Category: In the News

Rondo’s triple-double leads Celtics to brink of New York sweep

Boston’s array of stars came up with huge performances Friday night to push the Celtics to the brink of a series sweep.

Rajon Rondo contributed a triple-double to support huge scoring efforts from Paul Pierce and Ray Allen in the Celtics’ 113-96 victory over the injury-depleted Knicks, pushing them to a 3-0 series lead in the first-round playoff series.

Rondo notched 15 points, 11 rebounds and a franchise playoff-record 20 assists. Pierce had 38 points and Allen added 32 as they became the first pair of Celtics to score 30 points in the same playoff game since Antoine Walker and Pierce accomplished the feat against New Jersey on May 27, 2002.

“After a while, I started feeding off of Ray. I mean he was making every shot and was putting pressure on me to make shots. I couldn’t let him down,” Pierce told the Associated Press. “I was looking at him saying how much on fire he was, but then everybody was saying I’m on fire. It was good to be a part of that.”

Rondo’s big game was his sixth career playoff triple-double, trailing only Larry Bird’s 10 triple-doubles in team history. His strong effort provided his team a unique boost, according to Boston coach Doc Rivers.

“When he gets in a rhythm it allows all of us to get into a rhythm, even the coaches, because we see the game through him,” Rivers told NBA.com.

And also enabled him to lead a parade of Celtic standouts on Friday’s Studs and Duds.
 

STUDS

Boston G Rajon Rondo: Contributed his sixth career playoff triple-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a franchise playoff-record 20 assists and was plus-23 in the Celtics’ 113-96 Game 3 victory over New York.

Boston F Paul Pierce: Contributed 38 points on 14-for-19 shooting, provided three rebounds and three steals and was plus-23 in the Celtics’ impressive victory at Knicks. 

Boston G Ray Allen: Tallied 32 points, three rebounds and two steals and was a team-best plus-34 in the Celtics’ victory at New York.

Los Angeles Lakers G Kobe Bryant: Notched 30 points — his 80th career playoff game of at least 30 points — and also added six rebounds, three steals, a blocked shot and was plus-15 in the Lakers’ 100-86 Game 3 victory over New Orleans.

Atlanta G Jamal Crawford: Hit 18 of his 23 points in the second half, including an improbable bank shot with 5.7 seconds left, to clinch the Hawks’ 88-84 Game 3 victory over Orlando.

Atlanta G Joe Johnson: Went for 21 points, five rebounds, five assists and was plus-6 in the Hawks’ victory over the Magic.

Los Angeles Lakers F Pau Gasol: Turned around a recent slump with 17 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, a blocked shot and was plus-17 in the Lakers’ victory at New Orleans.

Atlanta F Josh Smith: Produced 15 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and was plus-5 in the Hawks’ triumph over the Magic.     

New Orleans F Carl Landry: Scored 23 points in the Hornets’ loss to the Lakers.

New Orleans G Chris Paul: Notched 22 points, five rebounds, eight assists and two steals in the Hornets’ loss to the Lakers.

Orlando C Dwight Howard: Scored 21 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, blocked three shots and was plus-3 in the Magic’s loss to Orlando.

New York F Shawne Williams: Came off the bench to notch 17 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocked shots and was plus-13 in the Knicks’ loss to Boston.

DUDS

New York F Amar’e Stoudemire: Struggled playing with an injured back as he went 2-for-8 from the field with only seven points and seven rebounds and was a team-worst minus-34 in the Knicks’ loss to Boston.

New Orleans G Marco Belinelli: Went 2-for-8 from the field, had a turnover and was a team-worst minus-13 in a five-point effort in the Hornets’ loss to the Lakers.

New York F Carmelo Anthony: Clanked  through a 4-for-16 shooting night with five turnovers  and was minus-27 in the Knicks’ loss to Boston. 

Orlando G Jameer Nelson: Had 13 points and 10 assists, but struggled through an icy 5-for-17 shooting effort with two turnovers in the Magic’s loss at Atlanta.

Orlando F Hedo Turkoglu: Struggled through a 3-for-11 effort from the field with nine points in the Magic’s loss  at Atlanta.

Last stand for Spurs’ Duncan?

By Jeff McDonald
jmcdonald@express-news.net

Maybe it’s the creak in his knees, warning him that the end is near. Maybe it’s the cold hand of Father Time on his back, nudging him toward the door.

Maybe Tim Duncan believes what the rest of the NBA seems to, that the Spurs’ title window is closing, if it hasn’t been slammed shut and padlocked already. There is a prevailing notion the playoff run that begins today against Memphis might be the venerable Spurs captain’s last good chance to pursue a fifth championship ring.

And maybe it is.

“Until the next one,” Duncan said. “Every year, we’re given our last chance. We’ll take this one as it is.”

On the precipice of another playoff, with the Spurs owning a No. 1 seed so unexpected their head coach never saw it coming, Duncan doesn’t deny a heightened sense of urgency.

In NBA years, the two-time MVP is straddling a line between older and old. He will turn 35 before the end of the first round, with a contract that might be wiped out by the league’s looming labor impasse.

If retirement isn’t imminent, Duncan can see the Barcalounger from here.

“Every game, every playoff run, everything is special right now,” Duncan said. “I’m not taking anything for granted.”

If these playoffs represent Duncan’s final last chance, it is a good one.

For the first time since 2006, the Spurs enter as the Western Conference’s top seed, ahead of the two-time defending champion L.A. Lakers, by virtue of a 61-21 record that was the second-best of Duncan’s 14 seasons.

It is something few could have imagined a year ago, when the Spurs struggled to a seventh-place finish they did well to parlay into a second-round playoff exit.

“I don’t think there’s anybody, in or out of the league, that thought this team would be the first seed in the West,” coach Gregg Popovich said.

As they head into Game 1 against the eighth-seeded Grizzlies at the ATT Center, the Spurs’ prime motivation is simply to not muck up what they’ve already earned.

Already, they have been reminded how tenuous a successful playoff run can be, with guard Manu Ginobili listed as doubtful for Game 1 with a sprained right elbow.

“Our window is closing,” said Tony Parker, the 10th-year point guard and Duncan’s sidekick for three titles. “I really feel like it’s our last chance to really do something.”

Before the season, with so much in doubt and a seventh-place roster a year older, Popovich for the first time distilled his goals to their most basic.

“We really were just hoping to make the playoffs,” Popovich said.

Now the Spurs can, with a straight face, talk about making a run for their first championship since 2007.

As they have for 12 postseasons, much of the Spurs’ hopes rest with Duncan, the Finals MVP in 1999, 2003 and 2005.

Duncan was at times a forgotten man during the regular season — as forgotten as a future first-ballot Hall of Famer can be — as Popovich capped his minutes to career lows. Duncan’s scoring (13.4 points per game) and rebounding (8.9 per game) dipped in tandem.

The object was to keep mileage off Duncan’s rising odometer, to keep him fresh for the playoffs. Now that they are here, Duncan’s teammates expect the All-Star to again be at the center of their game plan.

“Every time we play in the playoffs, Timmy’s going to be very aggressive,” Parker said. “You can see Pop call more plays for him. We’re definitely going to use him more.”

Duncan arrived here nearly 14 years ago, by lucky bounce of a lottery ball, to a small-market city he had never before considered. With the raising of four championship banners, he transformed one of the NBA’s hardest-luck outposts into an unexpected keeper of the basketball flame.

Beyond these playoffs, there is no telling what Duncan’s basketball future holds. If next season is completely erased by lockout, Duncan will stand to lose $21.2 million due the final year of his contract, more than any player in the league.

He will also stand to lose time, and that’s one commodity an NBA player in his mid-30s cannot replace.

So if this is it, if this playoff run is indeed Duncan’s final last stand, it is only fitting he makes it with the ball in his hands.

“We’ve been blessed,” Duncan said. “We’ve had a good run. Hopefully, we can make another one.”

Last-second three gives Spurs a pulse

By Jeff McDonald
jmcdonald@express-news.net

The Spurs exited a timeout huddle late in the fourth quarter Wednesday, behind by three points and 1.7 seconds away from an early vacation, facing a thought that could have been unsettling if they let it be.

The game, the series, and their season had been placed in the hands of an undrafted rookie.

Gary Neal drained a tough 3-pointer from the top of the arc to force overtime, where Tony Parker took over to lift the Spurs to a 110-103 victory in Game 5 that sent their first-round round series with Memphis back to the banks of the Mississippi.

“I once hit a buzzer-beater to win a state championship in high school,” Neal said. “This feels a little bigger.”

The win brought the Spurs within 3-2 en route to Memphis for Game 6 on Friday, not enough to make them feel free and easy, but enough to make the series interesting again.

The Spurs needed a ceaseless string of miracles to get it.

Before Neal hit his new most-memorable buzzer-beater, Manu Ginobili — who finished with 33 points — nearly re-enacted Sean Elliott’s Memorial Day Miracle in the right corner. Except Ginobili’s toe was on the 3-point line, and the shot left the Spurs down by one.

After Neal sent the game to overtime came the biggest miracle of all — Parker found his mothballed jump shot, knocking down three to start the extra frame and point the Spurs toward victory. Parker finished with 24 points and nine assists, his best performance in what has been a frustrating series for him.

“When you are facing elimination,” Ginobili said, “you always seem to get something out of nowhere.”

In this case, the season’s biggest shot was by a player who came out of nowhere.

After TV replay ruled Ginobili’s circus shot a 2-pointer, erasing the three that would have tied the game, Zach Randolph made a pair of free throws to put the Grizzlies up by three.

Memphis, an eighth seed, was a short commercial break from pulling off one of the NBA’s greatest first-round upsets.

“We were very close to being on vacation time,” Ginobili said.

Then, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich took his dry-erase board and assembled a set of Xs and Os. The play was designed for a 26-year-old rookie, passed over by every other NBA team, who had made his bones in the hardscrabble pro leagues of Italy, Turkey and Spain.

A rookie who had played just 10 minutes to that point, and had made just one field goal.

The decision to place the season in Neal’s hands did not faze Ginobili, so long as he forgot the first time he’d ever laid eyes on the rookie.

“I’m not lying,” Ginobili said, recalling an open gym in September. “I saw him miss the first 20 shots he took.”

Still, Ginobili believed Wednesday. Maybe because he had no choice. And maybe because he had once been like Neal.

“Once, I was almost an undrafted rookie, too,” said Ginobili, the 57th pick in the 1999 draft.

Not everyone in the ATT Center was as confident. Tim Duncan, who set the pick to free Neal, spent the entire 1.7 seconds screaming at him.

“He’s got 1.7, and he takes a dribble,” Duncan said. “I’m like, shoot the ball.”

Neal, it turns out, knew exactly what he was doing.

“I knew I had time,” he said. “I was looking for my shot. That was my shot.”

Parker described the feeling of seeing Neal’s shot rip through the net this way: “Like a new life.”

And so the game went to OT, and Parker took over, and the Spurs began getting stops — the biggest of which coming as they forced Marc Gasol into an airball as the shot-clock sounded with 29.2 seconds left.

Still, it was not the kind of victory that left the Spurs feeling as if they had turned the series.

“We got lucky,” Ginobili said. “That’s the truth.”

Facing elimination, the Spurs needed every bit of luck in their playbook to pull out an overtime win at home. They harbor no illusions that pulling off a sequel in Game 6 on the road will be easy.

But, ultimately, the Spurs got what they came for on Wednesday. A new day. A new life.

Fittingly, it was Neal — a player whose entire season has felt like new life — who gave it to them.