NBA - Sports Rumors

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Paul Pierce really wanted to remain mum on the subject. But the Celtics captain knew everyone would be interested in what LeBron James's mother had to say to him when she rose from her courtside seat along the baseline of Quicken Loans Arena in defense of her son after Pierce fouled James hard in the second quarter of Game 4 Monday night.

"He knew it was a good foul, a hard foul, and I didn't want to give a layup," Pierce said. "I wasn't trying to hurt anybody."

With 4:13 remaining in the first half, Pierce denied James an easy transition basket by throwing a bear hug on him. Both players stumbled out of bounds, near were Gloria James was seated. Gloria sprang into action and gave Pierce an earful, wagging her finger at him.

Source: Boston Globe

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Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett can be very introspective in postgame media sessions and often comes up with some of the most interesting analogies. But following each of the past two road losses in Cleveland, there has been one question that even the deep-thinking Garnett can't seem to answer. Why have the Celtics struggled on the road in the playoffs?

"If I knew that, man, I don't think we'd be having these conversations or these problems on the road," Garnett said.

The Celtics won an NBA-best 31 road games in the regular season. But thus far in the playoffs, the Celtics are 0-5 on the road, with three losses in the first round in Atlanta and two in the second round in Cleveland. They haven't won a road game since April 14 at New York. On the flip side, the Celtics are 6-0 at TD Banknorth Garden in the postseason. When it came to answering the tough road question, Garnett wasn't the only Celtic who struggled with it.

"I wish I could really answer that," said James Posey. "I can't. I don't know."

Said Ray Allen, "It's hard to say. I have no answer for it. I have no answer."

Source: Boston Globe

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Detroit Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups felt encouraged when he took part in Tuesday morning's shoot-around, but ultimately he decided he wasn't ready to play on his strained right hamstring. He sat out Game 5, giving rookie guard Rodney Stuckey his second postseason start.

"My improvement today from yesterday was amazing," Billups said. "It was amazing, but I still haven't been able to sprint full-court, and that's a concern -- especially out here trying to do what we do. That's a concern. ... I was very encouraged today with what I was able to do. I'm getting better, I'm just not quite ready yet."

Team strength and conditioning coach Arnie Kander has told Billups he can't further injure the hamstring, but Billups is hesitant to put that to the test in a game — not when he hasn't been able to sprint full-court or play one-on-one in a practice gym. Running corner-to-corner is "the most running I've done," Billups said.

Source: Detroit Free Press

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Money time came. The Magic left. Please don't stop if you've read this before. Tuesday night turned into the final variation of a playoff theme for Orlando. When they needed a big play to stay in the game, they got it. But when they really, really, really needed a hero, they ended up with a Hedo. When the going got tough, the Turk got going wrote Orlando Sentinel columnist David Whitley.

That's not to say the loss belonged to Hedo Turkoglu. On the contrary, if not for him the Magic might never have scored in the fourth quarter. He just happened to be the guy taking the game's most pivotal shot. Again, don't stop if you've read this before.

In Game 2 Turkoglu jacked up a three-point Scud missile. In Game 4 he drove the lane, didn't get a foul call and lofted a short airball. On Tuesday night, he drove in for a dunk and was rejected by Tayshaun Prince. They say Barack Obama can't close the deal? He's Franklin Roosevelt compared to the Magic. They had prime chances to win in the final minutes of three series games. You can give them credit for keeping it close against the favored Pistons. Or you can see how the games stayed close and wonder if the basket suddenly got smaller than Keyon Dooling's wristbands.

Source: Orlando Sentinel

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Kobe Bryant didn't practice, didn't even shoot the ball Tuesday, but reiterated he would be part of the Los Angeles Lakers' most important game so far this season the Los Angeles Times reported.

He seemed loose and relaxed as he talked to reporters, a contrast to the lower back spasms that had gripped him since Sunday, biting into his sleep patterns and making him grit his teeth on the long freeway ride from his Newport Beach home to the Lakers' training facility in El Segundo.
said he was still in "quite a bit" of pain but felt better than Monday and, obviously, Sunday, when he was floored twice in the Lakers' Game 4 loss to the Utah Jazz because of the spasms.

Less than a week after he hoisted the MVP trophy in front of an amped home crowd, Bryant wasn't sure he could do it again -- "I would just leave it on the table and look at it," he said -- but he remained committed to playing Game 5 tonight at Staples Center.

Source: Los Angeles Times

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One of the first plays Mike D'Antoni is expected to draw up as the Knicks' new coach is for Stephon Marbury to run up the Garden floor ... and out the door back to Phoenix to rejoin the Suns according to the New York Daily News.

Once D'Antoni is formally named to succeed Isiah Thomas, he is expected to try to make a push for two of his favorite Suns — forward Boris Diaw and guard Leandro Barbosa, who reportedly have fallen out of favor with Suns management. According to a person close to D'Antoni, one of his first moves would be to get the Knicks to offer Marbury and his expiring $22 million contract as a central part of the deal.

Because of the Suns players mentioned in this scenario, no one will be surprised if D'Antoni starts lobbying Donnie Walsh today to call Phoenix president Steve Kerr to begin trade talks.

Source: New York Daily News

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The Boston Celtics' defense really wasn't their biggest problem. They held the Cavs to 88 points and 45.5 percent shooting (35 of 77). Their offense is much more problematic — especially in the fourth quarter. Monday night, the Celtics made just 5 of 16 shots (31.3 percent) and scored 12 points. Neither Garnett nor Ray Allen scored in the fourth. Super-sub Sam Cassell went scoreless for the game.

"The fourth quarter killed us," Rivers said. "I thought we pulled the trigger a little early in the fourth quarter. They had a three-point lead, and I thought we started looking for jumpers and threes in that one stretch where we didn't really need to.

"We've just got to keep working our offense and moving the ball. I thought the ball [got] stuck in the fourth quarter more than it did for the first three quarters. I think that's important for our offense. When the ball sticks, we're not as good. When the ball moves, we get what we want."

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer

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Once again, Chauncey Billups woke up Monday feeling better. The pain in his strained right hamstring, for the fifth straight day, seemed to have lessened. Yet, the odds of him playing in Game 5 Tuesday night remain the same: 50-50.

Chauncey said, 'We'll see in the morning. I am feeling good, everything is great. But we'll see where we are at. There will be no rushing in the process.' "

One thing was made clear Monday: the status of the series plays no role in determining Billups' return. Rodney Stuckey would again start if Billups can't go. Lindsey Hunter , who played 26 solid minutes in Game 4, will be the first guard off the bench. Antonio McDyess, Saunders said, would also most likely continue to start.

Source: Detroit News

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LeBron James had the big game and hit the biggest shots. The contributions of the Cleveland Cavaliers' bench were bigger. While James had his best game of the postseason with a game-high 21 points, 13 assists, 6 rebounds, a crucial late 3-pointer, and an exclamation-point dunk that gave Cleveland a 9-point lead with 1:45 remaining, it was the supporting cast that should have taken a curtain call in front of the sellout crowd of 20,562.

The Cavaliers' subs, notably Daniel Gibson, Anderson Varejao, and Joe Smith, outscored their Celtics counterparts, 36-17, outrebounded them, 19-11, and outplayed them at the game's key points.

Gibson, who entered when starter Delonte West went to the dressing room with an irritation to his left eye with 5:19 remaining in the first quarter, finished with 14 points and six rebounds. Gibson hit 5 of 9 shots - including 2 of 4 3-pointers — in 28 minutes. Varejao played 26 minutes, scoring a personal playoff-high 12 points and grabbing six boards, and Smith had 8 points and six rebounds in 25 minutes.

Source: Boston Globe

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