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On a night when four teams could have ended their first-round playoff series, only the Indiana Pacers claimed a spot in the Conference Semifinals.

After losing the series opener, the Pacers dominated the series against the Orlando Magic. In the clinching game, they outscored Orlando 18-0 in fast-break opportunities and 46-22 in the paint. For the series, they held a 69-13 advantage in fast-break points and outscored the Magic by 76 points in the paint.

Darren Collison dished out 23 assists and committed just one turnover during the series. Since individual turnovers were first tracked by Elias in 1978, he is only the fourth player with 20 or more assists and one or fewer turnovers in a playoff game. The others were John Paxson (1990 Bulls), Fat Lever (1988 Nuggets) and Eddie Johnson (1987 Sonics).

Dwight Howard's injury doomed the Magic before the series started. Including the playoffs, Orlando finished 5-12 without their starting center and 33-21 with him in the lineup. This was the fifth time in the last 20 years that a team was missing its leading regular-season scorer in the playoffs – all five teams lost in the first round.

The Boston Celtics had a chance to eliminate the Atlanta Hawks, a team against which they had won nine of 10 previous playoff series. According to Elias, that .900 series winning percentage is the highest for any team against another in NBA history (with a minimum of six series played).

This was the 12th time under Doc Rivers that the Celtics had a chance to close out a series on the road; they have only succeeded twice. They return to the comforts of TD Garden on Thursday, where they are 7-3 under Rivers in potential close out games.

The key for the Hawks on Tuesday was Al Horford. In the 41 minutes that he was on the court, the Hawks outscored the Celtics by 10 points and grabbed eight more rebounds. While he rested, they were outscored by nine.

With a chance to finish their series against the Chicago Bulls, the Philadelphia 76ers couldn’t even match their nickname in the point column. Philadelphia was held under 70 points in a playoff game for the second time since the shot clock was introduced in the 1954-55 season. The franchise low was 68 points against the Magic in the 1999 playoffs.

With the win, the Bulls avoided becoming the first No. 1 seed since the playoffs were expanded to 16 teams in 1984 to win fewer than two games in the playoffs. The four previous top seeds to lose in the first round all won two games before they were eliminated.

The Los Angeles Lakers were looking to win their ninth-straight potential series-clinching game, but lost at home to the Denver Nuggets. It was their first loss in a potential close out game since Game 6 of the 2009 Western Conference semifinals against the Houston Rockets. According to Elias, that was the fourth-longest such streak in NBA playoff history. The Lakers also own the longest, 12 straight from June 2000 to May 2004.

Kobe Bryant scored 43 points in the loss, the 84th time in his career that he reached 30 points in a playoff game. The only player with more was Michael Jordan, with 109. It was the 12th time that he reached 40 in the playoffs and first since the 2010 Western Conference finals.

One of the closest scoring races in NBA history comes down to the final day of the season, as Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant each take aim at their third scoring title.

The Oklahoma City Thunder lost to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday to finish the season at 47-19. That .712 winning percentage is the best for the franchise since 1997-98, when the Seattle SuperSonics finished 61-21 – a .744 clip.

Durant scored 32 points in the loss, and finished the season with 1,850 points in 66 games. That computes to 28.03 points per game, so he is currently in position to claim his third straight scoring title.

However, Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers finish their season on Thursday against the Sacramento Kings. With 38 points, Bryant would pass Durant to claim his third scoring title and first since the 2006-07 season. If Bryant wins the scoring crown, he would be the first player over 30 years of age to lead the league in scoring since Michael Jordan in 1997-98.

Bryant has scored at least 38 points in seven of his 58 games this season. In two games against the Kings, he has netted 29 and 38.

This is one of the closest scoring races in recent NBA history. Two years ago, Durant claimed his first scoring title by 0.44 points per game over LeBron James. The closest scoring race since 1968-69 took place during the 1977-78 season, when George Gervin finished 0.07 points per game ahead of David Thompson. If Bryant finishes with between 34 and 42 points against the Kings, this season would vault to the top of the list.

Bobcats Record Watch
With their 102-95 loss to the Orlando Magic, the Charlotte Bobcats are one loss away from recording the worst win percentage in NBA history. The Bobcats host the New York Knicks on Thursday with a chance to avoid the dubious distinction.

The current record holder is the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, who finished the season with a .110 winning percentage after winning just nine of 73 games. If the Bobcats lose to the Knicks, they’ll have a 7-59 record and .106 win percent.

The Bobcats have lost 22 straight games since beating the Toronto Raptors on March 17. That’s the fourth-longest losing streak within a single season in NBA history. The Cleveland Cavaliers lost 26 straight games during the 2010-11 season. With a loss Thursday, the Bobcats would tie the 1995-96 Vancouver Grizzlies and 1997-98 Nuggets for the second-longest streak.

Full Court Press
• The Los Angeles Clippers finished their season with a 99-93 loss at the Knicks. They ended up with a 16-17 road record. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Clippers have never finished with a .500 or better record on the road in their 42-year franchise history.

• Evan Turner scored a career-high 29 points as the 76ers beat the Milwaukee Bucks, who were led by the first career double-double for Tobias Harris.

• The Washington Wizards won their fifth straight game, the longest winning streak for the franchise since they won six straight games in November 2007.

Micah Adams contributed to this post

Jeff Van Gundy is making life easy for HoopIdea. Another day, another way that Van Gundy (and HoopIdea) would like to improve the game.

On Monday the former Knicks and Rockets coach joined Houston’s Vandermeer and Lopez to talk about the NBA and one of his main "HoopIdea" topics: tanking.

I think a huge problem in the NBA is developing with the undervaluing of the regular season.

Teams tank. Not just the last 10 games. Now they’re tanking seasons. What happened to Michael Jordan [owner of the 7-53 Charlotte Bobcats]? This was the most competitive player during my time in the NBA. Dominant. Now he has an abomination of a team.

Michael Jordan the player would have detested Michael Jordan the owner, and I don’t understand for the life of me why we give teams that aren’t trying to win the best chance to get the best players.

I think we’re building a huge problem in the NBA where the media, the teams, the owners of the team, are all -- they’re not saying it, but they’re doing it -- they're devaluing these regular seasons.

So I ask the question: If no one thinks it's valuable, why would you advertise, why would you watch, why would you buy tickets?

This is why I give the Rockets a lot of credit. They could have gone this way but they would have been making their fans buy an inferior product. So I give them credit: They’re trying to give their fans the best possible value for their money. And a lot of these teams just are not. And I think it’s absolutely going to hurt the NBA.

Van Gundy was also asked how he would fix the system. Like HoopIdea, he thinks any fix would include restructuring the regular-season incentives, starting with the draft lottery. But he also includes an idea for short term financial incentives that would encourage owners to try at the end of the season.

I think it starts with the lottery. I think it served its purpose at one time but the way it’s structured now -- to try and lose the most so you get the most chances for the No. 1 pick -- I think is now backfiring.

I think the second aspect of it is that somehow there has to be a financial incentive for these teams to win even down the stretch when they’re not making the playoffs, to play their best players to try to win games.

If you don’t incentivize the owners by money, then they have no incentive.

You know there’s no easy [answers] on this, but there should be discussions. But the people that you need to agree with are the owners who’ve set the tone. And I just find that when teams are trying to lose, doesn’t that say something about the credibility of your sport?

JOIN THE CONVERSATION
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• Email us at hoopidea@gmail.com

At HoopIdea, we’ve talked about the importance of continuous, live-ball action at the ends of games. Here is perhaps the best example ever.

Remember this?

With one minute remaining in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, John Stockton fed Karl Malone on the left block, circled through the key and found himself wide open on the opposite wing. Malone zipped the ball to Stockton, who nailed a huge 3 to put the Utah Jazz up 86-83 over the Chicago Bulls with 41.9 seconds to go.

The next 36 seconds of nonstop play may rank as the best in the history of the NBA.

Inbounding from half-court, Chicago quickly enters the ball to Michael Jordan and spreads the floor. With Utah’s help defenders occupied, Jordan hesitates and then blows past Bryon Russell for a layup that cuts the lead to a single point and takes only five seconds off the clock.

Pulses pounding, the Jazz jog the ball up court and again Stockton looks for Malone on the left block. This time the Jazz use a Jeff Hornacek cross-screen to free up Malone, but Hornacek’s defender, Jordan, never leaves the paint. As Malone catches the ball, Jordan instantly swoops in from the baseline side, swipes down on the ball and knocks it away from the stunned Malone.

Suddenly, instead of controlling the clock, score and ball, the Jazz are on their heels heading back on defense. Jordan dribbles up the left wing with 17 seconds on the clock while his teammates fan out along the 3-point line.

Seconds evaporate as Bryon Russell crouches on Jordan’s left hip.

Then it all happens:

Dennis Rodman cuts through to clear the middle of the floor.

Jordan dips his left shoulder, takes a hard, long dribble, gives Russell a slight shove and pulls back.

Russell slides to the floor, Jordan elevates, the ball swishes through the net.

It’s the most famous shot in NBA history.

As incredible and dynamic as Jordan was in that sequence, part of what made it so intense and iconic was that his brilliance was never interrupted. Reader Alex Bogach reminded us of this, writing “part of what makes MJ's shot so special, in my opinion, is that when Jordan steals the ball there is no timeout called. Perhaps a ‘no timeout while the ball is live’ rule could make the game more entertaining.”

Not calling timeout is different from not having a plan. On the final shot, it’s Rodman’s cut across the middle that removes the defender Russell might have expected to offer help. Because the Bulls were prepared for this scenario, the Jazz do not have time to decide how to defend Jordan on the last play. Russell is left on an island, and we are left with one of the defining moments in sports history.

With their 15th consecutive loss on Monday night, the Charlotte Bobcats continue to march towards one of the worst seasons in NBA history. Through 28 games, the team sits at 3-25, on pace for the worst single-season win percentage in NBA history.

Charlotte has been held below 100 points in all 15 losses, tied for the fourth-longest such streak in NBA history. The Bobcats current win percentage is .107, lower than the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers (.110), who set the all-time record for losses (9-73).

The Bobcats aren’t a good offensive team struggling to defend or a good defensive team struggling to score. Instead, they are a team that both struggles to score and struggles to stop the other team from scoring.

Since the start of the 2001-02 season, only three teams have ranked in the bottom two in the league in both offensive and defensive efficiency. If the Bobcats maintain their current pace, they will be the fourth team on this list.

Through 28 games, they are being outscored by 14.4 points per game. That is on pace for the second-worst mark since the NBA-ABA merger.

Michael Jordan was named minority owner of the Bobcats on June 15, 2006. As part of that agreement, he was given full control of the basketball operations side of the team. His primary draft selections since taking control of the basketball department have been decidedly unsuccessful.

Of eight first-round picks since 2006, only two have become above-average NBA players by Player Efficiencty Rating, and both (Tobias Harris and Brandan Wright) were traded before playing a game for Charlotte. Just three of the picks – Kemba Walker, Gerald Henderson and D.J. Augustin – are still on the roster.

Augustin leads the team in PER at 16.5. That is the worst mark for a team-leading PER in the NBA. The closest competition is Roy Hibbert, who leads the Indiana Pacers with an 18.6 PER. Only three players on the Bobcats roster exceed the league-average PER of 15.

Michael Jordan was the best player on the best team in NBA history - the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls team that won 72 games. Jordan is now involved with a team that may end up as the worst team in NBA history.

The Bobcats are 3-25 through 28 games, on pace for the lowest single-season win percentage in NBA history. Their 3-25 record is the exact inverse of the 25-3 record the Bulls had through 28 games during the 1995-96 season.

A perfect game is a rarity in baseball, but the kind that took place in the NBA on Thursday night is even more unusual.

The Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks combined to shoot 41-for-41 from the free throw line in Milwaukee’s 102-93 victory on Thursday night. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the best display of free-throw shooting in NBA history.

The previous mark was held by the Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors, who were a combined 16-for-16 from the line on Dec. 22, 2000. That’s the only other game in the shot clock era in which both teams went the entire night without missing a free throw.

Two other performances come close. On April 4, 1997, the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns were a combined 36-for-37. Nearly six years later, on April 5, 2003, the Suns and Minnesota Timberwolves were a combined 43-for-44.

In both instances, it was a Suns miss that prevented perfection.

Coincidentally, the Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers had 41 free-throw attempts on Thursday as well. But they failed at achieving perfection by a wide margin, combining to miss 14 attempts.

Between them, the Pistons and Bucks were shooting 76 percent from the free-throw line this season, so a game with 41 free-throw attempts figured to have around 31 makes and 10 misses. But on this night, they would be much better.
The Bucks' two best free throw shooters, Stephen Jackson and Jon Leuer, who entered 41-for-48 from the foul line, combined to go 8-for-8. The Pistons got an 8-for-8 from Greg Monroe, who entered the day shooting 77 percent. They also got a 7-for-7 from Rodney Stuckey, who is now 30-for-34 on free-throw attempts this season.

Monroe had a fantastic all-around game. He finished with 32 points and 16 rebounds, the third Pistons player to hit both of those plateaus in a game in the past 25 seasons , joining Grant Hill and Dennis Rodman, who each did so twice (alas, neither was perfect from the foul line in those games).

For the Bucks, it was their best free-throw shooting game since going 28-for-28 in a 103-94 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 12, 2000.

The 24-for-24 for the Pistons was the best by any team in the NBA this season, the best by any team since the Minnesota Timberwolves were 25-for-25 in a 104-92 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Feb. 7, 2011.

According to Elias, the last time the Pistons made that many free throws without a miss in a game was March 12, 1985, when they went 24-for-24 in a 111-110 loss to the Chicago Bulls.

That night, they lost to a rookie named Michael Jordan, who made four late free throws of his own to seal a 32-point effort and a win for his team.

The last team to lose a game in which it shot 24-for-24 or better from the free-throw line was the Dallas Mavericks, who went 29-for-29 in a 110-98 loss to the Washington Wizards on Nov. 26, 2007.

The Pistons were well short of the NBA record for the most makes by a team in a game without a miss. That mark of 39 was set by the Utah Jazz against the Portland Trail Blazers, Dec. 7, 1982.

Howard not so perfect, but sets record in win
Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard wasn't anything close to perfect on Thursday, but he set an NBA mark nonetheless.

Howard broke the record for free-throw attempts in a game with 39 in Orlando's 117-109 win over the Golden State Warriors. Howard broke the mark of 34 that stood for nearly 50 years, set by Wilt Chamberlain against the Hawks on Feb. 22, 1962.

Howard's 18 misses are the most by any player, not named Chamberlain, in NBA history.

Perhaps we can expect a big scoring day from Howard in the future. Less than two weeks after Chamberlain set that free throw attempts record, he set another record, one that hasn't been touched. On March 2, 1962, he scored 100 points in a win over the New York Knicks.

For now, Howard will have to settle for what he did on Thursday: becoming the only active player with a 40-point/20-rebound game.

• Ben Swanson of Rufus on Fire writes that, given all we know about Michael Jordan's competitiveness, it's not surprising he'd be leading a charge of hard-line owners to secure as much revenue as possible.
• Kate Fagan covers the Sixers for the Philadelphia Inquirer. She also played basketball at the University of Colorado while the school was confronting a recruiting scandal and understands the complicated culture of big-time college sports: "Big-time athletic programs are not entirely unlike nation-states. Everyone wears the colors, says the pledge, and sings the school anthem. Everyone worships the logo, recites the fight song, and reports up the chain of command. Everyone's committed to defeating a common enemy: Ohio State or Nebraska or Michigan. This is what makes college athletics galvanizing and wonderful. And also, for anyone who has been inside it, it's what can make college athletics frightening. When you're inside, you're often a rah-rah believer. Blind acceptance exists that coaches and administrators, those who have established the institution's culture, possess absolute authority."
• On Friday night, the University of North Carolina will play Michigan State on the USS Carl Vinson, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that hauled the body of Osama bin Laden to his burial at sea. Tarheel alma mater Danny Nowell is excited for the game. At HoopSpeak U, Nowell explores many of the same contradictions and mixed feelings Fagan has about the fervor of college sports in places like Chapel Hill and State College.
• A French parody of MTV Cribs featuring a muppet Tony Parker, which concludes with some curious plant life.
• I've received a number of emails from Canadians who maintain the NBA lockout is illegal under Ontario law, even though the NBA has a labor exemption under antitrust law in the United States (which allows it to impose things like a salary cap which would be illegal in other commercial sectors). Law professor David Doorey of York University looks at Ontario's Labor Relations Act and asks some interesting questions.
• Noam Schiller of Hardwood Paroxysm has a memo for new Warriors head coach Mark Jackson: "According to BasketballValue.com, Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis, Dorell Wright, David Lee, and Andris Biedrins played almost 687 minutes together last season. in that time, they were outscored 1553 to 1484, for a net efficiency rating of -4.60."
• ClipperBlog's Jovan Buha writes that Los Angeles native Tayshaun Prince could be an interesting fit for a Clippers team that's been looking for a solution at the small forward spot since the Taft Administration.
• Tom Haberstroh has a conversation about the lockout with the hilarious, insightful, sometimes goofy and always thought-provoking behavioral economist Dan Ariely.
• Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire occupy Sesame Street.
• Several weeks ago, Knickerblogger's Robert Silverman observed Chris Bosh's charity fashion event at Saks Fifth Avenue: "All I could think about while staring at the huddled masses was the original (and awesome) 1978 Dawn of the Dead -- where zombies have overtaken a mall and are riding the escalators, numbly staring at stuff they couldn’t afford in some half-remembered haze, doomed for all eternity to repeat the pointless, boring, soul-deadening rituals of their former so-called life." Silverman goes on to explain, in further detail, how sports are like zombie movies.
• Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro speaks about the influence the late Jim Valvano, who was fond of reciting poems to his players at N.C. State.
• Seattleites take note: Metta World Peace feels for you. Among the other things he misses: "I miss the refs running down the court like they have hot tomales in their pants. I miss Charles Barkley commentating."
• On his Twitter feed, Larry Sanders offers relationship/break-up advice: "When a good thing goes bad it's not the end of the world, it's the end of a world that you had with one girl."

• Wizards shooting guard Jordan Crawford tells the Washington Post's Michael Lee, "I don’t tell nobody, but I feel like I can be better than Michael Jordan."
• Nicolas Batum -- absolutely killing it in EuroLeague play. Nick Gibson of Sheridan Hoops: "Batum threw up a ridiculous line of 26 points, seven rebounds and eight assists with a pair of steals and a ranking of 36 (think of ranking as a poor man’s PER, without the per-minute and pace adjustments). Those stellar numbers were enough to earn him the Euroleague’s Week 2 MVP award."
• SportsFeat unearths a 1977 article written by Woody Allen about Earl Monroe for Sport magazine: "What makes Monroe different is the indescribable heat of genius that burns deep inside him. Some kind of diabolical intensity comes across his face when he has the ball. One is suddenly transported to a more primitive place. It’s roots time. The eyes are big and white, the teeth flash, the nostrils flare. He dribbles the ball too high, but with a controlled violence. The audience gets high with anticipation of some new type of thrill about to occur." (Hat tip: David Roth)
• Grantland's Men in Blazers will match your devotion to an NBA team to a soccer club you can root for while the lockout continues.
• Ira Winderman asks whether zone defenses in the NBA stifle individual brilliance. Perhaps, but the isolation and clearout-heavy NBA of the 1990s was painfully boring at times. Strategic intrigue brings a lot to basketball, a game that thrives on individual talent but also the choreography of fine-tuned team play.
• LeBron James, Clyde Frazier, Sarah Palin, Rob Mahoney, John Wooden and Basketball Prospectus all in one place -- on The Painted Area's 2011-12 Basketball Books Overview.
• A brief history of the 3-pointer at the Los Angeles Clippers' site, which means prominent placement for one Eric Piatkowski.
• Some old-time Washington, D.C. hoops legends rally around an old friend, now in prison, who was once of the District's can't-miss prospects.
• Andrew Sharp of SB Nation thinks there's something disingenuous about Michael Beasley's claims that he was exploited and betrayed by his former agent and AAU coach: "He felt betrayed when he found out that his agent had been taking care of his mother? He didn't think it was suspicious when his mother moved to Kansas State with him and had a new car and house when she got there? And this 'betrayal' just happens to crystallize after Bell had negotiated the parameters of a shoe deal for him, but before he signed it and would've paid Bell a hefty commission?"
• The gray wool suit -- an essential for the civilized man, but might be a bit toasty for Dwyane Wade in Miami. In the accompanying interview with GQ, we get a glimpse of how Wade stocks his wardrobe with the help of his iPad: "So how does Wade put his looks together? With the help of his stylist, Calyann Barnett. Barnett's star client loves getting dressed but hates shopping—he can't exactly roll up to the Miami Bloomingdale's—so she sends photos to his iPad and fills up his new 800-square-foot closet."

Back when the NBA video game world was expanding into giving you an actual NBA experience, the limitations of games reached beyond whatever the technology allowed.

While NBA Live 95 was revolutionizing the overall expansion of NBA video games with a 30-degree angle, instant replay and the ability to trade players, it was being hampered with the exclusion of the league’s biggest star. Michael Jordan, among others, would not allow his likeness to be sold with these games. EA Sports cleverly went around these legal issues by inserting “Player 23” onto the Bulls, and wouldn’t you know it that he seemed to have the exact same look and abilities of a certain global icon.

It was something that you could work with and pretend he was actually in the game. But for many young teenagers such as myself, it was ultimately a disappointment when you fired up the Sega Genesis, went to the rosters after first inserting each yearly installment and seeing Player 23 defending you from fully embracing the pixilated NBA experience.

Last year, NBA 2K11 revolutionized the basketball gaming world for seemingly the 11th straight year. They worked out a deal with Jordan and put him on the cover of the game. Not only was he on the cover, he was in the game as his old self. You could play through 10 different moments of his career and each version of MJ was a bit different from the other, in order to simulate the feeling of playing with him in 1986 as opposed to using the 1998 version.

2K Sports gave us what all of the people playing basketball games in the 90s never got to do. We were able to be Jordan.

This year, they’ve announced that Larry Bird and Magic Johnson will be on the covers as well. And even though they’re still being coy with the new features of this year’s installment of the best basketball gaming franchise of all time, a lot of people are hoping they give you the same experience with Magic and Bird that they did in last year’s game and Jordan.

If we’re given the option to play through 10 moments of Magic and Bird’s careers, here are the moments I’m hoping we get to run through.

For Magic’s accomplishments:

- Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals. Running out Magic as center and having him play all over the court throughout his first title-clinching game of his career.

- Game 6 of the 1982 NBA Finals. Record a triple double while playing against the Philadelphia 76ers to win the championship.

- Game 3 of the 1984 NBA Finals. Record at least 21 assists against the Celtics and win the game.

- Game 6 of the 1985 NBA Finals. Close out the Boston Celtics on their home floor to win the NBA title.

- Game 4 of the 1987 NBA Finals. This is the game with the famous hook shot by Magic to win the game and control the series against the Celtics.

- Game 6 of the 1987 NBA Finals. Close out the Boston Celtics for the second time by getting at least 16 points and 19 assists.

- Game 7 of the 1988 Western Conference Finals. Record at least 24 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists while securing the win against the Mavericks.

- Game 7 of the 1988 NBA Finals. Close out the Pistons for the repeat by getting at least 19 points and 14 assists.

- 1992 All-Star Game. Get to play in his sendoff game after being allowed to play following his sudden retirement.

For Bird’s accomplishments:

- Game 7 of the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals. After being down 3-1 in the series, the Celtics won two straight games to force Game 7. Close out the Sixers in Game 7 to move onto the Finals.

- Game 6 of the 1981 NBA Finals. Score 26 points and grab 13 rebounds with Bird to close out the Rockets and win his first NBA title.

- Game 7 against the Knicks in the 1984 playoffs. Record 43 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists while closing out Bernard King and the Knicks.

- Game 5 of the 1984 NBA Finals. Score 34 points and grab 17 rebounds to beat the Los Angeles Lakers and take a 3-2 lead in the Finals.

- 1985 regular season game against the Hawks. Score 60 points while watching for the Hawks’ bench players to celebrate in astonishment.

- 1986 regular season game against the Blazers. Score 47 points, record 14 rebounds and dish out 11 assists while they have Bird shooting primarily with his left hand.

- Game 6 of the 1986 NBA Finals. Put up 29 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists to knock off the Houston Rockets.

- Game 7 against the Hawks in the 1988 playoffs. Score at least 34 points to beat the hot shooting Dominique Wilkins.

- Game 5 against the Pacers in the 1991 playoffs. With a hobbled Bird, score 32 points to outduel Chuck Person and the Pacers.

If you’ll notice, I left a spot open for each player by only providing nine games. Hopefully there is a way to include the gold medal game of the Dream Team’s march through the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. They will probably have the rights to most of, if not, all of the players from that team.

That would be a fun way of expanding on the new legacy 2K Sports gave us last year by turning Player 23 into what every basketball game aficionado had been craving for the better part of two decades.

What do you think of when you see the names Li’l Wayne, Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga, Jimmy Fallon and Michael Jordan?

If you thought the link between them was performing or celebrity or being on the cover of various magazines, you were incorrect.

If you thought the link between them was being so good at bowling that they would be considered for induction into the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame then you nailed the pin right on the head… or the side… whatever is the better strategy for picking up a 7-10 split.

The International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame has nominated these celebrities, including Bill Murray, two of the Jonas brothers, Miley Cyrus and Jeff Bridges, to be voted into the IBMAHOF. Justin Bieber is also nominated for the voting contest and will be looking to take home the induction after losing out to Taylor Swift last year.

The website where you can go vote describes Jordan as:

In 2010, Michael Jordan was inducted into pro basketball’s Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame as the greatest basketball player of all time. Known for his unmatched competitiveness, leaping ability and athletic skill, His Airness is also an excellent bowler, according to Chicago Lucky Strike Lanes general manager Michael Porn, who dubbed Michael the “the best (celebrity) bowler” he had ever seen.

Unless you count the 2011 All-Star Celebrity Game in which Bieber won the MVP, Jordan is the only sports icon as a voting option. It would be a second consecutive year in which he was inducted into a Hall of Fame. However, it’s going to be hard to beat out Bieber for this voting honor. As popular as Jordan is throughout the world, the pop star teenager seems to run the Internet when it comes to interest. His fans flock to online polls in waves that make the people waiting outside of shoe stores for the new Jordan shoes look like a small ripple in a puddle.

In terms of making the sport of bowling more popular, it’s going to be really hard to beat out Murray and Bridges for their acting efforts. Murray starred in “Kingpin” while Bridges is known for his role as “The Dude” in the movie “The Big Lebowski.” They’ve clearly made the sport of bowling a lot more well known than Jordan who is known a lot better for basketball, baseball and golf rather than bowling.

Here is the voting information for the event:

Beginning on July 12, fans and enthusiasts can cast their vote online at www.gobowling.com. The voting process will occur throughout the month of July and will culminate during National Bowling Week (July 31 to August 6). The final votes will be tallied on National Bowling Day, August 6 - a day where more than 4,000 centers across the United States will join forces to try to set a new world record for the most bowling games played in a 24-hour period.

To help create a call to action to drive fans to cast votes for their favorite stars, more than 4,000 bowling centers across the United States are working together to provide a free game of bowling to everyone who casts a vote in this year’s Celebrity Hall of Fame competition. By voting for their favorite celebrity at www.gobowling.com, consumers can download a coupon for a free game of bowling on National Bowling Day, August 6.

I’m not sure how the voting is going to shake out, but I’m going to guess Bieber takes the honor this year. If this happens, we can be rest assured that Jordan will come back with a vengeance we have never seen from a basketball player of his bowling caliber. After all, he is the greatest competitor the basketball bowling community has ever seen.

Vote early and vote often.

• Minnesota president of basketball operations David Kahn emphatically vowed that his next head coach will embody "uptempo DNA." Beckley Mason of HoopSpeak notes that last season's Timberwolves squad played at one of the fastest clips in recent NBA history. The problem isn't pace, it's a lack of precision required to translate that speed into success: "Michael Beasley’s speeding arrest ... is a tidy metaphor for the way the Timberwolves played last year: A young person with a history of making bad decisions goes too fast and gets punished in embarrassing, if not monetarily consequential, fashion." In related news, Marc Stein reports that Don Nelson -- he of the uptempo DNA -- has interest in the Wolves.
• J.M. Poulard of WarriorsWorld on what could've been had Chris Webber remained in Oakland for the duration.
• For ACC basketball fans, N.C. State's Julius Hodge was a dazzling sideshow. The Pack never resided at the top of the conference, but Hodge's intensity was infectious. His epic battles with Chris Paul were electrifying and his game-winner against UConn in the 2005 NCAA tourney was a sequence for the ages (call by Gus Johnson). Hodge has never had more than a cup of coffee in the NBA and has spent the past few seasons playing pro ball in Australia. But this week, he's going mano-a-mano with John Wall in the North Carolina Pro-Am Summer League -- and holding his own.
• For those who scratched their head when the Lakers drafted Sudanese prospect Ater Majok in last month's draft, here's some video via Inside Hoops of Majok playing streetball in New York's famed Rucker Park.
• Talk to enough NBA execs and you'll hear Kelvin Sampson mentioned as a natural candidate for a head coaching gig. In the meantime, he'll join Kevin McHale's staff in Houston, along with J.B. Bickerstaff.
• How a one-word answer from an NBA executive induced a threat of a seven-figure fine.
• NBA teams in search of a free agent point guard are going to find that the shelf is pretty bare.
• Sactown Royalty does a nice survey of small forwards on the market. It's a measurably better field than the point guards, but a menu that's still lacking elite impact players.
• Part Three of the Byran Colangelo report card from Raptors Republic.
• After the Pistons declined to extend a qualifying offer to DaJuan Summers, the young forward signed with Siena in Italy. One of his first stops in his new home? The World War II Memorial.
• The American Century Celebrity Gold Tournament tweets that Michael Jordan will not be allowed to play alongside any active NBA players. (Hat tip: Greg Wiley)
• If you see Sean May driving without a grande coffee in the cup holder, it might be best to pull over.
• Al-Farouq Aminu via Twitter: "I don't need a shirt that says making it rain .... I need one that says I pay bills lol"

It's hard to say that a player who entered the 2011 playoffs as one of only four players in NBA history to average over 25 points and 10 rebounds per game for a postseason career had a lot left to prove.

In the case of Dirk Nowitzki that is exactly how it felt this postseason. Particularly after Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle proclaimed him one of the 10 best players all-time despite lacking the one thing that ultimately seems to define every great player’s career: a ring.

Nowitzki is now closer than he ever has been to relieving this burden and cementing his legacy. In the process he also has the chance to remove himself from some unwanted lists among great players.

Nowitzki, with 10 all-star selections, is tied for the sixth-most by a player without an NBA title in league history. The only players with more are Karl Malone (14), Charles Barkley (11), Elgin Baylor (11), Patrick Ewing (11) and Allen Iverson (11).

Malone, Baylor and, LeBron James are the only other players in NBA history besides Nowtizki with career averages of more than 23.0 points and 7.0 rebounds without an NBA championship to their credit.

His 22,792 points are 23rd-most all-time in NBA history, but 10th-most among players to never win a ring.

This postseason though, Nowitzki hasn't just pushed himself to the brink of a championship but has also established himself as one of the premier clutch postseason scorers.

Nowitzki has been at his best in crunch time, defined as those moments under five minutes left in game with the score within five points or fewer. He’s scored 26 points in those situations in the Finals while going 8-for-13 from the field. The entire 'Big Three' of the Miami Heat have combined to score just 21 points in crunch time.

Over the last 15 postseasons only O'Neal and Michael Jordan (1997 and 1998) have averaged over 10 points per game in the fourth quarter of an NBA Finals series. Each of those players led their teams to NBA Championships while also winning the Finals MVP award, something Nowitzki is well on his way to doing.

If the Mavericks win the title and Nowitzki takes home Finals MVP honors, the legacy that his coach was hyping up will be solidified. He would become the 11th player in NBA history to have at least 10 NBA All-Star appearances, a regular season MVP award and a Finals MVP.

The Chicago Bulls dominated from start to finish, defeating the Atlanta Hawks in Game 6 to close out the series and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1998 (Michael Jordan's last season with the team).

For the first time in the series Derrick Rose did not lead the Bulls in scoring. Carlos Boozer bounced back from a tough Game 5 performance (11 points) with a team-high 23 points to go along with 10 rebounds.

In his first 10 postseason games with the Bulls, Boozer was averaging just 10.7 points per game while shooting just over 41 percent from the field. On Thursday, he shot 62.5 percent from the field on his 16 attempts.

According to video tracking, Boozer did much of his damage in Game 6 with the jump shot. Boozer made 7-of-10 jumpers in Game 6, including each of his first six attempts.

The seven made jump shots almost doubled the total that he had made in the first five games of the series (4-8 FG in Games 1-5).

Boozer also chipped in with five assists, his most in a game this postseason. The entire Bulls team shared the ball well in Game 6 -- 34 of their 41 field goals (82.9 percent) came off of assists.

The 82.9 percent mark is the highest by any team to clinch a playoff series on the road in the last 15 seasons. It was the highest by any team in a clinching game since the 2003 Spurs assisted on 24 of 29 made field goals at home in Game 6 of their first round series against the Phoenix Suns.

As for the Hawks, they continued to struggle shooting outside the paint, which doomed them in their losses during the series. Atlanta scored 52 of its 73 points either in the paint (34 points) or on the free throw line (18).

Atlanta was just 10-for-41 on shots outside the paint, including just 1-for-11 from three. For the series, the Hawks were 11-for-51 from 3-point range in the four losses, while making 11 of their 24 attempts in their two victories.

Atlanta is now 0-15 all-time in the Conference Semifinal round since the current conference format was established to begin the 1970-71 season. In fact, since moving to Atlanta from St. Louis, the Hawks have yet to win more than one postseason series in any single playoff year.

In the long and distinguished playoff history for the Boston Celtics the home crowd has seen many great performances from opposing players.

However, the Celtics almost always still find a way to come out on top, like Tuesday as they defeated the New York Knicks despite a playoff career-high 42 points, 17 rebounds, and six assists from Carmelo Anthony.

According to Elias, Anthony is just the second player in NBA history to have 40 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in a playoff game at Boston.

The only other player to do so was Cliff Hagan in the 1961 NBA Finals for the St. Louis Hawks. Just like tonight, the Celtics won that game.

Elias tells us Tuesday marked the 22nd career 40-point game by a visiting player in the playoffs at Boston. The Celtics are 15-7 in such games, including winning each of the last 10 times it has happened.

It’s only fitting this game from Anthony came on the eve of the 25-year anniversary of Michael Jordan’s NBA playoff record 63-point performance.

That came at the Boston Garden in Game 2 of the 1986 First Round playoff series between the Bulls and the Celtics. As odd as it may seem, the Celtics were victorious on that night as well.

While Anthony will garner most of the headlines, the Celtics were in the game thanks to 30 points from Rajon Rondo, which set a new playoff career high.

He controlled the tempo early scoring 12 of his 14 first-quarter points on transition buckets. This was after he had just four transition points in Game 1 and the Celtics as a team had 15.

Game footage showed Rondo got inside the paint at will, scoring 22 of his 30 points on field goals within five feet of the basket.

He made 68.8 percent of his 16 attempts from this range, while shooting just 28.6 percent from outside five feet.

While Rondo dominated, the story – as has been time and again this season between the Knicks and Celtics - was execution down the stretch.

The Knicks should be commended for having hung around, but missing Chauncey Billups for the entire game and Amare Stoudemire for the second half caught up with them in the final minutes.

On Tuesday Boston finished the game on an 8-to-2 run as New York made just one of its final five field goal attempts while turning the ball over twice. Anthony took zero of those shots thanks to constant Boston double teams.

On the other end, no matter who the Celtics have gone to down the stretch, they have seemed to have the answer against the Knicks this season.

In Tuesday’s game it was Kevin Garnett who made the go-ahead field goal with 19.3 seconds remaining.

This is the third game this season (including regular season) between the Knicks and Celtics that has been decided by one possession. In each, the Celtics have had a different player make the go-ahead basket.

Derrick Rose scored 36 points last night in the Chicago Bulls' 96-90 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series. Rose, who scored 39 points in Game 1, is the first Bull with back-to-back 35-point playoff games since Michael Jordan in 1998. Rose had been 0-2 in his previous two career Game 2s, averaging just 16.5 ppg.

The Bulls have won 11 straight overall, spanning the regular season and postseason. The Bulls outrebounded the Pacers by 24 in Game 2. In only one regular season game this season did the Bulls outrebound a team by more -- they were +25 in a win against the Dallas Mavericks. The Bulls went 26-2 this regular season when they outrebounded their opponent by at least 10. They've done it in both games against the Pacers. The Pacers have never come back to win a seven-game series from a 2-0 deficit. They're 0-4 in such series.

FROM ELIAS: It was Rose’s fifth career 30-point game in the playoffs (in his 14th postseason game), tying him with Scottie Pippen for third place on the Bulls’ all-time list of 30-point playoff games. Bob Love ranks second with 13 such games for Chicago from 1971 to 1975. Rose is a long way from reaching Michael Jordan’s franchise record and NBA playoff record of 109 30-point games.