Thunder rally to edge Lakers 77-75 in Game 2 - May 17, 2012
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Even down late, the Oklahoma City Thunder are showing that they are never out.
Kevin Durant (6'9''-G/F-88, college: Texas) scored 22 points and rattled in the go-ahead basket on a baseline runner with 18 seconds left, and the Thunder scored the final nine points to rally for a 77-75 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals Wednesday night [read more]
Even down late, the Oklahoma City Thunder are showing that they are never out.
Kevin Durant (6'9''-G/F-88, college: Texas) scored 22 points and rattled in the go-ahead basket on a baseline runner with 18 seconds left, and the Thunder scored the final nine points to rally for a 77-75 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals Wednesday night.
Oklahoma City trailed by seven with 2 minutes left before surging back with a series of defensive stops by its stars to claw back from that deficit in the closing stages of a game for the second time this postseason. The Thunder were also seven down with 2 minutes left in Game 1 against defending NBA champion Dallas in the first round.
'They won't quit. That's not in their DNA,' coach Scott Brooks said. 'They're not wired that way and if they were, they wouldn't be here. We're not going to win every game but we're going to fight to the last second of the game and we did that tonight.'
'If we would have gotten down on ourselves with 2 minutes to go, we would have lost by 12 and we would go to L.A. 1-1.'
Instead, Oklahoma City takes a 2-0 lead into Game 3 on Friday night at Staples Center.
Kobe Bryant (6'6''-G-78) and Andrew Bynum (7'0''-C-87) scored 20 points apiece for the Lakers, who came up empty on their last six possessions after Bynum's hook shot made it 75-68 with 2:09 remaining.
After struggling throughout the second half and missing 20 of their first 27 shots, the Thunder suddenly came alive after Brooks called timeout following Bynum's basket that gave Los Angeles its largest lead of the game.
James Harden drove for a layup before Durant used his height advantage to reach up and tip away a pass from Bryant, who he was guarding. Durant ran out for a right-handed dunk at the other end before Russell Westbrook (6'3''-PG-88, college: UCLA) forced another turnover by aggressively challenging an outlet pass to Bryant along the sideline.
Harden made the next stop, blocking Bryant's jumper on the next Lakers possession and getting a layup in transition off it to cut the deficit to one in the final minute.
Bryant couldn't connect again, this time on a 3-pointer, to give the Thunder the ball back with the chance to take the lead and Durant was able to make it happen.
'I wish it was my magical words. All I told the guys was, 'We're down 7. You don't have to play perfect basketball but we better come pretty close,'' Brooks said.
Steve Blake missed an open 3-pointer from the right side with about 5 seconds left after Metta World Peace (6'7''-G/F-79, college: St.John's) couldn't get the ball to Bryant on the inbounds play.
Brown said he thought Bryant was open on the back side of the play, but World Peace apparently didn't see him - agreeing that Bryant was supposed to be the first option.
'Blake was wide open. We didn't have any timeouts left and he got a clean look, a really good look,' World Peace said. 'He can knock that down.'
Durant was then fouled with 0.3 seconds left and made his first try before missing the second on purpose - failing to hit the backboard or rim for a violation.
The Lakers got a desperation try but World Peace's long pass for Bynum was intercepted by Harden.
'What they did the last few minutes there, they just made gambles,' Bryant said. 'They just jumped in the passing lanes. It's something that we're not accustomed to seeing. It's just flat-out risks defensively.'
Historically, the loss makes a huge difference. Los Angeles is 29-12 when splitting the first two games of a seven-game series and has lost 17 of 19 when falling into a 2-0 hole. The Lakers' last comeback was in the 2004 West semifinals against San Antonio.
The Thunder have won all nine of their series after leading 2-0, dating back to the franchise's days in Seattle.
'It's not good. I don't think anybody's happy in there (in the locker room),' coach Mike Brown said. 'We felt like we let one slip away.'
Bryant was right at the heart of the meltdown, missing two shots and having a hand in two turnovers in the final 2 minutes. The first turnover came when Durant used his nearly 7-foot frame and impressive wingspan to come up with an energizing steal and fast-break chance.
'He used his length on Kobe. Coming up with that steal was huge,' Brown said. 'That's what great players are supposed to do. They're supposed to take on the challenge at the end of the game and he did.
'He won the game for them, basically.'
Westbrook added 15 points for Oklahoma City, which matched its lowest scoring total of the season but still gutted out the win. The Thunder had ripped apart the Lakers' defense with their pick-and-roll attack in Game 1, scoring 119 points in a 29-point blowout.
'We dominated defensively,' Bynum said. 'We stopped them, made them play through their bigs and turn the ball over. In the last 2 minutes, we gave the game away.'
In a game that was nip-and-tuck throughout, the Lakers started inching away early in the fourth quarter while Westbrook was on the bench.
Bryant drilled a jumper from the left wing and Blake followed with a 3-pointer before World Peace hit one of two free throws for a 69-63 advantage with 7:27 remaining - the Lakers' largest lead to that point.
Westbrook returned then but only provided the briefest of sparks for the struggling Oklahoma City offense, and Bynum's second straight basket - on a left-handed hook shot at the left block - made it 75-68 with 2:09 to play.
Until that point, Oklahoma City had more turnovers (eight) than made baskets (seven) in the second half after committing an uncharacteristically low four turnovers in Game 1.
Game 3: Kevin Garnett, Celtics quickly subdue 76ers, 107-91 - May 17, 2012
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Kevin Garnett (6'11''-F-76) scored 27 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and used a dominant second quarter to help the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 107-91, on Wednesday night and take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Whistled for a costly illegal pick late in a Game 2 loss, Garnett crushed the 76ers early.
Garnett scored 13 of Boston's 32 points in the second quarter [read more]
Kevin Garnett (6'11''-F-76) scored 27 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and used a dominant second quarter to help the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 107-91, on Wednesday night and take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Whistled for a costly illegal pick late in a Game 2 loss, Garnett crushed the 76ers early.
Garnett scored 13 of Boston's 32 points in the second quarter.
'He got the ball in his spots,' said Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo (6'1''-PG-86, college: Kentucky). 'He hit a couple of fadeaways. A lot of those guys are smaller than him, so he was just able to turn around and shoot over them.'
Rondo finished with 23 points and 14 assists. Paul Pierce (6'7''-F/G-77, college: Kansas), playing with a banged-up knee, had 24 points and 12 rebounds.
Game 4 is Friday in Philadelphia.
'Our offense finally came alive,' Pierce said. 'We moved the ball. We knew that's what we were going to have to do to score 100 points.'
Garnett had been forgotten in Boston's offense in Game 2 until the fourth quarter.
The Celtics need that to game in Game 3 at Philadelphia, where the 76ers had won their last four playoff games.
So much for that streak. Garnett made several big early buckets and clearly enjoyed taking it to the 76ers. He buried 10- to 16-footers with ease in the second quarter to turn a seven-point deficit into a 13-point lead.
'I thought a lot of guys tonight came and they didn't think about what they were not doing well,' Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said. 'A lot of guys just came and played.'
The Celtics again heard the whispers that they were too weary, too old to have their championship experience matter against the up-tempo 76ers.
Pierce is gutting out an ligament injury in his left knee that has robbed him of his jump shot and slowed him down on both sides of the ball. He scored only 21 points combined in the first two games.
'We just wanted to come out and establish who we are as a team,' Pierce said.
On Wednesday, Pierce charged the lane in the first quarter for a couple of angry-looking dunks. He even pounded the backboard for emphasis after one as if to show the 76ers he still had some lift in those legs.
'That's who he is,' Rivers said. 'That's how he's been even when he's healthy. Paul's just a grinder.'
'Sometimes you've got to take it and go with it and come back the next game,' Young said. 'That's what we've got to do.'
Wearing their matching red 76ers logo T-shirts, fans fled for the exits at the six-minute mark and the 76ers down 101-76.
The 76ers hadn't hosted a second-round game since 2003, when coach Larry Brown and All-Star Allen Iverson ruled the town. Julius Erving walked out to a roaring ovation when he presented the game ball and Eagles quarterback Michael Vick watched from a suite.
The 76ers hoped all the stars and hoopla that helped them knock off top-seeded Chicago would work again.
Back to the drawing board. Young scored three baskets and the rest of the 76ers had only two in the decisive second quarter.
'We ran into a Celtics team that had a real sense of purpose about them,' Coach Doug Collins said. 'You could see in moment one, they were looking to push that ball in every situation.'
Derrick Rose expected to miss 8-12 months - May 17, 2012
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Derrick Rose's (6'3''-G-88, college: Memphis) former high school coach spoke with Rose on Tuesday and said the Chicago Bulls star was in good spirits and is ready to work his way back from recent surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee.
Rose is expected to miss eight to 12 months after undergoing surgery on Saturday. He tore the ACL on April 28 during the first game of the Bulls' first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers [read more]
Derrick Rose's (6'3''-G-88, college: Memphis) former high school coach spoke with Rose on Tuesday and said the Chicago Bulls star was in good spirits and is ready to work his way back from recent surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee.
Rose is expected to miss eight to 12 months after undergoing surgery on Saturday. He tore the ACL on April 28 during the first game of the Bulls' first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers.
'He's doing well,' Simeon Career Academy (Chicago) coach Robert Smith said of Rose. 'He was at rehab. His spirits are up. He's ready to work as hard as he can to get back on the court. That's his objective right now.
'There's no doubt in my mind he's going to come back. I think he's going to come back and going to back at full strength. At the beginning, he might think about it a little more. When he gets to be more comfortable, he's going to be the Derrick Rose of old.'
Rose has not spoken publicly since he was injured.
Smith watched Rose deal with injuries at Simeon. None were as serious as a torn ACL, but Smith saw how Rose handled a physical setback.
'He just came back stronger,' Smith said. 'Whatever it takes to get healthy, he'll do it.'
Smith has known Rose since he was a child and understands what basketball means to him.
'This is the first time he's been without basketball,' Smith said. 'It's part of life. Myself, if it had to happen to him, I'm glad it happened now, so he can fight through the adversity. He's fought through adversity his whole life coming from the community he's come from. This is nothing that will set him back, but it'll also give him a chance to sit back and reflect on life and the things given to him and the things he's worked so hard to create for himself.
'The one thing we've created here at Simeon is a family atmosphere. Derrick understands that. Anything we can help him with, our doors are open to him.'
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