Tony Allen of the Memphis Grizzlies had eight steals last night. Eight! He is one of the league’s toughest on-the-ball defenders — the type of guy every contending team needs on its roster to sic on the opposing team’s best scorer. Lindsay Hunter made a living out of it for years. So did Bruce Bowen. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute of the Milwaukee Bucks has joined that select group, and Andre Iguodala has made his mark in the NBA and internationally (on the
That was no playoff preview. Paul Pierce, expected to have a huge game as the de facto point guard, got the night off instead, as did Kevin Garnett. With Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo hurt, that was 80% of the Celtics’ familiar starting five on the sidelines. Red-hot Avery Bradley scored 28 to keep the makeshift lineup in the game, but the Hawks won, as Joe Johnson, who had been quiet for a while, exploded for 30 points. MEM @ CHA: I guessed
You won’t read this sentence too many times: The Oklahoma City Thunder lost at home, and so did the Chicago Bulls. And you haven’t read this sentence in more than a year: The Bulls have now lost consecutive games. While Kentucky predictably won the NCAA championship Monday night, it was a different story in the NBA. The two best teams lost, both at home, and the playoff races got even tighter. Fasten your seat belts, because this is shaping up as a wild
The (mostly) young Oklahoma City Thunder have been the most consistent team in the Western Conference this season. The Lakers — a team full of veterans (with the exception of the one they’ll have a reunion with tonight) — are trying to get back to a level of consistency they once held over the Thunder. In a meeting between two of the top scorers in the league, Kobe Bryant and the L.A. Lakers take on the visiting Kevin Durant and the Western
Despite suffering a slew of injuries to key players throughout the season, the Denver Nuggets have been deep enough at just about every position to stay afloat in the playoff race. With just about every player back to full strength, the Nuggets may be hitting their stride just in time to fight for home court advantage in the Western Conference. They look to avenge their previous loss to Oklahoma City as Kevin Durant and the Thunder visit in Thursday’s best game. Both
NEW YORK — Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Kidd has been fined $25,000 for public criticism of officiating, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations. Kidd was fined for comments made to the media after the Mavericks 95-91 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 5. The Thunder trailed by a point with 46 seconds remaining Tuesday night when Dallas center Ian Mahinmi appeared to cleanly block Serge Ibaka’s shot, but the whistle was blown for a
Do the Oklahoma City Thunder have a toughness complex? One of the reasons the Thunder have the NBA’s second-best record is because they have three young, explosive players – Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden – who simply cannot be contained off the dribble. When defensive schemes cannot prevent a player from getting to the basket, teams usually resort to rough stuff as discouragement. Michael Jordan went through it. So did Allen Iverson. Tony Parker still gets thrown to the floor
There was one “game” last night, the Rising Stars Challenge. While it was an entertaining exhibition, and Kyrie Irving a deserving MVP, we’re here to report fantasy news. Kawhi Leonard skipped the game with a sore calf that shouldn’t be an ongoing issue. Among the other rookies and sophomores, with no defence being played, a few performances were disappointing. Jeremy Lin, looking tired, was limited to 8:55 on the court and Blake Griffin (10:33) was also given plenty of rest,