Grizzlies Surprised Spurs, Hornets Nip Lakers in NBA Playoffs

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AFP) – The New Orleans Hornets shocked the two-time defending NBA champion Lakers and upstart Memphis edged top-seeded San Antonio, Sunday in a pair of Western Conference playoff opener upsets.

Seventh-seeded New Orleans beat the Lakers 109-100 and Memphis defeated the Spurs 101-98.

Chris Paul had 33 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds for the Hornets as they seized the initiative over the Lakers in the first game of their best-of-seven series.

"Our defence was late. We were late on everything," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "They were aggressive and beat us to balls."

Memphis posted their first-ever NBA post-season win by stunning the top-seeded Spurs at the AT&T Center arena.

Zach Randolph scored nine of his 25 points in the fourth quarter for the eighth-seeded Grizzlies, who were making their first playoff appearance since the 2005-06 NBA season.

Marc Gasol finished with 24 points and Mike Conley had 15 points and 10 assists for Memphis, which finished with a 46-36 record in the regular season.

The Grizzlies earned their first playoff win since coming into the league as an expansion team in Vancouver, Canada, 16 years ago.

"It's nice from an annoyance perspective to have it out of the way, because I don't have to answer questions about being 0 and 13," Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said.

They were swept by San Antonio in four games in the 2004 playoffs.

Memphis was behind in the final minute of the game when Shane Battier nailed three-pointer with 23 seconds left, giving Memphis a slim 99-98 lead.

San Antonio tried to force overtime, but Richard Jefferson missed a long range shot as the clock ticked down.

Memphis players raced onto the court as the buzzer sounded to celebrated their first playoff win in 13 attempts.

Battier was with Memphis when they were swept by San Antonio seven years ago.

"It was awesome. I'm really happy for the city," Battier said. "Beale Street will be a fun place tonight. Most of these guys don't know the history or the heartache that the city has gone through. I'm happy for the city."

France's Tony Parker led San Antonio with 20 points. Tim Duncan had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who lost their sixth straight playoff series opener.

But the Spurs were forced to play without all-star guard Manu Ginobili who sat out with a sprained right elbow. Ginobili was injured during the final game of the regular season against Phoenix.

He will be re-evaluated by doctors to see if he can play in Wednesday's game two of the best-of-seven series.

George Hill started in Ginobili's place but shot just two-of-seven and finished with 15 points.

The Spurs were six-of-15 from the three-point line. Matt Bonner drained two from long range in the final two minutes as his second one gave the Spurs a 96-94 lead with 88 seconds left.

Howard achieves NBA scoring milestone in Magic victory over Suns

PHOENIX, Arizona (AFP) - Dwight Howard Orlando reached a milestone marking the NBA on Sunday, but he was happier to finally get out of Phoenix with a win.

Magic has a long history of losing to the Suns, Arizona, dating back to November 2001 - when Howard is only 15 years.

"I had not won here since I'm in the NBA, so it was our goal together," said Howard, "to get a good victory."

He did his part, delivering 26 points with 15 rebounds and five blocked shots. Howard sat the fourth quarter watching from the bench as the Magic completed a 111-88 victory.

For good measure, Howard has surpassed 10,000 career points with a little hook on Robin Lopez in the third quarter, but the stage was very important to him.

"I never look at the points," Howard said. "Rebounds and blocks are what win games for me."

Magic Six other players had two points, led by Brandon Bass 17 and Gilbert Arenas 16

But Magic coach Stan Van Gundy noted that Sun was a "completely different team" without veteran point guard Steve Nash, who missed the contest with what the team called "watershed approach".

Aaron Brooks in place by Nash 19 points and 10 assists.

Aaron Brooks was very good today. He scored a lot, but Steve Nash makes the whole world, everybody plays, "Van Gundy said." We were fortunate that we've played twice without Steve Nash and is a completely different ball game. "

Even so, it was a morale building win at Orlando on Monday before the match against two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Orlando had lost three or four, most recently, a 123-120 overtime loss to Golden State on Friday.

But they dominated the depleted Suns, who are 0-3 without Nash this season.

The defeat meant Phoenix could not lay down the possibility of moving in a half-game of the day before the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth and final postseason in the Western Conference.

LeBron James posts All-Star Game's first triple-double since Michael Jordan

LOS ANGELES -- As LeBron James fielded questions from the press corps at Staples Center on Sunday night, he was asked about his favorite moments from All-Star weekend.

The Miami star answered by talking about charity, describing how richly he was rewarded for taking part in a number of good-will efforts in the days leading up to the game itself. Yet after the West had won 148-143, it was the MVP voters who had been in the giving spirit. At James' expense.

Despite his triple-double (29 points on 10-of-18 shooting, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists), James lost out to the Lakers' hometown hero, Kobe Bryant (37 points on 14-of-26 shooting, 14 rebounds and three assists) for the game's top award. The voting is done with media members accounting for nine votes and the fan votes accounting for three more. The triple-double was only the second in All-Star game history -- and the first since Michael Jordan turned the trick in 1997.

"I just tried to showcase my talent on both ends of the floor -- defending, rebounding, scoring," James said. "We came up short. And you know for me, I'm all about winning, so (I'm) just a little disappointed in our game. Disappointed that we didn't win."

James hasn't been disappointing in the games that count, though, and he is in prime position to capture a third straight MVP honor with the way the Heat have turned their season around. After the 9-8 start that sparked so many doom and gloom predictions from South Beach and beyond, Miami has won 32 of 39 games and is currently tied with Boston for the Eastern Conference lead.

Yet James, whose Heat play at Sacramento on Tuesday, isn't content because of a recent stretch in which the Heat have gone 11-6 leading into the break.

"For the last third of the season, we have to understand that we cannot afford to take a step backwards and we have to keep moving forward," James said. "We have to continue to get better, because there are teams out there that's better than us right now."

All-Star MVP voting aside, however, no one was better than him on this Staples Center stage.

Cav’s Take Vengeance 55-point Defeat Against Lakers

Cleveland - The Lakers hit the All-Star break broken.

Looking nothing like the NBA champions on two occasions, which have dropped their third straight game, the loss of a magnificent 104-99 Wednesday night to the Cleveland Cavaliers - the worst team in the league, who avenged an embarrassing 55 points against Los Angeles last month.

Ramon Sessions came off the bench and scored 32 points for the Cavaliers, who were beaten by the Lakers 112-57 on Jan. 11. This loss was No. 11 in a series record in the league that eventually reached 26 before Cleveland ended last week with an overtime win against the package unless announced in Los Angeles, the Clippers.

Pau Gasol had 30 points and 20 rebounds for the Lakers.

Play the end of a tour of seven games, the Lakers spent much of the night seemed as if they were on vacation. Launched errant passes, forced shots and were unable to reach the Cavs down the stretch, despite a frantic return.

"It's back to the drawing board," said Lamar Odom, who asked what is the best team to do list. "Defense. Cohesion. Our chemistry on offense. I'm not worried. I think that's what we can fix it."
Kobe Bryant finished with 17 points on 8 of 25 shooting. Derek Fisher scored 19 for the Lakers, who committed 19 turnovers and furious Phil Jackson, coach of the normally quiet, he shouted at them during the idle time after inexcusable defensive deficiencies.

Eliminated in Orlando on Sunday is hardly cause for great concern. But a decline of 20 points at Charlotte on Monday, left both Jackson and Bryant silent. They expect more from the Lakers, and they do not see it.

But too bad they played, the Lakers had cut a 10-point lead to two in the last minute. But Anthony Parker and sessions in two free throws each in the last 17.9 seconds.

After the final horn Lakers slowly toward their locker room and returned home not knowing what might happen. With the trade deadline just a week, rumors involving Denver star Carmelo Anthony might heat up.

One thing is clear: Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak has to do something to wake your computer.

The Cavs, however, less than half of the official season on a high note.

This was their best season. They played with energy coach Byron Scott wants every night, and have given fans a taste of what might be ahead.

Bryant 3-pointer helped the Lakers cut a 12-point deficit late in the third three, but the Cavs rookie forward Christian Eyenga followed embed Cleveland fans who had just texting "OMG" to friends and one of the best in the league this season.

Eyenga Bryant blew past the basics, reared back his right hand and smashed the ball through the block Gasol made a lazy society. Cleveland's bench erupted scene not to be included here because LeBron James has given them an almost every night.

Jackson seems to have lost patience with his team full of stars, which seemed tired of the way to win.

In the second half, called the Zen Master on Gasol in two separate dead and the coach's 11-time champion has been busy and also show the Lakers what they have erred on its erasable notepad.
Parker's jumper to end the first half capped by the jet 8-0 Cavs.

As his players back on the floor, Jackson sat in his high chair, orthopedic stunned by the shocking ineptitude of his team.

Bryant did not take a loss to Charlotte well, and he was still in a sour mood after the morning shootaround Lakers'. Perhaps it helps that he had to spend two days in the cold in Cleveland, but Bryant was not clearly beyond the performance of Los Angeles on Wednesday.

"Next game," he said dryly.

Bryant, who has been bothered by flu-like symptoms earlier this week refused to discuss what happened against the Bobcats, or if he and his teammates have worked on something in particular.

Things did not start well for the champions. Bryant made his second mistake with 5:37 left in the first quarter en route to the bank, he said something to the referee Kane Fitzgerald and was beaten by a technique. With Bryant, the Cavs have participated in the filming 11-2 and opened a lead of 10 points.

The Lakers were out of sync, and bungled their game was perhaps better in a possession of the second quarter when Gasol has turned and fired a passage where he waited for a teammate to be. There was nobody and the ball jumped into the feet of the coaches in Los Angeles.

Sharapova Engaged to Lakers’ Vujacic

The most eligible bachelorette in tennis is off the market.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova got engaged to her boyfriend, Los Angeles Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic, after he proposed on Tuesday night at his Manhattan Beach, Calif. home. The two had been dating for nearly a year. TMZ was the first to report the news. Sharapova's agent has since confirmed it to CNBC's Darren Rovell.

Sharapova and Vujacic first went public with their relationship last November when they were seen cuddling at a U2 concert in Los Angeles. Since then, the relationship has become the fodder of tabloids and paparazzi, as the athletes have been photographed together in Los Angeles and Italy, where they vacationed.

This summer, Sharapova invited Vujacic to join her in training at the IMG Academy in Florida. The backup guard for the two-time defending champions credited his girlfriend for helping him prepare for the upcoming basketball season.

Neither should be worried about the inevitable questions on whether marriage will negatively impact their games. Vujacic averaged a career low in points, rebounds, minutes and assists with the Lakers, while Sharapova struggled in Grand Slams and didn't live up to the high expectations following her comeback from shoulder surgery.

No wedding plans have been announced, but given that Vujacic's seasons in Los Angeles often last until mid-June, a post-Wimbledon date could be in the offing.

Do You Believe in Magic?

We do things differently around here. And that means watching preseason NBA games. That’s right. Our eyes are on the prize from the moment training camp begins, even on the preseason games.

And after watching the Orlando Magic demolish the New Orleans Hornets to christen their new arena, the plush Amway Center, we have to ask, what happened to the buzz surrounding this Magic team?

A year ago this time they were the crew most of the pundits assumed would step into the void at the top of the Eastern Conference, surpassing both Cleveland and Boston for supremacy on the other side of the aisle of Kobe Bryant‘s Los Angeles Lakers.

Dwight Howard had assumed his position as the league’s most dominant defensive force and his supporting cast was as good as it had ever been, led by a healthy Jameer Nelson, a recharged Vince Carter and an anxious Rashard Lewis, who never seemed concerned with proving his worth.

For a long time last season those pundits looked wise. The Magic shook off some early season uncertainty and by the playoffs they were back to looking like the team that had fallen to Bryant and the Lakers in the 2009 NBA Finals.

They mowed down to the Bobcats and Hawks in the first two round of the playoffs, toying at times with a Hawks team that won 53 games and owned one of the top four playoff seeds in the East.

Then, inexplicably, some eight games into their postseason run the power went out in Orlando.
A nightmare matchup against a hungry Boston team, the same one (sans an injured Kevin Garnett) they’d eliminated in the East semifinals in Game 7 a year earlier, exposed the Magic’s flaws. We all promptly shoved them aside and watched the Lakers and Celtics battled throughout an epic, seven-game series for the Larry O’Brien trophy.

Instead of the Magic reloading this summer and checking into a penthouse suite in the East, they watched as the Miami Heat put together a dream team of their own and the Celtics reloaded for another run at the Finals.

But that doesn’t mean we should just discount the Magic, does it?

Clearly, the Magic have more going on than just trying to restore the luster the franchise enjoyed as recently as two years ago. Whether or not this crew is up to the task remains to be seen.
Using each of the past two seasons as a guide, The Magic would appear to be in the perfect position to upset the favorites and find their way back to the Finals to see if they can finish what they started in 2009.

Why Shaquille O’Neal Play for the Enemy?

Just after the Los Angeles Lakers won last season's title, Kobe Bryant(notes) let slip a little comment ("I just got one more than Shaq. You can take that to the bank. You know how I am, I don't forget anything.") That proved what a lot of people had suspected for years — the Kobe/Shaq feud isn't over. As much as they'll be buddy-buddy at All-Star games or before their teams play each other, these two want nothing more than to destroy each other and prove that they are the best player of their generation. No matter what they say or how they act, that's always going to be the case.

In fact, the fact that that enmity will never die is the very reason the Boston Celtics took a chance on Shaquille O'Neal(notes). No, really, it is. Just because Kobe Bryant mentioned Shaq at his postgame press conference, the Celtics inked the well-traveled big man. Seriously. The Boston Globe's Gary Washburn has the proof.

Of course, this could be all a part of Kobe's master plan. It probably went something like beat the Celtics, rile up Shaquille O'Neal, have him convince Boston he'll help because he wants to beat Kobe one last time, then Boston signs Shaq and realizes he's not quite as good as he used to be and his presence in the locker room destroys the fragile chemistry that the Celtics have built. Just like that, there's one less contender for the Lakers' third straight title. It's a genius move, and it's one that only Kobe Bryant could conceive. And while it's totally far-fetched, it's kind of not that far-fetched. Only moderate distance-fetched, I'd say.

That being said, if Shaquille O'Neal is as dedicated to besting Kobe Bryant as the Celtics' brass thinks he is, Boston's getting a great deal. Less than $1.5 million for a motivated Shaq is totally worth it, even if he only plays 20 minutes a game. Sure he might struggle mightily against hyperathletic teams like the Heat and Magic in the Eastern Conference playoffs before Boston even meets the Lakers in the finals, but those are just minor details.