NBA Playoffs 2010 : Dallas Mavericks 89 @ 92San Antonio Spurs (3 - 1 for San Antonio Spurs)

Hill the unlikely hero as Spurs go up 3-1 on Mavericks

Posted Sunday April 25, 2010 11:17PM

SAN ANTONIO (NBA.com exclusive) -- After three games of the same-old, same-old Spurs playoff basketball, a collection of players not named Duncan, Parker and Ginobili filled their roles on Sunday. It was such a development, it appeared to even rattle the Mavericks for awhile.

Trailing by 15 late in the first half in Game 4, the Spurs unleashed the likes of George Hill, Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess and DeJuan Blair. That foursome went 9-for-11 from the floor in the third quarter and scored 22 of the team's 29 points while the Mavs failed to make a shot from the floor for the final 7:46.

The unlikely turn gave San Antonio a seven-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, and the Spurs had enough to check out with a 92-89 victory and push the Mavericks to the edge with a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference first-round playoff series.

Tim Duncan, playing on his 34th birthday, unwrapped a booby gift with 4 points on 1-for-9 shooting. But Hill made the best of his invite to the party with 11-for-16 shooting (5-for-6 on 3-pointers), 29 points, two steals and no turnovers.

"He played a great game tonight," Mavs center Brendan Haywood said. "You always tip your hat to someone who beats you, but I think tonight was more about what we didn't do as a team. We didn't have composure down the stretch."

It's a problem that plagued Dallas in both games in San Antonio, as the Mavericks blew a lead of nine in Game 3 and 15 this time at AT&T Center.

After Duncan's line on the box score, Manu Ginobili went 4-for-16 and Tony Parker finished 4-for-9. That's a combined 9-for-34 and not even 27 percent - so how did Dallas let this one get away?

"Well, when you get another guy (Hill) going 11-for-16, it could very easily happen," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "If you additionally get your ass kicked on five to seven loose balls, that certainly contributed to losing.

"We played hard, but there's a set of plays in the last couple of games where you've got to get down and dirty. We have to come up with balls that are 50-50 balls. That's where the game is being won and lost, in the trenches."

While Hill supercharged the third-quarter rally with 11 points, the Mavericks made one more shot in the quarter than there were flagrant fouls called in the game. Dallas went 4-for-17 in the third and looked totally unlike the group of players that was supposed to give Dirk Nowitzki his best shot at a championship.

Nowitzki and his fellow starters -- Shawn Marion, Erick Dampier, Caron Butler and Jason Kidd -- played all but nine of the available 60 minutes in the quarter, and they still could not stare down the Spurs role players.

It appeared to frustrate the Mavs to the point that Nowitzki was called for a technical foul in the third quarter when he shoved the rookie Blair. Three flagrant fouls were called after that, including a flagrant 2 when Eduardo Najera clotheslined Manu Ginobili just 47 seconds after he checked into the game for the first time early in the final quarter.

San Antonio, the seventh seed to the Mavs' No. 2 spot in the West, now have won consecutive games when failing to make a 3-pointer in Game 3 and then getting off nights from their three most proven players in Game 4.

"I don't know how improbable (those wins) are, but people win and lose in different ways," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

But they did play defense, particularly on Nowitzki. He had only one shot in that third quarter and finished with 10 for the game (17 points).

"It wasn't the defense," McDyess said. "He just wasn't taking (shots). It looked like he was a little reluctant because we were shifting on him a lot. I don't think he ever really knew when to take his shot. He had some open shots, but he wasn't taking them."

Shawn Marion was the boost for the Mavericks when they built that 15-point lead in the first half. He was 6-for-10 before halftime, but he made 1-of-3 in the second half.

Dallas Mavericks (55-27)
field goalsrebounds
	pos	min	fgm-a	3pm-a	ftm-a	+/-	off	def	tot	ast	pf	st	to	bs	ba	pts
S. Marion	F	27:33	7-13	0-1	0-0	+7	3	4	7	1	0	0	2	1	1	14
D. Nowitzki	F	43:13	4-10	0-1	9-9	-2	1	10	11	4	2	0	3	0	0	17
E. Dampier	C	19:03	0-2	0-0	0-0	-11	4	1	5	2	5	0	2	0	0	0
C. Butler	F	34:32	7-18	1-3	2-2	-15	0	6	6	3	5	1	3	0	0	17
J. Kidd	G	41:42	3-10	2-7	2-2	+1	1	6	7	5	1	2	2	1	0	10
J. Barea		16:29	3-7	1-2	1-2	-6	0	2	2	1	2	1	1	0	1	8
J. Terry		31:26	5-11	3-5	0-2	+2	0	6	6	1	3	0	1	0	1	13
B. Haywood		25:15	3-6	0-0	4-6	+9	3	1	4	0	3	1	0	3	1	10
E. Najera		00:47	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
R. Beaubois		00:00	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
M. Carroll	DNP - Coach's Decision
D. Stevenson	DNP - Coach's Decision
Total		240	32-77	7-19	18-23		12	36	48	17	22	5	14	5	4	89
			41.6%	36.8%	78.3%		team rebs: 6			total to: 15

San Antonio Spurs (50-32)
field goalsrebounds
	pos	min	fgm-a	3pm-a	ftm-a	+/-	off	def	tot	ast	pf	st	to	bs	ba	pts
R. Jefferson	F	36:47	6-9	0-1	3-5	+4	1	3	4	0	2	0	2	1	0	15
T. Duncan	F	36:21	1-9	0-0	2-4	+2	2	9	11	3	1	0	2	0	1	4
A. McDyess	C-F	35:20	5-9	0-0	0-0	+2	1	7	8	3	5	0	2	1	0	10
M. Ginobili	G	33:54	4-16	1-7	8-9	-12	0	4	4	7	4	4	1	0	2	17
G. Hill	G	44:37	11-16	5-6	2-2	+9	0	4	4	0	0	2	0	1	1	29
M. Bonner		08:21	0-2	0-2	0-0	-1	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
T. Parker		27:05	4-9	0-0	2-4	+7	0	3	3	5	3	0	5	0	1	10
K. Bogans		05:56	0-1	0-1	0-0	+3	1	1	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	0
D. Blair		11:39	3-4	0-0	1-4	+1	5	2	7	1	2	1	0	1	0	7
I. Mahinmi	DNP - Coach's Decision
R. Mason	DNP - Coach's Decision
G. Temple	DNP - Coach's Decision
Total		240	34-75	6-17	18-28		10	33	43	19	20	8	12	4	5	92
			45.3%	35.3%	64.3%		team rebs: 4			total to: 12

inactive

• Mavericks: Thomas
• Spurs: Gee, Hairston, Jerrells

technical fouls

• Mavericks: Nowitzki
• Spurs: --

scoring

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 4

arena stats

• Arena: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
• Officials: #26 Bob Delaney, #36 David Jones, #48 Scott Foster
• Attendance: 18581
• Duration: 2:38

NBA Playoffs 2010 : Orlando Magic 99 @ 90 Charlotte Bobcats (4 - 0 Orlando Magic Wins Series)

Magic 3-ball leads Orlando to first-round sweep of Bobcats

By Derek S. Smith, for NBA.com
CHARLOTTE (NBA.com exclusive) -- The Orlando Magic again showed their depth and versatility.

Vince Carter scored 21 points while Jameer Nelson added 18 including a key basket late in the game to pick up a 99-90 win Monday. With the win, Orlando becomes the only team in the 2010 playoffs to earn a first-round sweep while the Bobcats failed to pick up a victory in the franchise's first-ever playoff appearance.

"That was a very difficult series," Stan Van Gundy said. "We struggled to score points and get shots. They had a great game plan in the series and both teams played extremely hard. I was proud of our intensity and resolve."

Nelson highlighted a 10-0 Orlando run with a three from the top of the key with 4:53 remaining, giving the Magic an 86-76 lead and effectively sapping all the remaining energy from both Time Warner Cable Arena and the Charlotte Bobcats season. The Orlando point guard finished with a series-best 23.8 ppg picking up some offensive slack from his Magic teammates.

Charlotte had cut the lead to a single point at 77-76, but the Magic again proved to be deadly from behind the arc. Mickael Pietrus drained threes on back-to-back possessions to squash the Bobcats momentum. Orlando sank a series-best 13 from behind the arc and made 45 over the four games in the series.

The Bobcats tried to make another run early in the fourth quarter but were stymied by an unusual set of fouls. Carter was fouled by Tyson Chandler. The Charlotte center was actually whistled for both a personal foul and a flagrant foul on the play. Carter made the two free throws, but the Magic was unable to capitalize allowing Charlotte to stay in the game.

The Magic took the lead for good in the final game of the series at the 9:09 mark of the third. Carter sank his first three of the series after missing his first 15. He finished the series 1-for-17 from the three-point line.

The Bobcats game plan all series was to frustrate and attack Dwight Howard. The Magic center became increasingly frustrated during the series and was limited to just 27 minutes and 9.8 points per game, and fouled out for the second straight game.

"If you had told me that (Dwight Howard) would have averaged well under 30 minutes for the series and gotten a sweep I would have said that there was no way that could have happened," Van Gundy quipped.

Orlando now has the opportunity to get some rest before hosting either Atlanta or Milwaukee in the second round while the Bobcats have a lot to learn from their first visit to the playoffs.

"They are a great team," Brown said. "They are really well coached and they aren't one dimensional. A lot of players really stepped up for them. They know how to play playoff basketball and we're still learning. We have a lot of guys that were in this for the first time. We have to have a group step up and play at a high level. Not just one or two guys each night. They never quit and we played hard."

One question that will remain for the Charlotte franchise is the status of Coach Brown. Rumors of his desire to take a front office job with either Philadelphia or the Los Angeles Clippers have persisted since before the All-Star break.

"I'm not coaching anywhere else but Charlotte," Brown reiterated. "Now am I going to go home and talk to my wife? I'm almost 70 and I've got two young kids. Am I going to talk to them and find out what I need to do and am I going to talk to Michael (Jordan)? Yeah, absolutely. But I'm not coaching anywhere unless it's for Michael Jordan if he wants me and I can work it out with my family."

Orlando Magic (59-23)
field goalsrebounds
	pos	min	fgm-a	3pm-a	ftm-a	+/-	off	def	tot	ast	pf	st	to	bs	ba	pts
M. Barnes	F	27:37	3-10	3-7	5-6	0	2	6	8	1	1	3	0	0	0	14
R. Lewis	F	43:41	5-8	4-7	3-4	+6	1	3	4	3	2	0	3	0	0	17
D. Howard	C	23:25	2-6	0-0	2-7	+15	1	12	13	3	6	0	1	2	1	6
V. Carter	G-F	39:50	7-16	1-5	6-9	+12	0	3	3	4	6	0	0	0	0	21
J. Nelson	G	36:23	4-12	2-6	8-10	+14	0	1	1	4	1	2	2	0	0	18
M. Gortat		24:35	3-5	0-0	0-0	-6	3	3	6	1	4	0	0	0	0	6
J. Williams		11:37	0-1	0-1	0-0	-5	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
M. Pietrus		17:52	3-6	3-6	4-4	+4	0	1	1	0	1	2	1	2	0	13
J. Redick		10:41	1-3	0-1	2-2	+2	0	2	2	1	1	0	0	0	1	4
R. Anderson		04:19	0-0	0-0	0-0	+3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
B. Bass	DNP - Coach's Decision
A. Johnson	DNP - Coach's Decision
Total		240	28-67	13-33	30-42		7	31	38	18	23	7	7	4	2	99
			41.8%	39.4%	71.4%		team rebs: 11			total to: 7

Charlotte Bobcats (44-38)
field goalsrebounds
	pos	min	fgm-a	3pm-a	ftm-a	+/-	off	def	tot	ast	pf	st	to	bs	ba	pts
G. Wallace	F	42:32	6-12	2-5	3-6	-8	0	5	5	4	2	1	1	0	2	17
B. Diaw	F	31:46	6-11	0-3	1-2	-5	2	3	5	4	2	0	2	0	0	13
T. Ratliff	C	07:55	0-1	0-0	0-0	-7	0	2	2	0	5	0	0	0	0	0
S. Jackson	G-F	38:42	2-11	0-3	4-5	-8	2	2	4	8	4	1	4	0	1	8
R. Felton	G	29:18	3-8	2-4	3-5	-6	0	0	0	6	4	0	1	0	0	11
N. Mohammed		07:35	2-3	0-0	2-3	+1	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	6
T. Thomas		28:54	9-12	0-0	3-4	-5	1	8	9	1	5	0	1	0	0	21
D. Augustin		18:44	1-5	0-0	2-3	0	1	0	1	2	2	0	1	1	1	4
L. Hughes		13:51	1-4	1-3	1-3	-2	1	3	4	2	1	0	0	0	0	4
T. Chandler		19:47	2-3	0-0	2-2	-5	0	5	5	0	3	0	0	1	0	6
D. Brown		00:01	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
S. Graham		00:55	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total		240	32-71	5-19	21-33		7	29	36	27	29	2	10	2	4	90
			45.1%	26.3%	63.6%		team rebs: 17			total to: 10

inactive

• Magic: Foyle
• Bobcats: Ajinca, Diop, Henderson

technical fouls

• Magic: Van Gundy
• Bobcats: Jackson

scoring

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 6

arena stats

• Arena: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC
• Officials: #14 Joe DeRosa, #33 Sean Corbin, #34 Marc Davis
• Attendance: 19086
• Duration: 2:52

NBA Transactions April 2010

Tuesday, April 20
• New Orleans announced Jeff Bower is stepping down as coach but will remain as general manager.

Thursday, April 15
• L.A. Clippers fired interim coach Kim Hughes.
• Philadelphia fired coach Eddie Jordan.

Wednesday, April 14
• Sacramento exercised a team option on forward Carl Landry.

Tuesday, April 13
• Houston assigned forward Mike Harris to Rio Grande Valley (NBA D-League).
• Minnesota signed center Greg Stiemsma.

Monday, April 12
• Sacramento picked up the option on the contract of coach Paul Westphal through the 2011-12 season.

Sunday, April 11
• Denver signed guard Coby Karl and center Brian Butch.

Friday, April 9
• Chicago waived center Jerome James. Signed forward Rob Kurz for the remainder of the season.
• San Antonio signed guard Manu Ginobili to a three-year contract extension.
• Washington signed guard/forward Cartier Martin for the remainder of the season.

Thursday, April 8
• Oklahoma City assigned guard Kyle Weaver to Tulsa (NBA D-League).

Wednesday, April 7
• Oklahoma City assigned forward D.J. White to Tulsa (NBA D-League).

Tuesday, April 6
• Miami signed forward Shavlik Randolph.

Monday, April 5
• Phoenix signed center Dwayne Jones to a 10-day contract.
• New York waived guard Cuttino Mobley.
• Miami signed guard Kenny Hasbrouck for the remainder of the season.

Sunday, April 4
• Toronto signed free-agent forward Joey Dorsey for the remainder of the season.

Friday, April 2
• NBA fined Boston forward Kevin Garnett $25,000 for publicly criticizing game officials and for using inappropriate language during an interview after a March 31 game against Oklahoma City.
• Los Angeles signed guard Kobe Bryant to a three-year contract extension.
• New York signed center Earl Barron to a 10-day contract.

Sore ankle won't keep Magic's Lewis from Game 3

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Orlando Magic forward Rashard Lewis will play against the Charlotte Bobcats in Game 3 of their playoff series despite a sore left ankle.

Coach Stan Van Gundy said before Saturday's game that Lewis was "not feeling great," but was well enough to play.

Lewis came down awkwardly on his ankle in Wednesday's win over the Bobcats. He had a wrap around his ankle after practicing on Friday.

Lewis entered the game shooting 13 of 23 from the field in helping Orlando take a 2-0 series lead.

Bucks' Hammond awarded NBA executive of the year

NEW YORK (AP) -- Bucks general manager John Hammond took the time to look over the list of names for NBA executive of the year, including Hall of Famers such as Jerry West and Red Auerbach.

So he felt his name was a little out of place.

"I kind of think what's John Hammond from Zion, Illinois doing sitting here right now?" he said Saturday, with the award sitting just to his right, before the Bucks played the Atlanta Hawks in Game 3.

Hammond becomes the first Bucks executive to win the award, after Milwaukee finished the regular season with 12 more wins than last season and earned its first playoff berth since 2006.

Bucks owner and U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl hired Hammond, who had been Joe Dumars' assistant in Detroit, just over two years ago to rebuild the floundering franchise.

"It's just God's grace that I'm sitting here," the GM said. "I believe there's a lot of good, qualified people in this league that can have jobs like this and have opportunities like this. I was just chosen."

Hammond received 12 of 30 votes from a panel of fellow NBA executives. Oklahoma City's Sam Presti was second with nine votes and Cleveland's Danny Ferry took third with two votes in results the league announced Saturday.

Despite losing Michael Redd to a season-ending knee injury in January and season-ending injuries to Andrew Bogut earlier this month, the Bucks finished 46-36 to earn the sixth seed in the East and a first-round matchup with Atlanta.

"He made some good moves in midseason that changed the flow," Bogut said. "It wasn't just offseason. He was active in the trade window, he was active signing Jerry (Stackhouse). He made moves for a team that was supposed to finish last, and we're battling here in a playoff series."

Hammond's decision to select Brandon Jennings with the 10th overall pick of last year's draft paid off when the guard earned a starting spot in training camp and went on to average 15.5 points during his rookie season. Hammond believes Jennings should be the NBA's rookie of the year.

"I've said that for a while," Hammond said. "I don't know what better argument I can make but the fact that he's playing. He's playing tonight."

The Bucks have emphasized defense since Hammond hired Scott Skiles as the coach when he took over, going from allowing 103.9 ppg in 2007-08 (23rd) to 96.0 ppg in 2009-10 (seventh).

The GM also drafted defensive-minded forward Luc Mbah a Moute in 2008 and brought in veterans such as Carlos Delfino, John Salmons, Stackhouse and Kurt Thomas.

"You make the decisions, you hope they work. We've been fortunate this year a few of the things have worked," Hammond said. "It's about the fit, it's about the chemistry of this team. These guys like each other, they play well together and Scott's done a great job with them."

Charlotte's Rod Higgins, Dallas' Mark Cuban, Memphis' Chris Wallace, New Orleans' Jeff Bower, Portland's Kevin Pritchard, Sacramento's Geoff Petrie and Utah's Kevin O'Connor each received one vote.

Blazers' Roy returns from knee surgery for Game 4

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Portland guard Brandon Roy unexpectedly returned from arthroscopic knee surgery to play in Game 4 of Trail Blazers' playoff series against the Phoenix Suns.

Roy had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee two days before the start of the playoffs. Although the team initially said he would not be available for the first round, his recovery time was put at one to two weeks.

The three-time All-Star leads the Blazers with 21.5 points per game.

Roy was greeted with a hearty ovation during pregame warmups. He did not start, but was suited up on the bench. He entered the game with 4:06 left in the first quarter and made a layup about a minute later to put Portland ahead 20-19.

The Blazers, trailing 2-1 in the series, put forward Dante Cunningham on the inactive list with a stomach virus.

Wade says he and LeBron 'play well together'

MIAMI (AP) -- It's been a fantasy scenario thrown around the NBA for months: Dwyane Wade and LeBron James as teammates.

Intriguing?

Absolutely -- even to Wade.

Speaking after practice in Miami on Saturday, one day before the Heat try to extend their season by forcing a Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round series against Boston, Wade acknowledged that he's got reason to think he and James would work alongside one another.

"We play well together," Wade said.

Still, he stopped way short of saying the close friends have even talked about the notion of aligning this summer.

Both can become free agents on July 1, a date that looms large for superstars like Wade, James, Toronto's Chris Bosh and just about every team in the NBA.

"Myself, LeBron, Chris, certain guys are in the driver's seat to decide where they want to go," Wade said. "You're not thinking about it. You're not worried about it. But I'm sure they hear it a lot."

Bosh's season is already over. Wade's might end Sunday unless the Heat beat the Celtics, something they've done just once in the last 15 meetings between the teams. James -- almost certain to win his second straight MVP -- and the Cleveland Cavaliers would seem to be the favorites to win the NBA title, and he grew tired of the questions about the summer of 2010 long ago.

Wade gets asked about it all the time.

He has said repeatedly that his preference is to stay in Miami, and the Heat will be able to offer him more money than any other team, just as the Raptors will with Bosh and the Cavaliers with James.

But Wade also makes perfectly clear that he wants to Heat to use the salary cap space they'll have this summer and build the type of team that could contend for what would be his second NBA championship.

And Heat president Pat Riley wants that probably as badly, if not even more so, than Wade does.

"You have to have guys that have the personality that look at it in a bigger picture," Wade said. "You can't have two guys or three guys, whatever you call it, that [all] want it to be, 'This is my show.' You've got to want to share it and you've got to look at guys and say, 'Are these guys team players or individual players?'

"Myself and LeBron are team players. I think we've proven that. I don't think you can say that about everybody."

Wade's approach with the Heat is similar to the one James has with the Cavaliers. Both are obviously dynamic scorers, and both are among the league's best at setting up teammates for points as well -- and in turn, that softens defenses so teams can't constantly throw double-teams their way.

So would he share the spotlight with James, especially since both are used to being the absolute go-to guys on their respective teams?

Wade didn't hesitate.

"I don't have a problem sharing," Wade said. "That's what this summer's about: Sharing. I'm going into the summer with the thoughts that I want to share next year. And whomever those players are, they know that would be my mentality."

NBA Playoffs 2010 : Phoenix Suns 87 @ 96 Portland Trailblazers (2 - 2 Series tied)

Roy returns to help Blazers tie series against the Suns

PORTLAND (NBA.com exclusive) -- Brandon Roy provided the emotional lift and some clutch plays in the end.

LaMarcus Aldridge came up big all game long.

And the Portland Trail Blazers are very much alive in their first-round playoff series with the Phoenix Suns.

Eight days after arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, Roy came off the bench to help the Blazers to a 96-87 victory over the Suns, evening the best-of-seven series at 2-2.

Aldridge ? maligned for his ineffective play in the first three games ? responded with his best career playoff performance, collecting 31 points and 11 rebounds.

Roy's return energized the sellout Rose Garden crowd of 20,151 and his teammates, who were buoyed by the presence of their captain.

"Having Brandon back helps tremendously," Aldridge said. The Suns "can't do some of the things they did to us early (in the series) with Brandon out there."

The decision to bring Roy back so soon after his April 16 surgery was made "after a long, sleepless night," Portland coach Nate McMillan said.

It was initially announced the three-time All-Star would be out one to two weeks, and that he would definitely miss the Phoenix series. But Roy's knee felt good right away, and the timetable "just kept moving up," McMillan said. "We talked about if we could get the series to a sixth game, possibly. Then up to possibly (Game 5)."

After a light 2-on-2 workout with teammates on Friday, Roy was convinced he was healthy enough to play, "but Coach (McMillan) really didn't want me to play," Roy said. "He was thinking long-term."

After a series of text messages between coach and player Friday night, McMillan consulted owner Paul Allen and general manager Kevin Pritchard. After assurances from team doctor Don Roberts ? who performed the surgery ? that Roy wasn't risking further injury by playing, McMillan gave him the green light.

When Roy entered Saturday's game with 4:06 left and Portland ahead 18-17, the ensuing thunderous roar was deafening in the Garden.

"I got chills when he got up and the crowd saw he was going to the scorer's table," McMillan said. "I know our players fed off of that, the emotions and the energy in the building and having him back."

Aldridge noticed something else.

"As soon as he checked into the game, I got my first shot with nobody guarding me," the 6-11 forward said. "It was like, 'thank God he's back.' "

Aldridge missed that shot, but made 11 of 19 attempts ? along with 9-of-12 from the foul line ? on a variety of shots from 18 feet on in.

"It wasn't so much the post-up play as it was the face-up jump shots he made," Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry said. "With us trapping the screen-and-roll, he created separation and was able to catch and shoot. And on his postups, we fouled him. We can't have him shooting 12 free throws.

"He's not that type of post-up player. We have to do a better job defending him, and making him catch the ball a little bit out of his comfort zone."

Roy scored 10 points in 27 minutes on only 4-for-10 shooting. But he scored when it counted, knocking down a pair of big jump shots down the stretch to seal the win.

Amar'e Stoudemire led Phoenix with 26 points, but the performance of the other Sun stars were sub-par. Jason Richardson ? who burned Portland for 71 points as Phoenix routed the Blazers in Games 2 and 3 ? scored 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting. Steve Nash had 15 points and eight assists but also an uncharacteristic six turnovers. Grant Hill grabbed 12 rebounds but scored only nine points while making 3 of 10 shots.

Portland won the rebound battle 45-39, grabbing 12 off the offensive glass.

"That was the difference in the game," Gentry said.

The Blazers also beat the Suns at their own game, winning the fast-break points battle 16-4, along with second-chance points by a 17-5 margin.

"We finally got to playing basketball, scrapping," McMillan said. "We matched their intensity and challenged them. We were the aggressors.

"That's a really good team, and Nash is unbelievable as far as taking advantage of situations on the offensive end. They made plays, but we played with a lot of confidence. We didn't look tight. The execution and the defense were good. It was a 48-minute game for us."

Roy's return conjured memories of some iconic moments in NBA history, such as Willis Reed's Game 7 for the New York Knicks in the 1970 NBA Finals. On a local level, what came to mind was Kevin Duckworth's Game 7 for the Blazers in their 1990 Western Conference finals matchup with San Antonio.

Every two decades or so, it seems, something like that happens. It happened Saturday, and the Blazers took full advantage.

"You could see our guys were upbeat and like, 'Let's go, we have our main guy back,' " McMillan said. "Our guys were calm. We played the game we needed to play to win."

Phoenix Suns (54-28)
field goalsrebounds
	pos	min	fgm-a	3pm-a	ftm-a	+/-	off	def	tot	ast	pf	st	to	bs	ba	pts
G. Hill	F	29:34	3-10	0-2	3-4	-15	1	11	12	4	3	1	0	0	0	9
A. Stoudemire	F	38:44	9-16	0-0	8-10	-10	3	3	6	1	4	0	1	3	0	26
J. Collins	C	18:06	2-4	0-0	0-0	+1	1	1	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	4
J. Richardson	G	32:42	6-16	2-8	1-2	-6	2	0	2	1	3	0	0	0	0	15
S. Nash	G	38:31	6-11	1-3	2-3	-9	0	4	4	8	1	0	6	0	1	15
C. Frye		29:49	3-8	1-4	0-0	-10	0	7	7	1	4	1	0	1	0	7
J. Dudley		18:31	1-4	0-3	0-0	+6	0	2	2	2	4	0	1	0	0	2
L. Amundson		09:11	0-0	0-0	1-2	+1	0	1	1	0	2	0	1	0	0	1
L. Barbosa		15:23	3-5	2-2	0-0	-3	0	2	2	0	2	1	2	0	1	8
G. Dragic		09:29	0-2	0-1	0-0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
E. Clark	DNP - Coach's Decision
D. Jones	DNP - Coach's Decision
Total		240	33-76	6-23	15-21		7	32	39	17	24	4	11	4	2	87
			43.4%	26.1%	71.4%		team rebs: 11			total to: 12

Portland Trail Blazers (50-32)
field goalsrebounds
	pos	min	fgm-a	3pm-a	ftm-a	+/-	off	def	tot	ast	pf	st	to	bs	ba	pts
N. Batum	F	33:54	3-9	2-5	2-2	+13	0	7	7	1	3	0	1	0	1	10
L. Aldridge	F	41:51	11-19	0-0	9-12	+13	2	9	11	3	4	1	2	0	0	31
M. Camby	F	29:45	4-6	0-0	0-0	+2	3	5	8	5	4	1	0	1	0	8
J. Bayless	G	24:48	4-10	1-3	2-2	-7	2	0	2	6	3	0	0	0	1	11
A. Miller	G	43:56	4-13	0-1	7-10	+13	0	6	6	8	2	2	3	0	0	15
B. Roy		26:38	4-10	1-2	1-2	+2	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	10
M. Webster		12:42	0-3	0-1	0-0	+2	0	3	3	0	1	0	1	1	0	0
R. Fernandez		08:35	1-3	1-2	0-0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3
J. Howard		17:51	4-6	0-0	0-0	+7	5	2	7	1	3	0	0	0	1	8
T. Diener	DNP - Coach's Decision
P. Mills	DNP - Coach's Decision
J. Pendergraph	DNP - Coach's Decision
Total		240	35-79	5-14	21-28		12	33	45	26	20	4	7	2	4	96
			44.3%	35.7%	75.0%		team rebs: 5			total to: 7

inactive

• Suns: Griffin, Lopez
• Trail Blazers: Cunningham, Oden, Przybilla

technical fouls

• Suns: --
• Trail Blazers: Batum

scoring

• Lead Changes: 13
• Times Tied: 11

arena stats

• Arena: Rose Garden, Portland, OR
• Officials: #32 Eddie F. Rush, #54 Derrick Collins, #10 Ron Garretson
• Attendance: -
• Duration: 2:36

NBA Playoffs 2010 : Dallas Mavericks 90 @ 94 San Antonio Spurs (2 - 1 for San Antonio Spurs)

Ginobili breaks nose -- and Mavs' back -- in Spurs' win

By Tim Price, for NBA.com

SAN ANTONIO (NBA.com exclusive) -- It seems the bloody noses always go the Spurs' way, because the last time the team saw a cut worse than the one Manu Ginobili got in Game 3's third quarter on Friday night was Steve Nash's in the 2007 Western Conference semifinals.

With Nash on the bench during that game's waning moments back then, the Spurs took another step to their fourth NBA title.

Ginobili had enough time to come back from his broken nose, and it showed. After missing five minutes of the third quarter when he caught an inadvertent elbow from Dirk Nowitzki, Ginobili returned and scored 11 points in the fourth quarter and led San Antonio to a 94-90 victory over the Mavericks in Game 3. The Spurs lead 2-1 in the Western Conference playoff opening series.

Ginobili ended with 15 points, his lowest of the series, but he had a game-high seven assists and a first quarter with two steals and a block that aided in the Mavericks' 16-point opening quarter. Dallas also scored 16 points in the fourth quarter of Game 2.

"He took the game over," said Tim Duncan, who scored 25 points on 11-for-18 shooting in a grueling 43 ½ minutes.

Although the Spurs finished 0-for-7 from the 3-point line, they look more like the team that made that 2007 championship run with Tony Parker's 23 points joining Ginobili's and Duncan's efforts. Parker hit three-straight outside shots in the fourth quarter that gave the Spurs the lead for good.

"We are playing the best basketball of the year, so far," Duncan said. "We are playing our best at the right time."

But the Mavericks looked little like the team that was altered by the trade-deadline deal with Washington. There was Dirk Nowitzki's 35 points, Jason Terry came off the bench for 17 (including 4-for-8 from the 3-point line) and there was another bench boost from J.J. Barea -- he scored 14 and sparked Dallas' 17-0 run in the third quarter that gave the Mavs a 9-point lead.

But Caron Butler, who hit one of his three shots and turned the ball over three times in the first 15 minutes he played, sat the rest of the game and did not play after halftime. There was an occasion during the final moments that when the rest of the team was walking toward coach Rick Carlisle that Butler slowly shuffled over to place his feet on the tacky sheet near midcourt.

"Coach's decision," Carlisle said. "Just went with a group that was going good. That was it. (Barea) made good things happen."

But it was not enough to curtail the Spurs' overall aggression. Though they finished minus-26 from the 3-point line to Dallas, the Spurs got to the free-throw 20 times compared to 14 for Dallas. The Mavericks committed 16 turnovers, and the Spurs outscored the Mavs off mistakes 16-11.

The Mavericks led 81-80 after Nowitzki hit a 12-footer with three minutes left in the game. But Parker scored the Spurs' next six points -- all off jumpers from beyond 17 feet.

"We just gave up that lead too quick," Nowitzki said. "We had a couple of turnovers, a couple of bad plays."

Most bothersome to Nowitzki was the inability to consistently get a transition game going. The teams battled to a draw in fastbreak points, but San Antonio dominated in the paint (56-38) and on putbacks (14-6).

"We showed in the third quarter we need to speed the game up a little bit," Nowitzki said. "(Barea) was getting to the basket a couple of time. The halfcourt set really took our options away."

Dallas Mavericks (55-27)
field goalsrebounds
	pos	min	fgm-a	3pm-a	ftm-a	+/-	off	def	tot	ast	pf	st	to	bs	ba	pts
S. Marion	F	16:34	3-9	0-1	1-1	-17	0	3	3	0	0	0	2	0	1	7
D. Nowitzki	F	41:47	13-23	1-1	8-8	-1	0	7	7	3	5	2	2	1	1	35
E. Dampier	C	26:58	0-1	0-0	0-0	-2	2	2	4	0	5	0	1	3	1	0
C. Butler	F	14:48	1-3	0-0	0-0	-8	0	2	2	1	2	0	3	0	0	2
J. Kidd	G	44:53	1-6	1-6	4-4	-6	1	6	7	5	2	2	0	0	0	7
J. Terry		36:33	6-15	4-8	1-2	+9	0	2	2	2	4	0	1	0	1	17
R. Beaubois		05:17	1-2	0-0	0-0	+2	0	1	1	2	1	0	1	0	0	2
B. Haywood		17:57	2-2	0-0	0-0	0	2	2	4	0	2	1	0	0	0	4
E. Najera		03:24	1-2	0-0	0-0	+1	2	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	2
J. Barea		31:49	6-13	2-4	0-0	+2	1	3	4	4	3	0	2	0	0	14
M. Carroll	DNP - Coach's Decision
D. Stevenson	DNP - Coach's Decision
Total		240	34-76	8-20	14-15		8	28	36	17	25	5	12	4	4	90
			44.7%	40.0%	93.3%		team rebs: 8			total to: 16

San Antonio Spurs (50-32)
field goalsrebounds
	pos	min	fgm-a	3pm-a	ftm-a	+/-	off	def	tot	ast	pf	st	to	bs	ba	pts
R. Jefferson	F	31:13	2-3	0-0	2-2	+11	0	3	3	3	2	0	1	0	0	6
T. Duncan	F	43:30	11-18	0-0	3-6	+7	2	3	5	4	2	0	5	1	2	25
A. McDyess	C-F	31:18	3-5	0-0	0-0	-3	3	3	6	0	2	0	1	1	0	6
M. Ginobili	G	35:53	4-12	0-3	7-8	+8	0	5	5	7	4	3	2	1	0	15
G. Hill	G	44:35	6-16	0-3	5-5	+2	2	3	5	1	1	1	0	1	2	17
T. Parker		33:22	10-16	0-0	3-5	-12	1	3	4	3	2	1	2	0	0	23
M. Bonner		14:40	0-3	0-1	0-0	+4	1	2	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
D. Blair		04:19	1-3	0-0	0-0	-1	3	2	5	1	1	0	0	0	0	2
R. Mason		01:10	0-0	0-0	0-0	+4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
K. Bogans	DNP - Coach's Decision
I. Mahinmi	DNP - Coach's Decision
G. Temple	DNP - Coach's Decision
Total		240	37-76	0-7	20-26		12	24	36	19	16	5	11	4	4	94
			48.7%	0.0%	76.9%		team rebs: 8			total to: 11

inactive

• Mavericks: Thomas
• Spurs: Gee, Hairston, Jerrells

technical fouls

• Mavericks: --
• Spurs: Hill

scoring

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 3

arena stats

• Arena: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
• Officials: #27 Dick Bavetta, #43 Dan Crawford, #71 Rodney Mott
• Attendance: 18581
• Duration: 2:33

NBA Playoffs 2010 : Boston Celtics 100 @ 98 Miami Heat (3 - 0 for Boston Celtics)

Pierce hits at the buzzer, Celtics win 100-98

By TIM REYNOLDS

MIAMI(AP) Paul Pierce hit a 21-foot jumper at the buzzer as an injured Dwyane Wade watched from the Miami bench, and the Boston Celtics took complete command of their Eastern Conference first-round series with a 100-98 victory over the Heat on Friday night.

Wade was helped off the court with 11 seconds remaining, after he missed a shot that would have put Miami up by three points.

He had to hurt worse moments later. Pierce got the ball, dribbled the clock inside of 3 seconds against Heat forward Dorell Wright, then connected to give the Celtics a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

No NBA team has ever rallied from an 0-3 deficit. Game 4 is Sunday in Miami.

Boston Celtics (50-32)
field goalsrebounds
	pos	min	fgm-a	3pm-a	ftm-a	+/-	off	def	tot	ast	pf	st	to	bs	ba	pts
P. Pierce	F	43:47	11-23	4-10	6-8	-6	0	8	8	3	4	1	3	0	0	32
K. Garnett	F	35:22	7-14	0-0	2-2	-13	2	4	6	2	1	1	1	0	0	16
K. Perkins	C	30:53	0-4	0-0	0-0	-10	4	8	12	0	4	0	5	2	3	0
R. Allen	G	37:47	8-16	4-11	5-7	-7	1	2	3	5	3	1	0	0	0	25
R. Rondo	G	43:55	7-16	0-1	3-4	+8	3	2	5	8	4	2	4	0	1	17
G. Davis		18:54	1-1	0-0	2-2	+14	1	2	3	0	2	1	1	0	0	4
T. Allen		14:18	2-4	0-1	0-0	+3	0	0	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	4
R. Wallace		10:39	1-1	0-0	0-0	+11	0	1	1	0	4	0	0	0	0	2
M. Finley		04:25	0-0	0-0	0-0	+10	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
M. Daniels	DNP - Coach's Decision
N. Robinson	DNP - Coach's Decision
S. Williams	DNP - Coach's Decision
Total		240	37-79	8-23	18-23		11	27	38	19	23	9	14	2	4	100
			46.8%	34.8%	78.3%		team rebs: 7			total to: 15

Miami Heat (47-35)
field goalsrebounds
	pos	min	fgm-a	3pm-a	ftm-a	+/-	off	def	tot	ast	pf	st	to	bs	ba	pts
Q. Richardson	F	16:53	2-6	1-4	0-0	-4	0	2	2	2	4	1	3	0	0	5
M. Beasley	F	29:25	7-11	0-0	2-3	+6	2	4	6	0	3	0	2	0	0	16
J. O'Neal	C	19:23	1-7	0-0	0-0	-4	2	2	4	2	2	2	1	1	0	2
D. Wade	G	43:15	14-26	3-11	3-3	+5	2	3	5	8	4	2	5	2	0	34
C. Arroyo	G	19:12	1-4	0-0	0-0	-1	0	3	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	2
D. Wright		31:19	4-5	2-2	5-5	0	1	3	4	5	0	1	1	0	0	15
U. Haslem		34:04	4-8	0-0	2-4	+2	1	7	8	2	3	0	2	0	1	10
J. Anthony		13:08	2-2	0-0	0-0	-8	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	4
M. Chalmers		33:21	4-8	0-1	2-2	-6	0	1	1	1	3	1	2	0	1	10
D. Cook	DNP - Coach's Decision
J. Jones	DNP - Coach's Decision
J. Magloire	DNP - Coach's Decision
Total		240	39-77	6-18	14-17		9	25	34	20	21	7	16	4	2	98
			50.6%	33.3%	82.4%		team rebs: 9			total to: 18

inactive

• Celtics: Gaffney, Lafayette, Scalabrine
• Heat: Diawara, Hasbrouck, Randolph

technical fouls

• Celtics: --
• Heat: Wade

scoring

• Lead Changes: 14
• Times Tied: 14

arena stats

• Arena: American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
• Officials: #15 Bennett Salvatore, #42 Eric Lewis, #22 Bill Spooner
• Attendance: 19500
• Duration: 2:38