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spotted the photo online and immediately posted it to his Twitter account with a simple hashtag — #sad. “It just caught my eye,” the Celtics guard said before yesterday’s practice. “All I could think was that this is crazy, to think that people go to an event like this to run. That’s what they train for all year. And for people to lose arms and legs, that’s just crazy.” So Bradley did what so many others could only do. He asked for help from a greater power. “All you can do is pray for their families. I definitely did yesterday,” he said. “I feel bad, and if there’s any way I can help, I will want to help. . . . It could happen anywhere. But to see it happen there or anywhere at all is just crazy.” The Celtics took the practice floor in a relieved state yesterday, most glad last night’s game against Indiana was canceled.
off to Lawson who drove the lane, crossed over the defender, Monta Ellis, rose up and hit a shot that was arguably the most important jumper any Nugget has hit in the last three weeks. Lawson is back. His heel is not all the way healed, but that shot suggested his game is. Coach George Karl orchestrated that moment; all Lawson had to do was deliver. The play was designed to make a hoop hero out of his point guard and Lawson put the cape on and assumed the role. The degree of difficulty won’t go down as calculus level stuff. It was a 10-ish-foot jumper. But Lawson’s speed and quickness, which was in full display on the play, got him free for an open look. And in the process wiped away – or should have – any of the doubt about what he is and can be in the playoffs.
shoulders, and that their actions from that point on would set the tone for the entire team. "We talked about how we always need to be on the same page. We always need to be communicating," Griffin said. "Even if we might not have a good offensive game we can still contribute defensively and by passing the ball and in how we talk and how we lead during timeouts. Things like that, we can always do well. We always have control over those things." Paul agreed. "It definitely starts with me and Blake," Paul said "On the offensive end and the defensive end. When me and him are on the same page everyone else has no choice but to fall in line. Me and Blake realize we have to bring the energy every night and everyone else will feed off on it." The Clippers have won three straight games since the meeting, their defense picking up and their offense playing smoother and at a more up tempo pace in the process.
The Knicks reached 50 victories for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. They now need just one victory, or a Nets loss, to clinch their first Atlantic Division title since 1994. And the winning streak is the third longest in franchise history. The drive for a championship never looked more tangible. “It all goes hand in hand,” said Coach Mike Woodson, who got his 68th win with the Knicks, securing the best 100-game start in franchise history. … The Knicks had gone 20 days without a defeat, and 20 days without facing an elite team at full strength. They were spared the burden of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade last week in Miami. Their only victory over a team with a winning percentage of .600 or better was against the Memphis Grizzlies. “This may be the biggest, considering that’s a healthy team that’s playing with all their guns,” Chandler said. “It’s very hard to come in this building and get a win.”
them to their fast start. "We didn't finish a few games out," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said of the .500 record in March. "We had a couple of opportunities, but you have to be able to finish games out by getting stops or making plays but we missed a few opportunities, especially on the road. You've got to play better. You win games by playing at a high level consistently." The Clippers have been beset by injuries, even after it looked like they were ready to make a big run when Chauncey Billups returned in earnest from his Achilles' injury. But then a new series of bumps hit, particularly among key reserves Eric Bledsoe and Jamal Crawford. "You can talk about injuries, you can talk about schedule, you can talk about all these things," Del Negro said. "Everyone goes through it, some more than others. At the end of the day, you have to win games."
a nearly certain Hall of Famer. His delayed ascension might also reflect the best-case career trajectory for the Knicks’Carmelo Anthony, whose professional years have mimicked Pierce’s 20s far more than they have LeBron James’s. With the Knicks poised to displace the Celtics as Atlantic Division champions after beating them, 108-89, on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden, this would be a propitious time to present Pierce as Exhibit A in the case for Anthony’s potential growth into no-questions-asked superstardom. Anthony’s critics, including me, have never underestimated his combustible package of size, strength and first-step speed. But his teams in Denver and in New York have produced poor playoff results, and he has admitted to failing to fully grasp the essence of collective elegance until last summer’s Olympics. Isn’t it fair to say that when it comes to winning at the highest level, Anthony is still an undergraduate student trying to complete a master’s program?
Leandro Barbosa and even Garnett, they could not do so against New York, which prevailed soundly, 100-85. For the first time since Rondo went down with a season-ending knee injury in January, it seemed as though the Celtics had finally – if not reluctantly — succumbed to the reality of their limited roster. A 15-point home loss to a shorthanded team will do that. “It’s been like that for us all season long, it just seems like it gets worse and worse,” captain Paul Pierce said of the injuries. “We can’t feel sorry for ourselves.” The Celtics have lost five consecutive games, and as Garnett is expected to miss up to two weeks with inflammation in his left ankle, a rather gloomy question looms: Is this what the Celtics can expect while their defensive anchor is out? “No,” a defiant coach Doc Rivers said. “Guys, I think you’ve been around me long enough. Kevin’s not playing. I don’t worry about it. I really don’t. “Somebody else has to play better. A lot of guys. It’s not going to be one guy. But overall, we were pretty bad [Tuesday]. Kevin had nothing to do with that.”
at the AT&T Center, Leonard emitted the type of groan that, escaping from his 21-year-old lips, sounded like something reserved for yoga day at the rest home. “It’s a great sound,” Leonard said, smiling slightly. “It means I played hard.” The Spurs followed their baby-faced, cornrow-sporting Pied Piper through an early 13-point deficit and to perhaps the best win of their regular season so far. With the comeback, the Spurs washed away the taste of Friday’s 136-106 loss to Portland and pushed their lead over the Thunder in the Western Conference standings to two games. Leonard had nine of his 17 points during a game-changing 26-4 run in the second quarter, highlighted by a steal ripped from Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook and taken for a dunk. Tiago Splitter added 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Danny Green had 16 points and made all four of his 3-point tries, as the Spurs (49-15) won for the third time in four games without All-Star point guard Tony Parker.
loss with their defense to earn a dramatic 90-84 victory over the Dallas Mavericks before 16,017 fans who still might be wiping their eyes in disbelief. “Grit, grind, heart, sacrifice I could name 10-15 words (to describe) this,” forward Zach Randolph said after the Grizzlies extended their winning streak to eight games. “It was one of those games.” A game in which: Griz coach Lionel Hollins called time out twice in the first 3 ½ minutes. The starters were benched in the first five. The Mavs racked up 38 points in the opening period and enjoyed a 51-29 lead with 5:25 left in the second quarter. Memphis outscored Dallas 36-4, which included a franchise record 24 unanswered points, during a stretch that bridged the second and third quarters. Dallas looked feeble throughout a five-point third quarter — a Memphis franchise-record low for an opponent in any quarter. “A lot of it was pride,” Griz point guard Mike Conley said. “We felt the grumbling in the stands. We were embarrassed.”
resulted in a reunion with Caron Butler. NBA.com’s David Aldridge reported that the Wizards and Clippers had agreed to a swap of Butler for Trevor Ariza late Wednesday night but Clippers owner Donald Sterling rejected the deal because he didn’t want to disrupt the chemistry of a 40-18 team that currently has the third-best record in the Western Conference, or risk upsetting Chris Paul, who will become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Butler spent four and a half seasons in Washington, making two all-star appearances and earning the nickname “Tuff Juice” as a member of a high-scoring trio with Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison. The Wizards dealt Butler to Dallas at the trade deadline in February 2010 to begin the rebuilding process after President Ernie Grunfeld finally decided to break up the team after the Arenas gun incident.