for Game 7.

The Lakers restored their dominance inside, outrebounding the Hornets 42-25, which included a 15-3 advantage in offensive rebounds. That led to a whopping 22-2 advantage in second-chance points. Los Angeles also outscored the Hornets 42-30 in the paint.

"We should be able to play like that all the time," Lakers forward Pau Gasol said. "We needed to play physical and control the boards, and use our bodies. ... Our energy was good, and that's why we won the way we won."

The Hornets never looked more outmatched in the series, but if that result shook their confidence, they're not letting it show.

"The great thing about it is now we get to go back to our home court with our fans behind us, and we have to bring the energy," Paul said. "It's the elimination game now. We can't leave anything out there."

Paul has said throughout his career that he never wants to come out and would gladly play 48 minutes if coaches would let him. Such an approach might have served the Hornets well in Game 5.

The Hornets led by nine when Paul went to the bench to rest in the beginning of the second quarter. The Lakers immediately went on a 10-0 run and the momentum seemed to change for good.

Hornets coach Monty Williams said Paul's teammates could have helped him by showing more toughness on defense and fouling hard, the way Lakers star Kobe Bryant did when he thwarted a layup attempt by Emeka Okafor with a forearm across the Hornets center's head.

"At some point, you have to know how to make a playoff foul," Williams said. The coach then referred to the lack of resistance Bryant met on his thunderous driving dunk in the second quarter, which seemed to energize his team. "We have to learn how to not allow him to get that play off."

Williams believes the Lakers have been allowed to get away with too much banging inside. He even made a formal protest to the NBA about it after Game 3.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson didn't seem quite sure what to make of his team being portrayed as the one that hits hardest.

"It was pretty interesting. We're not usually known for that," Jackson said. "We're known as being soft, but sometimes desperation can activate" toughness.

Jackson added that he fully expected the Hornets to respond to their coach's call for more aggression.

"The game will be feisty, no doubt about it," Jackson said. "The team that beats the other team to loose balls is going to win the game."

Bryant, meanwhile, continues to receive treatment for an injury to his left ankle and foot that occurred late in the Hornets Game 4 win. Of course, the Hornets realized by the second quarter of Game 5 that they better not count on the injury slowing the Lakers' superstar down. Although he played less than 29 minutes in Game 5, he was 8 of 13 shooting for 19 points and showed little lack of explosion on a pair of soaring one-handed jams.

Jackson said Bryant was sore on Wednesday, but added that he did not expect to limit Bryant's playing time at all on Thursday night.

"This is a game in which we go all-out to win," Jackson said. "If it's 40 minutes, we will" play Bryant that long.


        

Orlando at Atlanta

Magic-Hawks

7:30 PM ET, April 28, 2011
Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA

Points     Rebounds     Assists
ORL    Howard 27.4    Howard 15.6    Nelson 4.8
ATL    Crawford 20.8    Horford 9.8    Johnson 3.4

ATLANTA (AP) -- There's a sign on the wall leading into the Atlanta Hawks' locker room that says: "We Control Our Own Destiny."

Indeed, even after a humiliating loss in Orlando, the Hawks remain in control of their playoff destiny against the Magic. They're still leading the series. They're still one win away from finishing off the Magic.

Best of all, they're back at home for Game 6.

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"We are still in a great position," coach Larry Drew said Wednesday after a lengthy film session with his assistants, breaking down a 101-76 rout by the Magic the night before. "We've put the ball back in our court, with the possibility to close it out at home. That's what we plan to do."

The Hawks won Game 1 in Orlando to steal home-court advantage, and protected that edge with two close wins at home. They had hoped to close out the series on the road, but the Magic were having none of that.

Changing up his game plan, coach Stan Van Gundy ran less of the offense through Dwight Howard, who averaged more than 32 points over the first four games but got little help from his teammates. Running the Hawks ragged with one pick-and-roll after another, Orlando got strong games out of Jason Richardson (17 points) and backup guard J.J. Redick (14 points).

Howard played less than 30 minutes, made only one shot from the field and finished with a mere eight points and eight rebounds. Even so, the Magic dominated from the opening tip, racing out to a 23-point lead by halftime.

"I don't think it can be one or two guys. Those first four games, it was basically just Dwight carrying us," Van Gundy said. "We need more people involved. We need to have a lot of people play well."

Just as Drew is stressing to his team that they still lead the series, Van Gundy wants his team to continue playing with the desperation of a squad that's facing another one-and-done scenario.

"Our energy and effort has to be at least what it was (in Game 5), if not better," he said. "My main message was, we're still behind. My analogy today was it's like a game when you're down 25 and then you make a run to get it back to 10. You feel good that you're playing better, but you can't celebrate because you're still down 10 and you've got a long way to go before you actually win it."

After the game, the first thing Van Gundy wrote on the board was: "3-2, we're still behind."

"All we did was cut into the lead a little bit," he said. "We're still getting our butts kicked. And that's got to be the attitude."

The Hawks shot just 36 percent (25 of 89) in their worst performance of the series. Josh Smith was the only starter in double figures with 22 points.

Drew said no one -- not even Smith -- played up to an acceptable standard.

"I didn't see the effort I saw in games 3 and 4," the coach said. "There was a very glaring difference in our effort on both ends of the floor. We watched it some with the players, so they can see. The bottom line is, this is playoff basketball. This is the time where every possession counts. We played against a team that had their back against the wall, and we didn't respond to their intensity. That was very glaring."

The Hawks expect Van Gundy to keep calling the same style of offense that worked so well in Game 5, so they'll have to work even harder to fight through screens and cut down on the open looks the Magic get from beyond the 3-point stripe. They made 11 of 26 on Tuesday night, quite an improvement on their dismal 2-of-23 showing the previous game.

"It kind of threw us off," Smith said. "The first four games, they were predictable. In Game 5, they ran so much pick-and-roll it was kind of hard to defend with the different coverages we had. It's nothing but a chess match. I know we're going to come up with a different scheme, and hopefully it works for us."

One thing the Hawks don't want to do is return to Orlando for a decisive game.

"This is pretty much our best chance," forward Marvin Williams said. "It would be tough to go back down there and steal a win in Game 7.

Looking for any motivational edge they can get, the Hawks ran off copies of a newspaper article written by an Orlando columnist, who called the Hawks "birdbrains" and guaranteed the Magic would rally to win the series after losing Game 1 at home and falling behind 3-1.

Each Atlanta player got a copy in his locker.

NBA: National Basketball League Live Streaming: Denver at Oklahoma City

NBA: National Basketball League Live Streaming: Denver at Oklahoma City: "Nuggets-Thunder 9:30 PM ET, April 27, 2011 Oklahoma City Arena, Oklahoma City, OK Points Rebounds Assists DEN Lawson 16.3 N..."

Denver at Oklahoma City

Nuggets-Thunder

9:30 PM ET, April 27, 2011
Oklahoma City Arena, Oklahoma City, OK
Points     Rebounds     Assists
DEN    Lawson 16.3    Nene 9.0    Felton 4.3
OKC    Durant 30.3    Ibaka 11.8    Westbrook 6.8

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- After he makes a big shot, Russell Westbrook likes to gesture with his hands as though they're pistols and then blow the pretend smoke away.

But did he get too trigger-happy in Game 4?

After Oklahoma City's All-Star point guard attempted 30 shots for just the third time in his career as the Denver Nuggets cut their series deficit to 3-1, even his coach thought so.

WATCH LIVE STREAMING

"You can't play great basketball every time. His heart and determination are always in the right spot. That's all I care about with Russell," Thunder coach Brooks said Tuesday.

"Did he take too many shots? Absolutely. But that being said, you learn from it and you move on and you get better from it. Russell is a player that will get better every year."

Brooks said that Westbrook wasn't the only Thunder player who didn't play at his best during a 104-101 loss in Denver on Monday night, and he found other reasons Oklahoma City didn't pull off the sweep than his point guard's high-volume shooting night.

Namely, defense.

The Thunder allowed the Nuggets their most points in six meetings this month, having won the previous five. Brooks wasn't happy with Oklahoma City's interior defense early, its 3-point defense in the second half and he saw too many fouls throughout.

"I would like to say that we're going to win every game and we're going to have multiple sweeps, but that's not the way this league works," Brooks said. "There's usually two teams that are trying to win, and they did.

"We knew that they were going to give us their best shot. They were a desperate team. ... Any athlete that has any self pride is not going to want to get beat by a team every time you play them."

Denver got a career playoff best 27 points from Ty Lawson and 18 second-half points from Danilo Gallinari in winning Game 4, sending the series back to Oklahoma City for Game 5 on Wednesday night.

"The mood's good right now. We got the monkey off our back and put it on theirs," Lawson said after the Nuggets arrived at their hotel Tuesday evening.

"So, we'll try to put a little pressure on them with a good game here and go back home."

At the Thunder's practice facility, Westbrook shrugged off suggestions that he took too many shots.

The only two other times he'd had more than 25 field goal attempts in a game came in a triple-overtime win at New Jersey this season that NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant missed with an ankle injury and a loss at Dallas two seasons ago when Durant left in the first quarter.

"Just another game," Westbrook said. "We didn't win as a team, and a tough loss for us."

Westbrook's frequent firing was highlighted when he missed three 3-pointers in the final minute with the Thunder within striking distance. He finished 0-for-7 from 3-point range and 12-for-30 overall, scoring 30 points.

Durant had 31 points on 8-for-18 shooting, making five of his six 3-point attempts, but wasn't about to call his teammate a ball hog.

"He's a star, too," Durant said. "You know, he's an All-Star, too. He's shown that he can win games for us. He did it before. I felt that I had to play my role."

Brooks said he'd consider 30 shots a lot in a game for any player on his team, but his primary complaint about Westbrook was location and not volume. Instead of attacking the basket, or even his best shooting range, Brooks thought Westbrook was settling too much for long jumpers.

"He's a terrific mid-range shooter and when he gets to that sweet spot, he knocks that down," Brooks said. "I don't look at Russell's game last night and say, `You know what? The sky is falling.' He's a terrific player. He has improved a lot, and he is going to get better.

"You're not seeing Russell at this level for the rest of his career. He will develop into a better player."

What Brooks wants just as much, though, is a return to Oklahoma City's strong defensive ways against Denver. The Thunder had held the Nuggets below 95 points in four of their six meetings this month, including a pair of 89-point outings by the NBA's highest-scoring team.

Denver shot 44 and 45 free throws in the two games on its home court in the series.

"I think we're definitely fouling too much," Brooks said. "I think they're averaging 40 free throws a game against us. That leads the league by 10. You want to do a better job of defending.

"I've always felt if you're a good defensive team, you're not fouling as much."

Just who should be the focal point of that defense could be in question on a Nuggets team without Carmelo Anthony. Joining Lawson and Gallinari with big games on Monday was J.R. Smith, who was benched in Game 2 for his role in Oklahoma City's blowout win.

Wilson Chandler, who has made just one of 14 shots in the last three games, took over Smith's spot on the sidelines in Game 4.

"That's the nature of NBA playoff basketball. No one's consistent in NBA playoff basketball," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "Some guys can get 40 one night and the next night they can be 4-for-20. That's adjustments, and the other team says, `No, you're not going to do that.'

"I think we have to be ready for that and the depth of our team's got to be ready for it, whoever gets the hot hand or the opportunity."

NBA: National Basketball League Live Streaming: Memphis at San Antonio

NBA: National Basketball League Live Streaming: Memphis at San Antonio: "Grizzlies-Spurs 8:30 PM ET, April 27, 2011 AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX Points Rebounds Assists MEM Randolph 18.0 Gasol 11...."

Memphis at San Antonio

Grizzlies-Spurs

8:30 PM ET, April 27, 2011
AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
Points     Rebounds     Assists
MEM    Randolph 18.0    Gasol 11.0    Conley 7.3
SA    Ginobili 18.0    Duncan 10.3    Parker 4.5

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- So is this how the San Antonio Spurs' dynasty might end?

Not with Tim Duncan hoisting a fifth NBA championship trophy -- a scenario that seemed wholly realistic just a month ago -- but with the top-seeded Spurs ousted in the first round by the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, a franchise that previously never won a playoff game?

"We put ourselves in this position," Duncan said. "We gotta stay alive."

WATCH LIVE STREAMING

Duncan meant this series. But the stakes for him may go even further.

Duncan, at the end what became a terrible 35th birthday, spoke softly after Memphis crushed the Spurs 104-86 on Monday in Game 4, putting San Antonio on the brink of becoming just the second No. 1 seed in NBA history to lose a best-of-seven series in the first round.

Drafting the obituary of the Duncan era has been something of a spring tradition since 2008, a year after San Antonio won the last of its four championships. It remains premature to declare this the last run for the Spurs, whether or not Memphis finishes them off Wednesday.

Yet these Spurs won 61 games. They secured home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. They played quicker, became a little younger this season and kept their Big 3 mostly healthy for the first time in years.

If it's not the last run for the Spurs, at the very least, they seem on the verge of squandering a position Duncan may never see again.

"We got a lot to lose," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. "We had an unbelievable season. We were the No. 1 seed in the league for 65, 70 games, playing unbelievable."

None of that has mattered to Memphis.

"They're the better team. They won 61 games, and we won 46 games," Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said. "Their record all year long said they were the better team. As I've always said, it doesn't matter who is this better team during the regular season. When you get to the playoffs, each series you have to be the better team."

Hollins walked his players through a 25-minute film session in Memphis before the team left for San Antonio. So good a mood was Hollins in, according to guard Tony Allen, that the Grizzlies were bestowed with rare praise from their coach while re-watching their dismantling of the Spurs in the second half of Game 4.

"That was a first," Allen said.

Hollins is hardly the only one in Memphis in high spirits: the city airport gave the team charter plane a water-cannon send-off before takeoff, before the Grizzlies possibly return late Wednesday night with a spot in the Western Conference semifinals.

"There's not a media person standing around that would've gone and put his house and his paycheck on us being up 3-1," Hollins said Tuesday. "But that's why you play the games."

Dallas is the only No. 1 seed to fall in the first round since the series was expanded to the best-of-seven format. That was in 2007, when Golden State beat the Mavericks in six games after Dallas coasted through the regular season with 67 wins.

Only eight teams have rallied from a 3-1 deficit, Phoenix being the last in 2006. That same year, the Spurs nearly joined the list before losing Game 7 in overtime to Dallas, despite Duncan going for 41 points and 15 rebounds.

Five years later Monday night, on his 35th birthday, Duncan had six points and seven rebounds. The Spurs this season diminished his role while putting together the second-best regular season in franchise history, making Duncan more of a complementary piece alongside Tony Parker and Ginobili.

It's all been a part of what Spurs owner Peter Holt earlier this season called "going from the Tim Duncan era to the next era." He said that March 4, and later that night, Holt sat courtside next to Texas Gov. Rick Perry as the Spurs crushed LeBron James and the Miami Heat by 30 points.

That night, San Antonio improved to an NBA-best 51-11 -- already more wins than the Grizzlies would get -- and few teams looked as legitimate championship contenders as the Spurs.

A lot's changed in one month. But the Spurs don't have time to change much now.

"We'll just go play," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

NBA: National Basketball League Live Streaming: Philadelphia at Miami

NBA: National Basketball League Live Streaming: Philadelphia at Miami: "76ers-Heat 7:00 PM ET, April 27, 2011 AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami, FL Points Rebounds Assists PHI Holiday 15.3 Brand 9.0 ..."

Philadelphia at Miami

76ers-Heat

7:00 PM ET, April 27, 2011
AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami, FL
Points     Rebounds     Assists
PHI    Holiday 15.3    Brand 9.0    Iguodala 7.5
MIA    James 26.3    James 10.8    James 5.8

MIAMI (AP) -- By the time the ball goes up in Game 5 on Wednesday night, more than 72 hours will have passed since Philadelphia rallied in the final moments to beat Miami and save its season.

The wait seems much longer to the Heat.

"It's horrible, honestly," Heat forward LeBron James said.

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Miami gets its second chance to move into the second round on Wednesday night, when it brings a 3-1 series lead over the 76ers back home. The Heat were outscored 10-0 in the final 82 seconds of Sunday afternoon's Game 4 at Philadelphia, and from that outcome came two predictable mindsets.

The 76ers say they're loose, playing with nothing to lose.

The Heat say they're focused, eager to send Philly home.

"That's they way they should play," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "The way we should play is with a deep sense of urgency and desperation. We had that for the most part in the first three games. We had a sensational second quarter in Game 4. ... But that wasn't enough of a burst. We weren't able to sustain it and we relaxed."

Should Miami win on Wednesday, the Heat will immediately turn attention toward the long-awaited matchup with the Boston Celtics in the East semifinals.

The Heat know the Celtics are waiting. Until win No. 4 against Philadelphia is in the books, they won't profess to care.

"We're talking about Philly right now," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said.

Some Philadelphia veterans, Elton Brand in particular, said before the series began that the Sixers' collective youth would prove beneficial at times in this series. In short, Philly's younger starters -- three of the 76ers' first five had never started a playoff game before this series began -- are still learning the magnitude of the playoff stage.

That's not a bad thing, Brand said. It allows them to just play, even when facing a six-point deficit near the very end of a win-or-get-swept game like the one Philadelphia faced Sunday.

"It was easy for us when we were down seven with 8 minutes to go for guys to pack it in and get ready for that vacation," Sixers guard Lou Williams said. "Instead, guys locked down on defense and made some big shots."

So instead of flying to Miami for vacation, the Sixers are returning for Game 5.

"They wanted to get down there," 76ers coach Doug Collins said. "And guys are loose. They're having fun. It's just a great time to be playing. Anytime you have the chance to play these kind of games, it helps them grow. I'm learning more about them every single day."

Collins brought his team in for a light Monday workout, before another practice Tuesday preceding the flight to Miami. The Monday session might have been one of the most lighthearted of Philadelphia's season, but Collins felt it was necessary to get his players back in the workplace -- if for no other reason than to put the joy of Sunday behind them.

"I didn't want them to think that was good enough," Collins said. "I want them to want more."

The message was delivered.

"We're not happy," Williams said. "We have the opportunity to go down there, try to extend the series and make it 3-2. At the end of the day, all you can ask for."

Miami took Monday off from practice, then returned for a lengthy session Tuesday morning, replete with full contact 5-on-5 work, knee pads and mouthguards in place.

That's what worked best for the Heat all season, and Spoelstra sees no need to change the thinking now.

"We needed to work on some things and get our edge back," Spoelstra said.

Also not getting changed? Miami's lineup.

The Heat have been outscored 78-46 with their starters on the floor to open games in this series, then have outplayed the 76ers by wide margins at times after those initial stints of games.

"We can change what we need to within ourselves and do it with a better motor ... better awareness to start the game," Spoelstra said. "It's all about everybody together."

And together, Miami has grown tired of waiting around for Game 5 to arrive.

James was watching other playoff games on television Monday night, noting that most of those series only have one full day off until their next game. The Heat had two full days off -- more than three in actuality -- to stew over what went wrong in Philadelphia in Game 4.

"When you're a competitor and you just love the game of basketball, you love playoff basketball, you're ready to get back out there after one day off," James said. "But like D-Wade said, we got an opportunity to get some rest, go through the mistakes and some of the good things we did in Game 4. And we're looking forward to the challenge."

New Orleans at Los Angeles

Hornets-Lakers

10:30 PM ET, April 26, 2011
STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, CA

	Points     Rebounds     Assists NO    Paul 25.5    Ariza 8.0    Paul 11.5 LAL    Bryant 23.0    Bynum 10.0    Bryant 4.3
	EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) -- After three straight trips to the NBA finals, there are few playoff predicaments the Los Angeles Lakers haven't already escaped. Just last spring, they were in the same jam they currently face: tied at 2 in a first-round playoff series against a young, hungry opponent. WATCH LIVE STREAMING Oklahoma City had the Lakers two games away from a shocking first-round elimination last year before they pulled much the same escape they're hoping to make against New Orleans this week. "We're in the same position, as far as being tied," said Pau Gasol, the Lakers' fourth-leading scorer in the series with 12.3 points per game while making a team-worst 39.5 percent of his shots. "We just have to make sure we come out and get Game 5 as we did in the past, because we know how important it is." When the two-time champions face that pivotal first-round Game 5 against New Orleans on Tuesday night at Staples Center, they'll have to draw from their expansive well of postseason experience just to keep moving forward on the brutal drive toward a threepeat. The Lakers still haven't drained that well, but their task gets a bit tougher each time they have to go there to find the energy necessary to finish off contenders. "They certainly play better when they're in a desperate mode, there's no doubt about that," coach Phil Jackson said after Monday's workout at the Lakers' training complex. "They were somber. They understand the nature of we to have to do with this ballclub." Sure, the Lakers have been here before while playing 67 postseason games over the previous three years. But the dilemma posed by the Hornets is unique. For one thing, few players in recent playoff years have carved up the Lakers' defense as thoroughly as Chris Paul is doing it in this series. Paul, who destroyed Los Angeles with 33 points and 14 assists in Game 1, is averaging 25.5 points, 11.5 assists and 7 rebounds per game after putting up the first triple-double ever posted against the Lakers in 712 playoff games during New Orleans' win in Game 4. For another, Kobe Bryant is limping on a sprained left ankle that might be a bit more serious than the countless injuries he has managed through in the past few seasons. After getting ice and massage during the Lakers' flight home, which landed about 3:30 a.m. local time Monday, he refused any further treatment, preferring to head into Game 5 without knowing the full extent of his latest injury. "He says he'll play," Jackson said of Bryant, who didn't speak to reporters Monday. "He won't let them deal with it. ... Doesn't matter, he's going to play tomorrow. That's his attitude." Jackson also said Paul isn't the biggest problem faced by the Lakers, who have all but conceded they can't shut down the four-time All-Star point guard. Their game plan increasingly focuses on slowing down Paul's teammates -- a tactic that didn't work in Game 4. "We're bothered by (Trevor) Ariza and (Carl) Landry," Jackson said. "We're paying attention to Chris Paul, and he's make big plays. We're not worried about that. We're worried about something we can do something about." The Hornets have remained humble about their upstart run at the Lakers after stumbling into the playoffs and losing leading scorer David West to a season-ending injury. Yet two victories in four games have built a fire of confidence under New Orleans, which is drafting off the remarkable pace set by its star point guard. Paul has accumulated his own share of injuries, including a nasty cut near his right eye, but teammate Jarrett Jack knows the Hornets can count on him. "He's tough as nails," Jack said of his boyhood friend. "The only way he's not going to play is if he can't breathe. Nothing is going to keep him out of the game. It's the same as Kobe. You saw him. He could barely walk, and he was yelling at Phil (Jackson) for taking him out the game. If you want to be that guy in this league, that's what you have to do." Paul lavished postgame praise on Ariza, the former Lakers forward who scored 16 of his 19 points in the first half of Game 4 while holding Bryant scoreless on defense. "He was unbelievable," Paul said of Ariza, who won the 2009 title with Los Angeles. "I told him after the game I fed off of his energy. I might have had four points in the first half, but he single-handedly kept us in the game. It's hard enough to run around with Kobe. For him to be out there to score, he was doing it all." The Lakers are familiar with best-of-three finishes to their playoff series: Three of their four postseason series last year were tied after four games, as were two series during their initial title run in 2009. The Lakers prevailed every time -- but that doesn't mean it gets any easier to do it, point guard Derek Fisher notes. "If you could just play the way you want to every time you go out there, there would be more teams that have done what we're trying to do," Fisher said.

Indiana at Chicago

Pacers-Bulls

8:00 PM ET, April 26, 2011
United Center, Chicago, IL

Points     Rebounds     Assists
IND    Granger 22.0    Hibbert 7.3    Collison 3.8
CHI    Rose 28.3    Boozer 11.5    Rose 6.3
    
DEERFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- It would probably take a broken bone for Derrick Rose to miss a playoff game, so consider this good news for the Chicago Bulls.

His sprained left ankle is just that -- sprained.

Rose plans to suit up for Game 5 on Tuesday when the Bulls try again to close out their first-round series with the Indiana Pacers.

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"It's getting better every day," he said Monday. "I've been getting treatment on it the last couple of days, coming in in the morning, coming in at night, getting treatment. Hopefully, it'll be ready tomorrow. It's not broken so I'm definitely playing."

The swelling has gone down, and although he plans to get a painkilling shot before the game, he was in flip flops one day after wearing a walking boot. He did sit out Monday's practice, but the Bulls can breathe a little easier knowing that an MRI confirmed there was no major structural damage.

Rose sprained his ankle driving to the basket late in the first quarter of Game 4 on Saturday and wasn't his usual dominant self as the Pacers beat Chicago 89-84 to avoid the sweep, finishing with 15 points and 10 assists. He scored just eight points on 3-for-16 shooting after the injury but wasn't about to use that as an excuse.

"Just missed shots," he said. "There's no excuses when you're still playing. That's the way I think about it. If I was out there, I should've changed. But I'm going to change some things that I didn't. If anything, I just missed shots. All my shots were short. I twisted my ankle but there are no excuses."

Rose said he was "just off." It was as simple as that.

As for the ankle? He didn't seem too concerned.

"This one is minor, where it takes a couple of days and it's fine," Rose said. "If it was broken, I probably would be panicking or something like that. I'm just happy that the trainers have been making sure I'm getting my treatment and it's coming along fine."

The Bulls, meanwhile, are getting pushed in a big way after a posting a league-leading 62 wins and securing homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.

They could just as easily be trailing in this series -- if not out of it -- considering they rallied to win the first three games by a combined 15 points. They made a big run in the closing minutes of Game 4, nearly wiping out a 13-point deficit, but came up short.

A broken play near the end left Carlos Boozer attempting and missing his first 3-pointer since the 2007-08 season and helped keep Indiana's season going. The Pacers see no reason why it has to stop now.

"We've been in every game, could have won every game," Indiana's Danny Granger said. "It's all the confidence we need."

The Pacers have frustrated Rose and the Bulls with traps, throwing the offense out of sync, and they've been fouling hard on shots down low.

That in part explains why Indiana has 67 turnovers into 89 points and why Chicago is shooting 39.8 percent, although Indiana isn't much better at 41.3 percent.

Rose was not shooting particularly well before the sprain, although he is averaging 28.3 points in the series. Now he might be slowed -- not that the Pacers are buying that idea.

"A guy as good as Derrick Rose, I know that he knows that this series needs to be over, so I think that ankle won't play a role in the back of his mind," said Paul George, the 6-foot-8 swingman who has helped frustrate him in this series. "I think the adrenaline will be pumped, and I think he's going to come out here trying to end us."

So does interim Pacers coach Frank Vogel.

"Once you get out there, adrenaline starts flowing, pretty much the rest of the game you don't feel it," he said. "I expect him to be 100 percent."

If he's not? If he has to alter his game?

"I know that I have my teammates," he said.

The Bulls have fared well when short-handed, winning despite losing Boozer and Joakim Noah for significant portions of the season because they have one of the deepest rosters, not to mention an MVP favorite at the point.

Rose played in all but one game even if he wasn't always a picture of health.

"He's tough," Chicago's Kyle Korver said. "He's a hard-nosed kid, never complains. He plays so many minutes. He plays with injuries you guys don't know about. That's something that as a teammate, you really respect. You know. You see him in the training room. You see him in the locker room. You see how he walks around when he's not on the actual court. He's 22 years old, he's the same age as my third brother, but I've got a lot of respect for him."

NBA: National Basketball League Live Streaming: Hawks-Magic

NBA: National Basketball League Live Streaming: Hawks-Magic: "Atlanta at Orlando 7:30 PM ET, April 26, 2011 Amway Center, Orlando, FL Points Rebounds Assists ATL Crawford 24.0 Horford ..."

Hawks-Magic

Atlanta at Orlando

 

7:30 PM ET, April 26, 2011
Amway Center, Orlando, FL
 Points    Rebounds    Assists
ATL    Crawford 24.0    Horford 8.8    2 with 4.0
ORL    Howard 32.3    Howard 17.5    Nelson 4.8

			ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- On the brink of elimination, Magic players were still lamenting what has been plain to see for anyone watching Orlando's first-round playoff series against Atlanta. They can't put the ball in the basket. WATCH LIVE STREAMING "It's the wrong time to be in a collective shooting slump," Magic guard J.J. Redick said. Now facing a 3-1 deficit in the best-of-seven series, time has just about run out for the Magic to shake off their shooting woes. The series swings back to Orlando Tuesday for Game 5 with the Magic on the brink of suffering their first opening round playoff exit since 2007. History is not on Orlando's side. Only eight teams in NBA history have won a best-of-seven series after falling into a 3-1 hole. The Magic have barely shown flashes of the team that averaged 99 points per game during the regular season and was in the top of the league in both field goal and 3-point shooting percentage. Aside from Dwight Howard, who is leading all playoff scorers averaging 32.2 points per game and shooting 66 percent from the field, Orlando is a shell of itself. The Magic are averaging just 90.3 points and three of their go-to outside threats -- Jameer Nelson, Hedo Turkoglu and Redick -- are all shooting less than 35 percent from the field, none more than 23 percent from beyond the arc. As a team, the Orlando is shooting 40 percent from the field and just 20 percent from the 3-point line in the series. The Hawks are at 44 and 39 percent, respectively. It is almost a complete reverse from Orlando's Eastern Conference semifinals sweep of Atlanta last season when the Magic shot 53 percent overall (39 percent from three-point range), compared to 37 percent from the field and (29 percent from beyond the arc) for the Hawks. Coach Stan Van Gundy said his team got makable shots in Game 4, but that the mental side of things is what must be overcome. "On an individual basis as guys are struggling, the mentality becomes 'I gotta get myself going," he said. "And so guys are really hunting out shots and I think taking tougher ones because of that...You've gotta trust the teammates instead of the idea that we need some heroics." In Sunday's 88-85 loss, the Magic set a new NBA low for 3-point percentage by a team in a playoff game, connecting on just 2 for 23 attempts. Some of that is poor shot selection, but the Hawks defense has certainly played a role and fueled their confidence. "We're doing a great job on the 3-point line," Hawks forward Josh Smith said. "We've got to keep that up, just keep doing a good job at everything: Helping each other at defensive end, share ball at the offensive end. If we do that, think we'll be OK." Atlanta also remains content to live with Howard's big numbers and have defended the perimeter just well enough to throw Orlando off. It's also had an unbelievable effort from reserve Jamal Crawford. With his team-high 25-point effort in Game 4 Crawford became the first bench player to score 20 or more points in the first four games of a series since Kevin McHale did it for Boston in 1991. There were some trouble signs for Atlanta in Game 4, though. Aside from letting the Magic back the game after building a 16-point lead, Atlanta also at times reverted back into the isolation-based offensive sets that have gotten it into trouble at times. They also did a poor job down the stretch of managing possessions. It's why Hawks coach Larry Drew said ending the series as soon as possible is paramount. "It's very important," Drew said. "I'm always talking about this team growing. To me, them positioning themselves like they are right now to go into Orlando and to finish this thing off, that's a huge step in our growth process...Particularly after what they did to us last year...it left a bad taste in our mouths." The wildcard in Game 5 may center on who wasn't there in the previous game for both teams. Magic starter Jason Richardson and Hawks' reserve Zaza Pachulia will both return to action after serving one-game suspensions for their altercation near the end of Game 3. Richardson has also struggled to score in this series, but his presence at least increases the chances that somebody in a Magic uniform will have a good shooting night. Like Howard, he doesn't feel it's the best approach for the Magic to go into Tuesday thinking about a "must-win." "That's the kind of team we have and the type of guys we have. If we're uptight and worried about this or worried about that, we never play at our best. We're at our best when we're playing loose." Pachulia's return could be more vital, as he has done one of the most serviceable jobs off the bench banging around underneath with Howard. He said now is not the time to admire what they've accomplished so far, though. "We still have one more game to win," Pachulia said. "But it definitely will give us a great advantage to finish this series Tuesday. The last two years, we went to 7 game series it was very hard. We didn't have any off time to get any rest. Going to second round tired and banged up is not a good idea."