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Coming off a pair of 1st-Round sweeps, the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs are each on the front end of series against teams coming off a seven-game series.

The Thunder had eight days off prior to their 29-point demolition of the Los Angeles Lakers (one day of rest) on Monday. The Spurs, who will have had seven days off, open their series Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers (one day of rest).

Is it possible for a team to have too much time off between series? At what point does "rest" lend itself to "rust"? If recent history is any indication, "rust" is overrated.

Over the last 15 seasons, teams with at least seven days off are now a perfect 6-0 against teams with just a single day to recover. What's shocking might not be the perfect 6-0 record, but the fact that the games haven't even been close.

The average margin of victory in those six games is nearly 25 points per game. The only one of those six games to be decided by single digits was Game 1 of last year's Western Conference Finals in which the Dallas Mavericks beat the Thunder by nine after leading by as many as 16 in the fourth quarter.

Just how important is that extra day of rest for the team with the quick turnaround? Whereas teams with a week off are perfect when their opponents have just a single day to recover, they are just 5-7 when their opponents have two or more days of rest while averaging 23.5 fewer points per game.

The Elias Sports Bureau tells us that over the last 10 years, there were six series played between one team coming off a sweep and the other off a seven-game series. Five of those six series were won by the team coming off the sweep, with the lone exception being the Orlando Magic's elimination of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals.

Clippers-Spurs Key Notes

- The team that wins Game 1 of a seven-game series goes on to win 78.2 percent of the time (337-94, including the 1st Round this year).

- This is their first-ever meeting in the postseason.

- The Spurs are 26-2 at home against the Clippers since drafting Tim Duncan. The .929 win percentage is tied for their third-best at home against any team over that span (27-0 vs Golden State Warriors; 14-0 vs Atlanta Hawks).

- To say these teams have differing levels of success in the postseason would be a drastic understatement. Despite being in the NBA for six fewer seasons, the Spurs have more NBA titles (four) than the Clippers have series wins (three). The Spurs have more than four times as many series wins (34) as the Clippers have playoff appearances (eight).

- Much of the focus will be on the matchup between Chris Paul (third in MVP voting) and Tony Parker (fifth in MVP voting). The two have faced off seven times in the postseason, with Parker winning four times. Paul has enjoyed the statistical advantage, averaging 23.7 points per game and 10.7 assists per game (19.4 PPG, 5.7 APG for Parker).

Statistical support for this story given by NBA.com.

Basketball geekery has delved into crunch time in various ways.

• First there was individual field goal percentage. That's where we learned that the players we thought owned crunch time (for instance Kobe Bryant and Chauncey Billups) actually miss a lot.
• A year ago, we added something new, looking at team offenses. That's a more important measure, assuming you value wins more than highlights. Who cares who gets the bucket, so long as they're on your team? That's where we learned that most teams were about the same, with some exceptions, including Chris Paul's Hornets, which were amazing.

But all that is only part of the picture. Because as much as we love clutch buckets, clutch wins also have a ton to do with defense. If you're going to point to any team as elite in the clutch, that must be included, and now it is.

As John Hollinger has explained, a lot of what teams do in crunch time is likely random. Looking at tiny parts of games creates some wacky results without a lot of predictive value ... anyone who says they know a team will do well in crunch time is likely fibbing. All teams do both well and poorly at different times. But defense may be a bit of an exception. Teams do seem to play defense with a certain consistency late in games.

Using NBA.com data from the last five years (current as of today), from games within five points in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime, Trevor Ebaugh of ESPN Stats & Info. dug in and created this pretty Tableau table:



Some of what we noticed:

• The Cavaliers of LeBron James and Mike Brown were unreal in crunch time, leading the league by a hefty margin for three straight years, with the best performances of any teams in the record. It's easy to see that LeBron James matters here -- once he left for Miami the Cavaliers’ plus/minus plummeted. The Cavs averaged plus-113 with James during those three seasons, and plus one in the two seasons since. Meanwhile, before James, the Heat weren't good in crunch time, but have since become very solid.
• Mike Brown emerges as an interesting character in crunch time. With James in Cleveland three straight years, and now in Los Angeles after a year off, his teams led the league by this metric every year he has coached in the last half-decade. In this period, neither team has been as good with other coaches, either.
• The Lakers have by far the best crunch time plus/minus this season (plus-79, the Pacers are second at plus-65). Pau Gasol (plus-78) has been their biggest individual star, followed closely by Andrew Bynum (plus-74). Kobe Bryant ranks third at plus-58. The Lakers achieved this number with the NBA's second-best clutch offense (behind the Magic) and the eighth-best defense.
• Three teams have shone for five straight years: The Lakers, Celtics and Magic. The Nuggets are flirting with joining that club, too.
• Superstars matter. Or, at least some do. LeBron James, Derrick Rose, Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul almost always end the season positive in this regard -- the only exceptions are Paul and Nowitzki this year, which could still change. Other big names, like Kevin Durant, Tim Duncan, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade have had more mixed results.
• Good teams in general do well in crunch time. The top six teams in crunch time plus/minus this season have already locked up playoff spots, for instance (Lakers, Pacers, Hawks, Magic, Spurs and Bulls). But it's hardly a perfect correlation. In fact, surely a lot of what we're seeing in this chart appears to be simple randomness. The Pacers, terrible for a long time, are suddenly leaders. The Kings are excellent crunch time defenders this season. The Hawks are a solid team that is way better than solid late in games. And plenty of good teams -- the Sixers, the Knicks -- are pretty bad with the game on the line.
• Over the past half-decade, just two teams, the Knicks and Timberwolves, haven't had a single season in positive territory.
• The top ten late-game offensive teams this season are the Magic, Lakers, Grizzlies, Bulls, Hawks, Pacers, Rockets, Thunder, Spurs and Knicks.
• The Pacers are by far this season's best defensive team late in close games. They are followed by the Hawks, Kings (!), Spurs, Heat, Magic, Bulls, Lakers, Thunder and Clippers.
• The Dallas Mavericks have been very good for the last five years, but also have had the biggest drop-off in crunch time performance, from a league-leading plus-117 last season to an anemic minus-16 this season.
• The Hawks have been good in crunch time for four straight years.
• The Spurs and Thunder have been up and down.
• The Houston Rockets (plus-31) and Memphis Grizzlies (plus-28) are the best crunch time teams this season that have yet to lock up a playoff spot. The Los Angeles Clippers (minus-9) are the only playoff team with a negative clutch plus/minus.

Mostly, this feels like it's the tip of the iceberg. There's a lot more to learn about all this, and one of the big questions on the horizon is something Bill James has wrestled with in baseball for quite some time: Is there such a thing as clutch time performers? Are there really players or teams who do better with the game on the line?

That's still not something we know. What we do know is that a lot of what we thought we knew was wrong.

At the All-Star break, two rookies have separated themselves from the rest of the 2011 draft class.

Sure, Kemba Walker has the only triple-double among rookies, MarShon Brooks has proven to be a reliable scorer, Gustavo Ayón has been effective since becoming a starter, and Isaiah Thomas has been a pleasant surprise considering he was the last player drafted.

But thus far, it’s been Kyrie Irving and Ricky Rubio who have positioned themselves as the frontrunners to win Rookie of the Year. Here’s how they’ve done it:

KYRIE IRVING
The Cavaliers were the worst in the East last season, but with Irving leading the way, they’re ninth in the conference, a game-and-a-half out of the playoffs.

Offensively, Cleveland is much better when Irving is on the floor. The Cavs score more, shoot better, have more assists and fewer turnovers.

Irving is averaging 18.1 PPG while making nearly 42 percent of his 3-point attempts.

Only one other rookie has ever averaged 18 points and made at least 40 percent of their 3-point attempts. That was Larry Bird, who averaged 21 points and shot almost 41 percent from 3-point range as a rookie.

And if Irving can improve his field goal percentage (47.6 FG pct) in the second half of the season, he has a chance of shooting 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range, and 80 percent from the free throw line.

Only Mark Price (1987-88, 1988-89) and Steve Kerr (1991-92) have accomplished a “50-40-80” season in Cavaliers history.

RICKY RUBIO
The Minnesota Timberwolves had the worst record in the NBA last season (17-65). But they have as many wins this season through 34 games as they did last season. Minnesota sits 10th in the Western Conference, one game out of the playoffs.

Their top six scorers from 2010-11 remain, but the main difference this season is Rubio. When he’s on the court, the Timberwolves are +68, but when he’s off the court, they’re -28.

Teammates thrive when Rubio is in the game. He assists on nearly 39 percent of their field goals when he’s on the floor, the highest assist percentage for a rookie in the last five seasons (minimum 20 games).

Rubio has been especially effective as a distributor in the 4th quarter. He leads the NBA in 4th quarter assists this season with 64, ahead of more seasoned veterans like Jose Calderon and Deron Williams.

Rubio is fifth in the NBA in assists per game and second in steals per game. Only three rookies in NBA history -- Tim Hardaway, Mark Jackson and Phil Ford -- have averaged at least 10 points, eight assists and two steals per game, and Rubio is on pace to join them.

The Miami Heat were in a zone against the Sacramento Kings' zone defense in their 120-108 win on Tuesday night.

The Kings spent almost the entire first half trying to contain the Heat’s potent half-court offense by playing a zone . That’s something that had worked for other teams earlier this season, but not for the Kings in this contest.

The Heat entered having scored on 42 percent of their possessions against zone defenses. But the Kings' zone posed no problems. The Heat scored 47 points against Sacramento’s zone defense, shooting 65 percent against it.

Heat guard Mario Chalmers tied a career-high by making six three-pointers. Four of those came on spot-up jumpers. He typically averages a pair of baskets on spot-ups per game.

The Heat have won seven straight games by 10 or more points, the second-longest streak in Heat franchise history. The last time a streak of seven or more such wins occurred in the NBA was when the Heat won a team-record nine in a row last season.

Reversal of Fortune
The Portland Trail Blazers ended the San Antonio Spurs 11-game winning streak on a night in which Tim Duncan and Tony Parker both sat to rest.

This was a game that was over early. One night after scoring a franchise-record low seven points in the first quarter, the Trail Blazers tallied an NBA season-high 41 first-quarter points.

The 137 points that Portland scored in its win was its most since 1997. The 40-point defeat was the Spurs worst defeat, also since 1997.

Feat of the Night
Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert scored a career-high 30 points in an overtime win against the New Orleans Hornets.
Hibbert hadn’t even reached the 20-point mark in his last 14 games.

The primary reason for his success on Tuesday? Offensive rebounding.

Hibbert had seven offensive rebounds and converted five baskets from them, netting 11 points for himself. He entered averaging only 2.4 points from offensive rebounds (so around one basket) per game.

Plus-Minus Note of the Night
All four Cleveland Cavaliers reserves had a positive plus-minus, and all five of their starters had a negative one in their 101-100 win over the Detroit Pistons.

The most notable of the Cavs subs was Alonzo Gee, who had 16 points and 11 rebounds. In his 25 minutes, the Cavaliers outscored the Pistons by 14 points. It was his second-best plus-minus of the season.

KNICKS MAKE IT A NICKEL
The Milwaukee Bucks beat the New York Knicks who have now lost five straight games and stand at 6-9. Although Carmelo Anthony scored 35 points in the loss, the Knicks now stand at just 20-21 since trading for him last February.

A trend of leaning on Anthony in isolation continued against Milwaukee, as Anthony accounted for 15 of the Knicks’ 19 plays in isolation. On the season, the Knicks have ran a higher percentage of isolation plays than any other team, but are shooting just 29.3 percent on such plays, the worst in the NBA.

Brandon Jennings scored a season-high 36 points in the win, but did so without attempting a single free throw. He is the first player to score at least that many points without attempting a free throw since Jason Richardson in January 2008. Two of the three highest scoring games of his career have now come at Madison Square Garden, having hung 37 on March 25 of last season.

HOWARD SHOULDERS THE LOAD
Dwight Howard had 21 points and 23 rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic over the Los Angeles Lakers 92-80. It was Howard’s fifth game with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds this season, more than the rest of the NBA combined. According to Elias, Howard is the first player since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975-76 with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in five of his team’s first 15 games of the season.

Although Kobe Bryant scored 30 points, the Lakers offense continues to struggle as they failed to top 100 points for the 10th straight game. That is tied for the second-longest such streak by the Lakers in the shot-clock era (since 1954-55).

BULLS WIN WITHOUT ROSE
Despite playing without Derrick Rose, the Chicago Bulls won 114-75, handing the Cleveland Cavaliers their worst home loss in franchise history. According to Elias, the 39-point margin of victory is the second-largest ever by the Bulls over the Cavaliers, trailing only a 121-80 result on December 22, 1970.

Chicago held Cleveland to just 30.3 percent shooting, the fifth-lowest allowed in a game this season. It was the fifth time this season the Bulls have held their opponent to under 35 percent shooting. The Lakers are the only other team with even three such games this season.

AROUND THE ASSOCIATION
• The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Atlanta Hawks 90-76 to improve to 11-4, their best start since starting 11-4 in 2002-03.

• LaMarcus Aldrige had 33 points, 23 rebounds and five assists to lead the Portland Trail Blazers over the Toronto Raptors. He is only the sixth player in the last 25 seasons to reach those threshold in a single game and the first to do it since Kevin Garnett in 2003-04.

• The Detroit Pistons scored 81 points in a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. It’s Pistons’ 16th straight game they have failed to score 100 points, their third-longest such streak in the shot-clock era.

Last fall, USA TODAY published an article about the Duke men’s basketball team, in which coach Mike Krzyzewski compared then-Duke star Kyrie Irving to NBA All-Star Chris Paul.

When told of those comments last month in an interview with USA TODAY, Irving paused, then said,

“There’s only one Kyrie Irving.”

While a comparison to Paul may be bold, Irving’s performance through his first 13 games can draw comparisons not only to Paul, but to what LeBron James did as a rookie for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The New CP3?
Irving has backed up the comparisons to Paul in his rookie season. As a rookie in the 2005-06 season, Paul’s player efficiency rating was a 22.1, the second-highest among rookie guards in the 3-point era, beginning in 1979-80, trailing only Michael Jordan.

Irving’s pace is just a tick behind Paul’s, at a 21.8 through his first 13 games. But that would still be enough to put him third, ahead of the player currently in third place on the list, Magic Johnson.

Among all rookies with a minimum of 2,000 minutes played, Irving’s 21.8 PER would put him eighth in the 3-point era. Along with trailing Jordan and Paul, you can add David Robinson, Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan to the players Irving is trailing.

Who Needs LeBron?
Before Irving, the last time the Cavaliers had the first pick in the NBA draft, they took LeBron James, and we all know how that turned out.

The good news for Cleveland fans is that Irving’s performance as a rookie is on pace to best what James did in his first year in Cleveland, outdistancing James in scoring and assists per 36 minutes, as well as PER and Win Shares per 48 minutes.

In fact, his current 21.8 PER would place him 11th on the all-time Cavaliers list, not just among rookies, among players with at least 2,000 minutes played.

When you limit it to non-LeBron James seasons, Irving would jump to fifth, trailing only the best seasons for Brad Daugherty, Terrell Brandon and Mark Price.

Renaissance in Cleveland
It’s clear what kind of impact LeBron James’ departure had on the Cavaliers. From 66-16 and 61-21 in his last two seasons with the club, to 19-63 last season in Cleveland’s first year without him.

At 6-7 this season, Cleveland still has a long way to go to return to its previous glory, but the Cavaliers nearly have a third as many wins as they did all of last season.

After ranking 29th in both offensive and defensive efficiency last season, the Cavaliers rank in the top 20 in the league in both categories this season.

There’s also a noticeable improvement for Cleveland when Irving is on the floor, showing he’s one of the main components of its turnaround. Cleveland is averaging 101.5 points per 100 possessions while Irving is on the floor, 95.2 when he’s not.

With 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists last night, LeBron James posted his seventh playoff triple-double, his second in a losing effort.

It was the first Finals triple-double for James, who is the fifth losing player with a triple-double in the Finals, joining a Hall-of-Fame list with Jason Kidd, Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

Despite playing 46 minutes and putting up a triple-double, James struggled in Game 5, particularly with Dwyane Wade on the court. In the 31 minutes he played with Wade, James scored nine points on 4-of-13 shooting. In 14 minutes without Wade, James hit 4-of-6 shots and had eight points.

Adding Chris Bosh to the mix made things worse for the Miami Heat. He played 26 minutes with both James and Wade on the court, and Miami had a points differential of -14 in that time. Without Wade, the Heat were outscored by a single point with James and Bosh on the floor. During the three minutes when James was the sole member of the trio in the game, Miami outscored Dallas by five points.

Regardless of who is on the floor in the Finals, James has struggled in the fourth quarter, scoring a total of 11 points. His average of 2.2 fourth-quarter points per game in the Finals is far below his average of 7.6 points in the first three rounds.

Despite playing all 24 minutes in the fourth quarter of Games 4 and 5, James had only two total points, making him Miami’s fifth-leading scorer in that span, trailing Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller, along with Wade and Bosh. James does have half of the team’s five assists in the last two fourth quarters.

Perhaps most startling of all is LeBron James’ crunch-time absence in a series that has seen all five games decided late. When the score has been within five points in the last five minutes, James has yet to score in the series, missing all seven shots. Those numbers contrast sharply with Dirk Nowitzki's 26 crunch-time points on 8-13 shooting, not to mention the 34-point difference in plus-minus.

Beating the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday snapped yet another somewhat historic streak for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers snapped their NBA-record 26-game losing streak on Friday, but needed overtime to beat the Los Angeles Clippers.

Cleveland’s 104-99 win over the Lakers snapped a record 39-game streak without a win in regulation. Wednesday was the Cavaliers' first regulation win since beating the Memphis Grizzlies 92-86, on November 27. They had two wins in between, but both came in overtime -- over the New York Knicks and the Clippers.

One of the low points during the Cavaliers’ record losing streak was a 112-57 loss to the Lakers last month. By beating the Lakers on Wednesday, Cleveland became just the fourth team in the last 40 seasons to lose to an opponent by at least 55 points and then beat that opponent in their next meeting that season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

In that 55-point loss to the Lakers, Ramon Sessions scored 10 of the Cavaliers’ 57 points. On Wednesday, Sessions scored a season-high 32 points off the bench, the second-highest total of his career. That’s also the fourth-most points by a bench player this season, and the most this season against the Lakers.

In the loss, Pau Gasol scored 30 points and had 20 rebounds. He joins Kevin Love as the only players with a 30-20 game this season, and is the first Laker to go 30-20 since Shaquille O'Neal scored 36 points and grabbed 26 boards on March 21, 2004 against the Milwaukee Bucks. Gasol also went 14-14 from the free throw line, the first Laker other than Kobe Bryant to do that since Magic Johnson went 15-15 against the Miami Heat during the 1995-96 season.

Elsewhere in the NBA

• Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard was 12-for-15 from the floor against the Washington Wizards, the second time in as many games he’s shot at least 80 percent from the floor. On Sunday he was 13-of-16 (81.3 percent) against the Los Angeles Lakers.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only two other players in the last 21 seasons have shot at least 80 percent from the floor in back-to-back games (minimum 15 FGA each game): David Robinson in 1997-98, and Mitch Richmond in 1990-91.

• Dwyane Wade continued his inside dominance against the Toronto Raptors. Eight of his 10 field goals Wednesday were within five feet of the basket.

In two games against Toronto, Wade has 17 field goals within five feet, significantly higher than his production in that area against other teams.

• Kevin Love’s double-double streak is at 42 straight games, two shy of the second-longest single-season streak since the merger (1976-77). Wednesday, Love had 18 points and 18 rebounds against the Clippers, the third time during the streak that he’s had matching point and rebound totals.

Also in that game, Blake Griffin did not have a double-double (29 points, 8 rebounds). In 13 of Griffin’s last 16 games he’s had a double-double, but two of the three games he did not were against the Timberwolves.

The Los Angeles Lakers might have to learn that a little less Kobe Bryant may go a long way this season.

On Tuesday, Bryant scored 29 points but it took him 25 shots to get there in a 98-96 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. During the Lakers current three-game losing streak, Bryant has attempted at least 20 shots in each game and has averaged 26.3 FGA per game.

This season, the Lakers are 2-3 when Bryant attempts at least 25 shots in a game, compared to 11-2 when he attempts fewer than 25 shots.

Look even deeper and you will see that all five of the Lakers losses have come when Bryant has at least 20 shots. When Bryant attempts fewer than 20 shots, the Lakers are 7-0.

• Tim Duncan recorded his first regular-season triple-double since March 14, 2003 as he had 15 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists in the San Antonio Spurs 118-98 win over the Golden State Warriors. Duncan actually has more postseason triple-doubles (four) than in the regular season (three).

There were 239 triple-doubles in points, assists and rebounds in between Duncan's games. Among the many players who picked up at least one in that span were: Ryan Gomes, John Salmons and Bob Sura, who had two on consecutive days in April 2004.

• The Cleveland Cavaliers scored 87 points in their loss to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. When the two teams last played in Cleveland on October 27, it was the Celtics who scored 87 points in the loss.

In the October matchup, J.J. Hickson led the Cavaliers with 21 points. On Tuesday, he had just one point on a free throw and was 0-for-4 shooting.

The Celtics outscored the Cavaliers 60-26 in the paint, the second time this season in which the Celtics scored at least 60 in the paint. The 26 by the Cavaliers in the paint were two points away from their season low in a November 2 loss against the Atlanta Hawks.

• Amare Stoudemire scored 35 points for a second straight game in the New York Knicks 111-100 win over the New Jersey Nets. The last Knicks player with 35 points in two straight games was Stephon Marbury -- Stoudemire’s former teammate with the Phoenix Suns -- in March 2007.

Brook Lopez scored 36 points for the Nets in the loss, one shy of his career high set on March 26, 2010 against the Pistons.

Prior to Lopez, the only Nets center in the last 25 seasons with at least 36 points in a game was Sam Bowie on March 20, 1991 when he had 38 against the Timberwolves.

For the first time this season, the "Big 3" for the Miami Heat each scored at least 20 points in a game en route to a 101-89 win over the New Jersey Nets on Saturday. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh combined for 73 of those points with Wade leading the way with 29 points, James with 23 and Bosh with 21. The Heat improved to 5-2 with two of those wins coming at the Nets' expense.

LeBron James has punished the Nets in transition this season. In the third quarter Saturday, LeBron went 3-for-3 in transition and drew two fouls that sent him to the line.

It took Bosh, James and Wade seven games before each of them scored 20 plus points in the same game. When it comes to other notable trios, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce accomplished that feat in just three games while Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon did it in their first game together.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

FROM THE ELIAS SPORTS BUREAU:The Hornets beat the Bucks 87-81 to improve their record to 6-0, though their largest margin of victory this season has been by nine points. New Orleans is only the second team in NBA history to open a season with six straight wins, with none of the wins by a double-digit margin. The 1948-49 Washington Capitols, coached by Red Auerbach, was the only other team to open the season with such a streak.

FROM THE ELIAS SPORTS BUREAU: John Wall, who had 10 assists in Washington’s loss to Cleveland Saturday night, has handed out at least seven assists in each of the five games he has played in the NBA. Oscar Robertson is the only other player in NBA history to record at least seven assists in each of his first five career NBA games. The “Big O” did it in each of his first 10 games in the NBA in 1960-61.

One night after the Boston Celtics handed the Miami Heat and LeBron James their first loss, Boston falls to James’ old team 95-87 in Cleveland. The Celtics' Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen combined for just 34 points on 12-for-33 (36.4 percent) shooting, as they are unable to match their 49-point, 15-for-31 (48.4 percent) performance from last night.

The Heat traveled down to Philadelphia for their second game of the season and beat the 76ers 97-87 to avoid their first 0-2 start since 2007-08. Only six teams had started a season with two consecutive losses before going on to win the championship, and none since the Bulls in the 1990-91 season.

The trio of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh was much more effective Wednesday night, combining for 61 points and outscoring the 76ers on the floor by five points in the 25 minutes they played together.

Tuesday night the Heat had trouble finding consistency on catch-and-shoot jump-shots, connecting on just 27 percent of their attempts when spotting up against the Celtics. On Wednesday, Miami was able to capitalize when the 76ers' defense collapsed on the interior, going 11-for-21 (54 percent) on spot-up jumpers, including 7-for-13 on contested shots.

Some jerk beat Chris Bosh to registering the domain www.chrisbosh.com. So Bosh went after the cybersquatter. All sorts of legal wrangling later, Bosh has won damages, his domain ... and a zillion other domains the same guy had been squatting.

There are nearly 800 names in the list, and Bosh and his internet consultant, Hadi Teherany of Max Deal, say they'll return them all to their rightful owners for free.

Which means a good chunk of the basketball world will be owing Bosh a favor. The list is thick with basketball players in the NBA, overseas, college and high school. There are also some football players, political sites, Britney Spears' child, singers, a site or two that sound raunchy, and the Mexican wrestler "El Octagon."

Just a few of the many NBA names on the list:

• SamCassell.com
• SteveNash.com
• AmareStoudemire.com
• AndreIguodala.com
• JJRedick.com
• EddyCurry.com
• CarmeloAnthony.com
  
• BrandonJennings.com
• DelonteWest.com 
• LuolDeng.com
• KobeStopper.com
• CaronButler.com
• DeronWilliams.com
• DariusMiles.com
  
• BryanColangelo.com

(Also on the list is AaronAfflalo.com, even though that Denver player spells his first name "Arron.") The vast list of names also includes instructions for athletes and celebrities to get their names back from Bosh, if they wish. Paging El Octagon ...

• Bret LaGree of Hoopinion on Larry Brown's ejection via replacement referee: "Larry got his 2nd T from Kevin Scott, who never got within 35 feet of Brown before, during, or after the call. Brown tried to engage any of the refs on the occasion of his ejection but none would speak with or possibly even look at him. Rather than deal with the issue directly, Scott walked to the opposite end of the court and appeared to attempt to enlist a befuddled police officer in asking/making Brown leave the court."
• The Knicks and Nets have both claimed to have the most cap space of any team in 2010. Who's right?
  
• The Bulls like each other.
• Dean Oliver, the Denver Nuggets' statistical consultant, and the case for drafting Ty Lawson. Also, I think Oliver is in a very small club of team stats experts: He gets to inform the front office on personnel decisions, and the coaching staff on game strategy. Also, Lawson was part of a Nugget lineup that played very well in Beijing.
• Hope in Philadelphia, where a 3-0 preseason has people feeling good. Elton Brand tells Philadunkia: "All the major injuries are totally behind me and I feel great. Plus Thaddeus Young and Andre Iguodala have gotten better over the summer as well as I so we're going to have a good formidable team."
• The Blazers -- one of those teams that has had a messed up cable deal that makes it hard for some fans to watch games -- say that by January they hope to have video of every game streaming live on their website, which would be an NBA first.
• Jermaine Taylor and Chase Budinger didn't get a lot of attention on draft day, but they're looking pretty good in preseason.
• Rasual Butler makes the Clippers better.
• Gregg Popovich has inspired winemakers, and now vegetable growers.
• Kevin Durant's one-game plus/minus in last night's OT victory over the Suns: plus-24. That's what I'm talking about!
• An old video clip of Delonte West and Paul Pierce, pre-Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett trades, talking about how good the Celtics are going to be.
• In my review of SonicsGate yesterday, I listed four goals of the movie. Producer Adam Brown adds two more: To preserve the history of the Seattle SuperSonics. Since that history is now officially owned by Clay Bennett, we needed to document some of the good times as well as the team's demise. OKC didn't celebrate in June 1979, and they didn't cry in May 1994. We did, and we deserve this document to remind us of that. Also, to get the issue back in people's mouths here in Washington with the primary goal of getting an NBA team back. Ultimately we have to convince our politicians that a 50% privately funded arena deal will create jobs and boost the economy while allowing us to regain this cultural asset."
• Malcolm Gladwell on the ethics of a gladiator mentality.
  

Marc Stein writes:

A couple notes of clarification on the prospect of Golden State dealing Stephen Jackson to Cleveland in a swap featuring Zydrunas Ilgauskas, as introduced earlier Friday in this piece from the Contra Costa Times and brought to our attention, as always, by the boys at HoopsHype:

• Multiple plugged-in sources insist that these are not active discussions. It's no secret that the Warriors did make several calls before the season to gauge Captain Jack's value after Jackson's bombshell about wanting to be dealt to the Cavs, Knicks or one of the three Texas teams. But Golden State's talks with Cleveland were "nothing substantive," according to one source.
• As our man Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer succinctly explained today via his Twitter feed, Cleveland's willingness to take on even more salary in trades than it already has does not mean that the Cavs are prepared to surrender a big man in the exchange unless they get a certifiable "star" back. Reason being: Cleveland knows it needs extra size if it wants to get past Orlando and Boston in the East and the Lakers in a theoretical Finals matchup.
• A theoretical Cavs-Warriors deal headlined by Jackson and Ilgauskas -- who's in the final year of his contract at $11.5 million -- would only provide Golden State with payroll relief. That's a big deal, but the Warriors would ideally like to bring back at least one player for the future (with a reasonable contract) if they're going to part with someone as important as Jackson, whereas I get the feeling that Cleveland is likely only willing to part with the likes of Daniel Gibson or Delonte West in addition to Ilgauskas.
• The reality remains that moving Jackson is going to be very difficult for the Warriors even if they decide they want to ship him out because his three-year, $27.8 million extension doesn't even kick in until next season. But the sense I get is that they're not pushing hard for a deal right now. It's simply too early in the season. In a month or three, maybe Cleveland or some other contender might be desperate (or at least looking) to add a difference-maker like Jackson. No team, in this economic climate, is going to absorb that sort of salary commitment before we even get to mid-October.
  

All signs strongly point to Captain Jack starting the season with the Dubs. 

• Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: "It is hugely significant that Chris Bosh will make his pre-season debut for the Raptors in Minneapolis on Friday night, but another development at the Air Canada Centre on Thursday was just as welcomed by the team's brass. As Bosh went through some post-up drills with assistant coach Marc Iavaroni at one end of the practice court, Hedo Turkoglu was involved in some full-speed shooting drills at the other. And getting the high-priced free agent into action with his new teammates is of paramount importance to the Raptors. 'I'm feeling much better physically and mentally, too,' Turkoglu said after his workout. 'Hopefully next week, I'll start practising with the team and hopefully get into game shape and try to be 100 per cent on opening night.' Bothered by sore knees and a body worn down by a busy summer, the 30-year-old Turkoglu hasn't done anything of substance so far in training camp."
• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: "One of Mickael Pietrus' best dunks from last season lives on in an Internet video clip and in the pain he still feels in his right wrist. The highlight-reel play occurred last December against the Detroit Pistons. Pietrus dribbled across the lane, elevated off his right foot and slammed the ball home left-handed. 'Check it out on YouTube!' Pietrus said recently, grinning. 'It was nice.' Nice, yes. But costly, too. Pietrus collided with Detroit's Jason Maxiell and tumbled to the floor, bracing himself with his right hand. Pietrus fractured his shooting wrist. The wrist still hurts, though you wouldn't know it by how he's performed this preseason. Pietrus is excelling despite the pain, just as he did in last year's playoffs. 'He's shot the ball really well in training camp, so whatever the problem is, he should leave it exactly the way it is,' joked Orlando Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy."
• Kate Fagan of The Philadelphia Inquirer: "Yesterday at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Sixers practiced for about two hours: On multiple occasions, Dalembert dished to cutters for quick hoops. Such a display was a 180-degree turn from last season's struggles, when Dalembert requested a trade and spent much of the season frustrated with his role and playing time. 'I love Sam,' Eddie Jordan said. 'I love what Sam is doing for us. I love his approach, I love his attitude, I love his enthusiasm. ... Sometimes I have to tell him, 'Look for your shot, look for your shot.' And he's a willing passer out of the post.' This praise could come across as hollow as a basketball, but all on-court evidence supports Jordan's assertions: Dalembert's midrange shot has been consistent, as has his unselfishness in the post. 'Sam is an emotional guy and he knows this coaching group has his back,' said point guard Lou Williams. 'He's happy. Sam is happy. He's joking with guys again, he's talking; he's back to his normal self. We're going to need him to be that way.' Jordan said Dalembert has the second-best shot on the team, behind forward Jason Kapono, who is one of the best three-point shooters in the NBA."
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post: "In case you haven't noticed, Brendan Haywood has been around a while. 'Everybody is gone except me,' said Haywood, who is entering his ninth season with the Washington Wizards. 'It is weird, when I tell somebody I've been in the league, coming up on nine years, they say, 'How many teams?' I say, 'Just D.C.' They say, 'Wow, that's crazy.' Because normally you get through free agency or trade, people leave their cities, but I've always been here. It's been fun and I hope I can end my career here.' Haywood is one of just 10 active players in the NBA to spend at least eight seasons with one team. He is the only player on the Wizards roster whom President Ernie Grunfeld wasn't responsible for bringing to town. (Michael Jordan acquired him from Orlando in August 2001 after Haywood was drafted by Cleveland and traded to the Magic on draft night.) And now, Haywood is in the last year of a five-year, $25 million extension and fully plans to enter free agency for the first time next summer."
• John Jackson of the Chicago Sun-Times: "Fans don't get a chance to see a coach work with players in practice, so I can understand why most Bulls fans had a negative opinion of Vinny Del Negro. All they saw were the games and there were too many mistakes to have any other opinion. I know it's just the preseason, but I've noticed a change in Del Negro so far. The year of experience seems to have made a big difference. He's more confident and isn't as defensive. He's been very organized and the team got a lot accomplished in the first two weeks of camp. Barring any major injuries over the next three weeks, the Bulls should be prepared for a fast start in the regular season. Although the ultimate test of Del Negro's improvement will come when he's involved in a tight game in the regular season, I think Bulls fans will be pleasantly surprised this season. I'm not saying Del Negro will be the second coming of Phil Jackson, but he knows the game, has a sound philosophy and I believe he will be a good NBA coach."
• Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune: "It's not as though Hornets rookie point guard Darren Collison is normally quiet and soft-spoken when he's on the basketball court. Nonetheless, New Orleans Coach Byron Scott has been telling Collison, the team's first-round draft choice, he has to be more assertive when running the show. Problem is, while Collison was a starter in college at UCLA and ran the Bruins' offense, he never got much chance to talk. 'That's what the coaches are telling me,' he said Thursday night, after he made his NBA debut in the Hornets' 108-101 preseason loss against the Charlotte Bobcats. 'Make sure I call the plays out. Just make sure I do little things like that. At UCLA, I never called any plays out. We just called one play the whole time. As a point guard, it's something that has to be natural. But it's something I'll get accustomed to.' "
• Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee: "Omri Casspi had three tough days and what he thought were three legitimate reasons to be in a funk. He thought the coach was down on him. He thought his fans in Israel were disappointed. He thought the glut of Kings small forwards foreshadowed a season of down time, depriving him of an opportunity to establish himself in the league. He was wrong about everything except the glut of small forwards. The rookie must fight through the crowd to earn playing time, but he already projects as an intriguing, energetic wild card. He runs. He shoots. He dunks. He dives on the floor. He plays fast and physical, and wants to play faster. And unofficially, and only because the exhibition season doesn't count, he already h
  as become the first Israeli to rouse an NBA crowd in the closing minutes of a home-court debut ? which he did during the Kings' loss to Portland on Wednesday night at Arco Arena. The ebb and flow of his rookie season thus far suggests that this is a good week. So Casspi, 21, should breathe a little. You know, chill. Resume the search for quality hummus. Enjoy."
• Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe: "While the Celtics' focus in training camp has been Kevin Garnett's rehabilitation from knee surgery, Ray Allen's decline in the postseason was a cause for concern. He shot 48 percent during the regular season, his best clip since 2000-01, but with no Garnett in the playoffs, opposing defenses focused on Allen, whose shooting dipped to 40 percent, 35 percent from the 3-point line. Fatigue may have been a factor, especially with Allen approaching his 34th birthday, and the guard also said he was nursing a sore hamstring during the postseason that was diagnosed as a sore lower back. So that's why he was running sprints after practice as if he were still in high school. Shirtless, Allen ran with fluidity and precision, determined to tire himself out. 'I think about field goal percentage, I think about 3-point field goal percentage and all those things are directly related to what kind of condition I am in,' said Allen. 'I did do a lot more this summer. I never really eat too bad but a lot things, you know you go to barbecues and eat more hot dogs and cheeseburgers on the grill, I cut that back a little earlier. It was just one of those things that felt necessary.' "
• Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: "Chuck Hayes gets it. The idea that he is - at a stocky 6-6 with few offensive skills - a starting center in the NBA, inspires the same reaction from him that he imagines others have at the sight of him in such an exalted position. 'I laugh,' he said. 'It's funny. We have the shortest point guard (Aaron Brooks) and the shortest center. But we find ways to make it happen.' The Rockets used to have the tallest center, adding to the sight gag. With Yao Ming out, they have gone from a 7-6 wealth of offensive skills and celebrity, a former first pick of the draft and seven-time All-Star, to Hayes, a relative unknown who is a foot shorter, was undrafted and worked his way back to the Rockets through the D-League. It is little wonder Hayes is amused by such a turn of events, with another reminder likely tonight in a matchup with Orlando's gifted young giant, Dwight Howard. The Rockets, however, have found that at a time things could fall apart, they need him to he hold them together. 'He's really important to have on the floor for us,' Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. 'I'm pretty sure he's going to be on the floor a lot because he's our best defender. There is nobody on our team close to him as far as defending inside.' "
• Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: "Back when he was in the Eastern Conference, Richard Jefferson used to look forward to a game against the Spurs the way a child looks forward to a visit to the dentist. The only upside was that he had to do it only twice a year. 'They were a team that, if they weren't scoring, neither were you,' Jefferson said. 'They were consistently one of the best defensive teams in the league.' If coach Gregg Popovich gets his wish, the Spurs will soon get back to playing the kind of defense Jefferson used to know and loathe. After a decade of standard-setting when it came to the art of suffocating other teams, the Spurs slipped from "elite” to 'just pretty good' last season. They finished ninth in field-goal percentage defense at 45.3 percent, the team's lowest rank and highest number in a dozen full seasons under Popovich. For a while, the Spurs were floundering along in the low 20s, a ranking that rendered Popovich practically apoplectic. ... Popovich has spent much of his time on the pulpit this preseason preaching the need for his team to return to the glory days. 'We tried to institute some new things the past couple of years, and they didn't really work out,' Popovich said. 'So we're going back to the good old days when we tried to lead the league defensively.' "
• Mike Baldwin of The Oklahoman: "After facing him in a playoff series, Pat Riley said, 'If he gets much better, he's going to be one of the better players in this league.' And Jason Kidd called him the best big man he had ever played with. In 2006, that was the trajectory of Nenad Krstic's career. But a serious knee injury three days before Christmas altered his future, a major reason the 7-foot center from Serbia is now on the Thunder's roster. 'People in Oklahoma City probably don't know how highly thought of he was around the league,' said one Eastern Conference scout. 'He was starting to really take off. If he can be that player again, he would be a steal for them.' The looming question, the scout said, is whether Krstic can return to the form that impressed Riley, Kidd and Jefferson."
• Frank Isola of the New York Daily News: "Marcus Landry paid his own way to New York just for a tryout. As if answering a want-ad in the newspaper, he arrived without a place to stay and without much of a shot of making the Knicks. 'I don't like to think of myself as a longshot,' Landry says. 'I'll let the coaches decide that.' Undrafted, undersized but mostly undeterred, Landry is becoming the feel-good story of training camp. The 6-foot-7 rookie out of Wisconsin is making a strong push for a roster spot, having survived the first round of cuts while impressing Mike D'Antoni and Donnie Walsh with his work ethic and toughness. 'That's the kind of player we need,' Walsh said. It's been an eventful three weeks for Landry. The Knicks thought so little of him that they didn't provide a ride from the airport or pay for his $80-a-night hotel room. But after a solid training camp and in subsequent practices, let's just say Landry's accommodations have been upgraded. 'I just come out here every day, work hard and leave it up to Coach D'Antoni and Mr. Walsh to decide,' Landry said. 'We'll see what happens.' "
• Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer: "Shaquille O'Neal raised a few eyebrows after practice Thursday by declaring this Cavaliers team 'the best team I've ever played on. On paper, anyway.' Some might take the 1999-2000 NBA champion Lakers with Bryant, Glen Rice, Robert Horry, Ron Harper, A.C. Green and Derek Fisher, or the 2003-04 Lakers who finished 56-26 with Bryant, Karl Malone and Gary Payton. When skeptical reporters questioned O'Neal about the comment, he said: 'I've always begged management to get me the power forward I've needed and the shooters I've needed. Here you've got a guy that's been starting 10 or 11 years [Zydrunas Ilgauskas] that's backing me up, you've got Varejao who's one of the top forwards in the league and you've got D-Block [Jackson] coming off the bench. We have a lot of great shooters, so on paper, I'd say yes.' When told of the c
  omment, coach Mike Brown smiled and said: 'When the big fella talks, you've got to listen. If he says that, it's something that has to be heard.' "
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: "One thing is indisputable: D.J. Augustin is back to full health. An abdominal strain robbed Augustin of his explosion and change-of-direction the second half of last season. But Thursday he drove his way to 18 free throws, making 16, in the Charlotte Bobcats' 108-101 preseason victory over the New Orleans Hornets at Greensboro Coliseum. Augustin, a second-year point guard, finished with 22 points and the Bobcats totaled 58 free-throw attempts."
• Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times: "The facility might not be entirely cooperative, but tonight could still shape up to be Fabulous. The Lakers return to the Forum in Inglewood for an exhibition game against Golden State, a blast from the past in a season that holds a promising future. The Lakers haven't played there since leaving for Staples Center in 1999, but owner Jerry Buss has wanted to return to the Forum for years. Now seemed like a good time, the franchise's 50th year in Los Angeles. ... The Lakers had to transport their basketball court from Staples Center to the Forum. There's no longer a scoreboard, so they will hang two large LED screens over the court. They will also bring their lighting trusses, basketball hoops and scorer's table from Staples Center. In fact, leaving no chance for faulty locker-room plumbing, the Lakers don't plan to shower at the Forum after the game. Players will take a team bus bound for the training facility in El Segundo, where hot water is guaranteed to await them. It might seem like a lot of extra work for an exhibition game, but, well, this is the former site of six Lakers championship teams."