NEWS The 1977-78 NBA scoring race was so close — San Antonio’s George Gervin (27.21 ppg) edged Denver’s David Thompson (27.15 ppg) — that if you turn to the Official NBA Guide for the points leaders for that season, you’ll discover Gervin’s and Thompson’s averages extend two decimal points rather the traditional one, necessitated by the fact that the league’s closest scoring race ever was determined by a miniscule .06 ppg. That contest has entered the realm of the legendary based
NEW YORK — LeBron James of Miami and the Utah Jazz’s Al Jefferson today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week for games played Monday, April 16, through Sunday, April 22. James helped Miami to a 4-1 week, averaging 31.0 points on 58 percent shooting, while grabbing 7.5 rebounds and dishing out 5.5 assists per game. He did not play in Miami’s only loss of the week, an 86-84 defeat against Washington. He scored at least 25
What an effort by Orlando, to force overtime on the road in a must-win game for Utah. The Jazz are going more often to their big lineup: Al Jefferson (21 PTS, 10 REB, 3 BLK) was a force at C, Paul Millsap played 46 minutes at both PF and SF (18 PTS, 9 REB) and Derrick Favors got 36 minutes off the bench, adding 16 points and 11 boards. Glen Davis (17 PTS, 13 REB, 4 STL) and Jameer Nelson
It took awhile, but the Nuggets finally clinched the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season. But just because they are in, that doesn’t mean George Karl is about to rest his players. Quite the contrary actually; Following the win, Karl said “We have three games left, and we are going to try to win all three of them. There won’t be any rest going on here.” It only makes sense. The Nuggets still have a chance to catch the Mavericks (who lost
As the season winds down with the playoffs set to begin one week from tomorrow, players and teams are starting to feel more tension and desperation. It showed on a Thursday night that featured 11 technical fouls, five flagrant fouls and three ejections in three games with teams jockeying for playoff positioning. We start with the Miami Heat, who extended their winning streak to five games as they beat the league-leading Chicago Bulls 83-72. Despite missing Chris Bosh and Derrick Rose, the game
In a very intense game that featured trash-talking, scuffles, four technicals and an ejection, the Pacers won their seventh straight with George Hill (22 PTS, 8 AST, 5 REB) as the starting PG. Danny Granger led all scorers with 29, and David West (21 PTS, 14 REB, 7 AST) was excellent. The loss, Milwaukee’s third in a row, effectively ends their playoff bid. Brandon Jennings (27) and Mike Dunleavy (23) tried to spark a fourth-quarter comeback that fell short. What Else
NEWS If any doubt remained, the Phoenix Suns’ Steve Nash established his bona fides as one of the organization’s all-time greats on Feb. 1, when he blew past Kevin Johnson as the franchise’s all-time leader in career assists. (Nash also holds team records for three-pointers made and attempted, as well as three-point and free throw shooting percentages.) Now, he’s on the cusp of passing an NBA icon. With Phoenix set to host the Los Angeles Clippers tonight on TNT (10:30 p.m. ET)
An overnight windstorm knocked out our internet access (and many of our TV channels) for 36 hours. Man, it was like the Dark Ages. I feel bad about there being no Tuesday Spin; this one is both late and abbreviated. Catching Up Among the things I missed was Monday’s triple-OT classic: Dirk Nowitzki’s 40 and Al Jefferson with 28 and 26 among many great fantasy lines. Can’t believe the Thunder were held to 25 points in a half, by anybody. The Clippers are