Grizzlies Grab 1st Ever 3-1 Series Lead Over Spurs

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Mike Conley had 15 points and seven assists to help the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies rout the San Antonio Spurs 104-86 on Monday night and grab a commanding 3-1 lead in their opening series.

The Grizzlies already had made franchise history by winning their first playoff game in Game 1 and added their first playoff win at home. Now they are a game away from becoming the second eighth seed to knock off a No. 1 seed since the NBA expanded to a best-of-seven series and join the 2007 Golden State Warriors.

Game 5 is Wednesday in San Antonio.

Darrell Arthur added 14 points off the bench for Memphis. Tony Allen had 12, Zach Randolph and O.J. Mayo 11 apiece.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 23 points, but he also had seven turnovers. Manu Ginobili had 14, Gary Neal 11, and George Hill and Tiago Splitter 10 each. Splitter, a rookie from Brazil, had not played previously in this series.

Tim Duncan had six points on his 35th birthday.

These are the same Spurs that won 61 games in the regular season. They opened up very energetic, shooting well and even had their first halftime lead in this series.

They finished the game with their starters on the bench for the final 5:43, and now the Spurs will be trying to avoid their second 4-1 opening series loss in three seasons.

The first three games had been tight with Memphis winning by no more than three points. The Spurs won Game 2 by six.

This time it was a rout once the Grizzlies took control by outscoring the Spurs 30-15 in the third quarter for the first time in this series after trailing at the half for the first time in the four games.

Memphis opened the second half with a 14-0 run with Gasol's two free throws at 11:04 putting the Grizzlies ahead to stay at 52-50. Sam Young's dunk capped the run at 7:41 of the third for a 62-50 lead. The Spurs, who shot 55.3 percent in the first half, missed their first five shots and were 6 of 15 from the floor. They also had seven turnovers in the quarter.

The Grizzlies had every fan up and waving the rally towels handed out, cranking up the noise with every Spurs' missed shot or mistake. Arthur ended the quarter by hitting a pair of jumpers to put Memphis up 78-65 at the end of the third.

When Arthur dunked at 10:13 of the fourth putting Memphis up 83-67, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich took a timeout. It didn't help as Arthur hit a shot at 8:51 pushing the lead to 85-67.

The Grizzlies went up 94-74 on a 3 by Shane Battier who was wide open in the right corner with 5:43 left. The celebration began in earnest in Memphis.

Memphis already had become only the seventh No. 8 seed to go up 2-1 in the NBA playoffs since the league expanded the postseason to 16 teams in 1983-84, and the Grizzlies are just the third team to do it since the first round expanded to best-of-seven for the 2003 playoffs.

The Grizzlies had another electric crowd, just their sixth sellout of the season, and fans buzzed with a sense of expectation instead of mere hope for a win that surrounded this team when the Spurs swept them out of the playoffs in their first postseason trip in 2004.

The Spurs opened the game by hitting eight of their first 10 led by Parker who scored eight of the first 10 points. Memphis came out forgetting its strength is going inside to Randolph and Gasol, and Randolph set that tone by taking a long jumper as the Grizzlies' first shot. He missed, and they wound up outscored 16-6 in the paint for the quarter.

San Antonio led 26-21 after 12 minutes, the first time in this series the Spurs had outscored Memphis in the first quarter.

Greivis Vasquez had an ugly turnover at the end of the first quarter, just losing the ball. Hill took it and scored to make it 26-19. Vasquez, the second-year pro out of Maryland, rebounded by hitting his next three shots to start a 9-2 run. Mayo capped it with a fast-break layup for a 30-28 lead in the second.

Parker came into the game 15-of-44, and he hit all seven shots in the first half and his four free throws in helping the Spurs lead 50-48 at halftime. But he missed his first shot in the third quarter, a 3-pointer, at 9:58.

The Heat roll to 2-0 lead over 76ers, 94-73

MIAMI – LeBron James outscored Philadelphia's entire starting five in the first half by himself.

So did Chris Bosh.

So did Dwyane Wade.

And that pretty much tells the tale of a night the 76ers would rather forget.

No comeback required for the Miami Heat this time. They went wire-to-wire on the lead, and moved two wins from advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

James scored 29 points, Bosh had his second straight double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Miami took a 2-0 series lead with a 94-73 victory over the abysmally shooting 76ers — who managed their second-lowest playoff scoring total in the last 56 years — on Monday night.

"It was a really complete game for us at both ends of the floor," James said.

Showing no signs of the migraine that he battled Sunday, Wade scored 14 points for Miami, now 17-3 in its last 20 games and halfway to winning its first playoff series since the 2006 NBA finals.

"I'm feeling a lot better," said Wade, who wasn't able to eat Sunday and was very low-energy at times before Monday's game. "I lost a lot of weight tonight ... but I think I did my job, to come out there and help my team get a win."

Thaddeus Young scored 18 points and Evan Turner added 15 for the 76ers, whose starters were outscored 76-29 by the Heat's first-string. Philadelphia shot 34 percent for the game, and after getting 42 points in the paint in Game 1, were held to 24 in that department Monday.

"We've had good defensive performances," Bosh said, "but I think today was our best of the season."

The 76ers find themselves needing to buck some serious history. Miami has never lost a series after winning the first two games (6-0), and the Philadelphia franchise is winless in 16 tries after falling into an 0-2 postseason hole. And then there's this — only 14 teams have won after losing the first two games of a best-of-seven NBA series.

"If they're playing great, they're a better team," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "OK? If they're playing on top of their game, they're a better team. I mean, they won 58, we won 41. That doesn't mean that we aren't going to play and compete and fight. But when they come out tonight and defend the way they did ... it's going to be very difficult for us to beat them."

It was Philadelphia's second-lowest playoff point total since 1955, the only exception coming in a 79-68 loss to Orlando in 1999. And the 76ers won that series.

Philadelphia made 15 of its first 24 shots in Game 1, a 63 percent clip. Since then: 47 of 140, 34 percent.

"You've got to give them credit," said Sixers guard Andre Iguodala, who has nine points on 4-for-15 shooting in the series.

Wade played 34 minutes, despite spending Sunday bedridden in a darkened room fighting off a migraine that he likened to a "nightmare." He had no outward ill effects, shooting 4 for 11 with six rebounds.

Instead, it's the 76ers who spent much of Monday looking pained.

"He controlled the game," James said of Wade. "He had two people on him so he just got off the ball and let other guys make things happen and it's good to have him on the court than in a suit."

Game 3 is Thursday night in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia shot only 26 percent in the first half, a record for a Heat playoff opponent. The 76ers' starters were outscored 41-9 in the opening 24 minutes, and unlike their last two meetings, never put a scare into Miami. Philadelphia had a 16-point lead in the teams' final regular-season matchup, a 14-point lead in Game 1, but simply couldn't get rolling Monday.

The 76ers didn't even have a starter reach double figures until 3:49 remained in the third quarter, when Jrue Holiday made a 3-pointer to get to 10 points. By then, James had 23, Bosh had 15 and Wade 12 — and the Heat led 68-50.

The margin kept growing from there, all the way to 28 at one point. A clearly frustrated Collins got a technical with 1:56 left and the game decided, the Heat holding a 91-67 lead.

"We just have to continue to fight," Sixers guard Lou Williams said. "Obviously we're dealing with a team that has a lot of guys that can score the basketball. ... They did what they were supposed to do, which was come out and defend the home court for two games and send us back to Philly with a sour taste in our mouths."

It was over fairly early. James said he wanted to be more aggressive in Game 2 than he was in the series opener, and apparently that message got to all corners of the Heat locker room.

Philadelphia was within 28-20 midway through the second quarter, but a 21-11 Heat run to end the half took care of that. James had consecutive baskets, the second of them a highlight-quality one-handed dunk off a high alley-oop lob from Mario Chalmers for a 37-23 lead, and Miami was off and running. That play was started by two blocks by Joel Anthony, who ignited the Heat defense all night.

"He's awesome," Bosh said.

The lead was 49-31 by halftime and 75-52 after the third quarter, in which Philadelphia shot only 33 percent but raised its percentage for the game to 28.

"Our energy tonight was much better," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, "from beginning to end."

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.

Please, Please, Please Don’t Go!

The Clevelanders crying it on billboards, in song, in letters, in petitions and more, whatever the format, the message from Cleveland fans is just the same: Dear LeBron James, please don't go. Please, please, please don't go.

From the hard-luck city on the shores of Lake Erie is very much trying to show its NBA superstar (LeBron James) that, with free agency threatening July 1, the best mark for him is right up the road from his hometown of Akron, Ohio, the town where he's played for seven seasons as a Cleveland Cavalier and gain two MVP awards.

And in the wake up of an inexplicable early departure from the playoffs a six-game series failure to the Boston Celtics the grass roots crusade has taken on not just a new pressure but the sense of a last chance. Without LeBron James, after all, the chances of Cleveland breaking its 46-year title less streak in major pro sports don't seem too good.

Austin Briggs of Cleveland Heights, 23-year-old and co-founder of the Web site pleasedontleave23.com said "He's a hometown guy. We definitely want to put that on his conscience.”

Yet before the playoffs, fans had assisted fund a banner near the home of the Cavs, showing James through his life with the words "Born Here. Raised Here. Plays Here. Stays Here."
However if Clevelanders think showing a little public pride will be enough to romance LeBron, they better think again.

Eclipsing Suns Hope to Shine Again in Phoenix

The Phoenix Suns were left damaged and baffled after losing their second successive game to the rolling Los Angeles Lakers in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals series on Wednesday.

Regardless of delivering more than 100 points in each of the first two encounters in Los Angeles, the Phoenix Suns have been powerless to cope with the versatility of their bigger opponents.

"We are just having a hard time," as Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry told to the reporters after his boys were beaten 124-112 at the Staples Center in game 2. "We can't slow them down, he added.

In Monday's series opening, Lakers All-Star guard Kobe Bryant mocked the Suns as he piled up 40 points in a sensational master class to help the NBA champions to a devastating 128-107 victory.

On Wednesday, Kobe Bryant become the catalyst, recording a playoff-high 13 assists as Spain’s pride forward Pau Gasol merged and drove his way through the Suns defense for a personal total of 29 points.

Gentry said “You do an enormous job on Kobe, and I thought we did it tonight, and then they go to Pau,". "As we double-team Pau and there's Lamar on the other side of the pocket. And we get it out of Lamar's hand; Jordan Farmar exists and makes shots.

Injured LeBron Help Cavs To Eliminate Bulls in 5

The KING (LeBron James) pulled his right arm tightly to his chest, incapable to do anything but frown as the final seconds expired on Cleveland’s series-clinching win.

The Chicago Bulls were lastly out of the way. However, for the Cavaliers, touching on in the NBA playoffs wasn’t pain free.

LeBron playing regardless of his right elbow injury that went numb and forced him to shoot a free throw with his left hand in the dying seconds, just missed a triple-double as the Cavs advanced to a playoff date with Boston by beating Chicago 96-94 in Game 5 on Tuesday night in possibly Vinny Del Negro’s final game as Bulls coach.

Despite of the injury James scored 19 points – 16 in the second half – added 10 rebounds and contribute 9 assist as the Cavs finally burden the obstinate Bulls to end the series 4-1. After making single free throw, James then lifted and missed the second with his left with 7.8 seconds remaining and the Cavs only ahead by four.

LeBron James doesn’t know when he injured the elbow, which he said troubled him the entire second half. He exposed after the game that he underwent an MRI and X-rays two days ago.

“It troubles me because I don’t know what it is,” James said. “Hopefully it doesn’t continue to burden me. But I’m not worried. There’s nothing to worry about for the fans. No reason to panic. I don’t mind it’s that serious.”