Grizzlies Grab 1st Ever 3-1 Series Lead Over Spurs

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Mike Conley had 15 points and seven assists to help the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies rout the San Antonio Spurs 104-86 on Monday night and grab a commanding 3-1 lead in their opening series.

The Grizzlies already had made franchise history by winning their first playoff game in Game 1 and added their first playoff win at home. Now they are a game away from becoming the second eighth seed to knock off a No. 1 seed since the NBA expanded to a best-of-seven series and join the 2007 Golden State Warriors.

Game 5 is Wednesday in San Antonio.

Darrell Arthur added 14 points off the bench for Memphis. Tony Allen had 12, Zach Randolph and O.J. Mayo 11 apiece.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 23 points, but he also had seven turnovers. Manu Ginobili had 14, Gary Neal 11, and George Hill and Tiago Splitter 10 each. Splitter, a rookie from Brazil, had not played previously in this series.

Tim Duncan had six points on his 35th birthday.

These are the same Spurs that won 61 games in the regular season. They opened up very energetic, shooting well and even had their first halftime lead in this series.

They finished the game with their starters on the bench for the final 5:43, and now the Spurs will be trying to avoid their second 4-1 opening series loss in three seasons.

The first three games had been tight with Memphis winning by no more than three points. The Spurs won Game 2 by six.

This time it was a rout once the Grizzlies took control by outscoring the Spurs 30-15 in the third quarter for the first time in this series after trailing at the half for the first time in the four games.

Memphis opened the second half with a 14-0 run with Gasol's two free throws at 11:04 putting the Grizzlies ahead to stay at 52-50. Sam Young's dunk capped the run at 7:41 of the third for a 62-50 lead. The Spurs, who shot 55.3 percent in the first half, missed their first five shots and were 6 of 15 from the floor. They also had seven turnovers in the quarter.

The Grizzlies had every fan up and waving the rally towels handed out, cranking up the noise with every Spurs' missed shot or mistake. Arthur ended the quarter by hitting a pair of jumpers to put Memphis up 78-65 at the end of the third.

When Arthur dunked at 10:13 of the fourth putting Memphis up 83-67, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich took a timeout. It didn't help as Arthur hit a shot at 8:51 pushing the lead to 85-67.

The Grizzlies went up 94-74 on a 3 by Shane Battier who was wide open in the right corner with 5:43 left. The celebration began in earnest in Memphis.

Memphis already had become only the seventh No. 8 seed to go up 2-1 in the NBA playoffs since the league expanded the postseason to 16 teams in 1983-84, and the Grizzlies are just the third team to do it since the first round expanded to best-of-seven for the 2003 playoffs.

The Grizzlies had another electric crowd, just their sixth sellout of the season, and fans buzzed with a sense of expectation instead of mere hope for a win that surrounded this team when the Spurs swept them out of the playoffs in their first postseason trip in 2004.

The Spurs opened the game by hitting eight of their first 10 led by Parker who scored eight of the first 10 points. Memphis came out forgetting its strength is going inside to Randolph and Gasol, and Randolph set that tone by taking a long jumper as the Grizzlies' first shot. He missed, and they wound up outscored 16-6 in the paint for the quarter.

San Antonio led 26-21 after 12 minutes, the first time in this series the Spurs had outscored Memphis in the first quarter.

Greivis Vasquez had an ugly turnover at the end of the first quarter, just losing the ball. Hill took it and scored to make it 26-19. Vasquez, the second-year pro out of Maryland, rebounded by hitting his next three shots to start a 9-2 run. Mayo capped it with a fast-break layup for a 30-28 lead in the second.

Parker came into the game 15-of-44, and he hit all seven shots in the first half and his four free throws in helping the Spurs lead 50-48 at halftime. But he missed his first shot in the third quarter, a 3-pointer, at 9:58.

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The Heat roll to 2-0 lead over 76ers, 94-73

MIAMI – LeBron James outscored Philadelphia's entire starting five in the first half by himself.

So did Chris Bosh.

So did Dwyane Wade.

And that pretty much tells the tale of a night the 76ers would rather forget.

No comeback required for the Miami Heat this time. They went wire-to-wire on the lead, and moved two wins from advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

James scored 29 points, Bosh had his second straight double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Miami took a 2-0 series lead with a 94-73 victory over the abysmally shooting 76ers — who managed their second-lowest playoff scoring total in the last 56 years — on Monday night.

"It was a really complete game for us at both ends of the floor," James said.

Showing no signs of the migraine that he battled Sunday, Wade scored 14 points for Miami, now 17-3 in its last 20 games and halfway to winning its first playoff series since the 2006 NBA finals.

"I'm feeling a lot better," said Wade, who wasn't able to eat Sunday and was very low-energy at times before Monday's game. "I lost a lot of weight tonight ... but I think I did my job, to come out there and help my team get a win."

Thaddeus Young scored 18 points and Evan Turner added 15 for the 76ers, whose starters were outscored 76-29 by the Heat's first-string. Philadelphia shot 34 percent for the game, and after getting 42 points in the paint in Game 1, were held to 24 in that department Monday.

"We've had good defensive performances," Bosh said, "but I think today was our best of the season."

The 76ers find themselves needing to buck some serious history. Miami has never lost a series after winning the first two games (6-0), and the Philadelphia franchise is winless in 16 tries after falling into an 0-2 postseason hole. And then there's this — only 14 teams have won after losing the first two games of a best-of-seven NBA series.

"If they're playing great, they're a better team," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "OK? If they're playing on top of their game, they're a better team. I mean, they won 58, we won 41. That doesn't mean that we aren't going to play and compete and fight. But when they come out tonight and defend the way they did ... it's going to be very difficult for us to beat them."

It was Philadelphia's second-lowest playoff point total since 1955, the only exception coming in a 79-68 loss to Orlando in 1999. And the 76ers won that series.

Philadelphia made 15 of its first 24 shots in Game 1, a 63 percent clip. Since then: 47 of 140, 34 percent.

"You've got to give them credit," said Sixers guard Andre Iguodala, who has nine points on 4-for-15 shooting in the series.

Wade played 34 minutes, despite spending Sunday bedridden in a darkened room fighting off a migraine that he likened to a "nightmare." He had no outward ill effects, shooting 4 for 11 with six rebounds.

Instead, it's the 76ers who spent much of Monday looking pained.

"He controlled the game," James said of Wade. "He had two people on him so he just got off the ball and let other guys make things happen and it's good to have him on the court than in a suit."

Game 3 is Thursday night in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia shot only 26 percent in the first half, a record for a Heat playoff opponent. The 76ers' starters were outscored 41-9 in the opening 24 minutes, and unlike their last two meetings, never put a scare into Miami. Philadelphia had a 16-point lead in the teams' final regular-season matchup, a 14-point lead in Game 1, but simply couldn't get rolling Monday.

The 76ers didn't even have a starter reach double figures until 3:49 remained in the third quarter, when Jrue Holiday made a 3-pointer to get to 10 points. By then, James had 23, Bosh had 15 and Wade 12 — and the Heat led 68-50.

The margin kept growing from there, all the way to 28 at one point. A clearly frustrated Collins got a technical with 1:56 left and the game decided, the Heat holding a 91-67 lead.

"We just have to continue to fight," Sixers guard Lou Williams said. "Obviously we're dealing with a team that has a lot of guys that can score the basketball. ... They did what they were supposed to do, which was come out and defend the home court for two games and send us back to Philly with a sour taste in our mouths."

It was over fairly early. James said he wanted to be more aggressive in Game 2 than he was in the series opener, and apparently that message got to all corners of the Heat locker room.

Philadelphia was within 28-20 midway through the second quarter, but a 21-11 Heat run to end the half took care of that. James had consecutive baskets, the second of them a highlight-quality one-handed dunk off a high alley-oop lob from Mario Chalmers for a 37-23 lead, and Miami was off and running. That play was started by two blocks by Joel Anthony, who ignited the Heat defense all night.

"He's awesome," Bosh said.

The lead was 49-31 by halftime and 75-52 after the third quarter, in which Philadelphia shot only 33 percent but raised its percentage for the game to 28.

"Our energy tonight was much better," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, "from beginning to end."

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Grizzlies Surprised Spurs, Hornets Nip Lakers in NBA Playoffs

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AFP) – The New Orleans Hornets shocked the two-time defending NBA champion Lakers and upstart Memphis edged top-seeded San Antonio, Sunday in a pair of Western Conference playoff opener upsets.

Seventh-seeded New Orleans beat the Lakers 109-100 and Memphis defeated the Spurs 101-98.

Chris Paul had 33 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds for the Hornets as they seized the initiative over the Lakers in the first game of their best-of-seven series.

"Our defence was late. We were late on everything," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "They were aggressive and beat us to balls."

Memphis posted their first-ever NBA post-season win by stunning the top-seeded Spurs at the AT&T Center arena.

Zach Randolph scored nine of his 25 points in the fourth quarter for the eighth-seeded Grizzlies, who were making their first playoff appearance since the 2005-06 NBA season.

Marc Gasol finished with 24 points and Mike Conley had 15 points and 10 assists for Memphis, which finished with a 46-36 record in the regular season.

The Grizzlies earned their first playoff win since coming into the league as an expansion team in Vancouver, Canada, 16 years ago.

"It's nice from an annoyance perspective to have it out of the way, because I don't have to answer questions about being 0 and 13," Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said.

They were swept by San Antonio in four games in the 2004 playoffs.

Memphis was behind in the final minute of the game when Shane Battier nailed three-pointer with 23 seconds left, giving Memphis a slim 99-98 lead.

San Antonio tried to force overtime, but Richard Jefferson missed a long range shot as the clock ticked down.

Memphis players raced onto the court as the buzzer sounded to celebrated their first playoff win in 13 attempts.

Battier was with Memphis when they were swept by San Antonio seven years ago.

"It was awesome. I'm really happy for the city," Battier said. "Beale Street will be a fun place tonight. Most of these guys don't know the history or the heartache that the city has gone through. I'm happy for the city."

France's Tony Parker led San Antonio with 20 points. Tim Duncan had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who lost their sixth straight playoff series opener.

But the Spurs were forced to play without all-star guard Manu Ginobili who sat out with a sprained right elbow. Ginobili was injured during the final game of the regular season against Phoenix.

He will be re-evaluated by doctors to see if he can play in Wednesday's game two of the best-of-seven series.

George Hill started in Ginobili's place but shot just two-of-seven and finished with 15 points.

The Spurs were six-of-15 from the three-point line. Matt Bonner drained two from long range in the final two minutes as his second one gave the Spurs a 96-94 lead with 88 seconds left.

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James' 27 Boost Miami past Boston, 100-77

MIAMI - If this was a preview of the Eastern Conference semi-finals, then the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics was showed what to expect.

Few pleasantries.

Pushing and shoving.

And maybe a Game 7 in Miami.

LeBron James scored 27 points, Dwyane Wade added 14 and the heat is close to No. 2 seed in the playoffs East on Sunday by beating the Celtics 100-77 sliding.

"It was a playoff-type atmosphere, fans of both teams approach the game that meant," Wade said. "He had that feeling."

Miami moved a game ahead of Boston, trimmed its magic number to clinch the second seed to two. The teams will finish second and third in some order behind Chicago in the East, slotted to play in the conference semifinals.

"We like to play, I can say that," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "And we will need if you want to go somewhere."

Chris Bosh added 13 points and eight rebounds for Miami, which had been 0-3 against Boston this season, while Heat coach Erik Spoelstra warned against exaggerating the importance of winning.

"We've proven we can beat them tonight," Spoelstra said. "That's about it in my mind."

Paul Pierce 24 points and Kevin Garnett added 21 for Boston, which lost 10 once in his last 19 games. The Celtics were outrebounded 42-26 and outscored 44-26 paints.

"What do you expect? The Boston-Miami," said Garnett. "Apparently, they are two, if not the best two teams in the East, expect that you should expect to come here, you will not get the call, their passion was to be expected - ... A team you've beaten three times. "

Heat finally solved the Boston Celtics beat the hex for the third time over the last 21 meetings. Bosh was 1-13 against Boston since March 2007 and the Celtics finished the two seasons from 2009-10 to Wade (first round) and James (second round).

Miami won 13 season maligned - - once in his last 16 games, and its bench outscored Boston 32-12.

"What worked for us today, we played up front together," Wade said.

Ray Allen scored 13 points for the Celtics. Rajon Rondo was held to only seven points and five assists on 3-8 shooting.

"The frustration is high on our team right now," Rivers said.

Miami players were immense.

Mario Chalmers had nine points in the second quarter when the Heat took the lead. Joel Anthony had eight rebounds in the first half, two fewer than the whole list of Boston. Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored guide to start the third heat six was the steering and Anthony used a triple-team James and immersed for a 74-59 lead in the final game of the third quarter.

Of course, it is the heat-Celtics, nothing would come easy in Miami.

An 22, Boston ran 12 straight points, Allen from a set of four points and Pierce adding both a 3-pointer and a set of three points for the Celtics in 85 to 75.

It was the last breath. 04:49 Mike Bibby's 3-pointer on the left, then Bosh followed James' left to lose the lead back to 15

"We built that seems to hold only the guys in front of us, the shots of challenges and fly around defensively," said James.

Boston scored the first game by eight points and hit eight of their first nine shots. The Celtics were making it look easy, especially when Garnett - who had not made a 3-pointer all season - a step in a left wing and connected to a lead of 22-15.

"It looked like the same old song," said Spoelstra.

He did not stay. Boston went without a goal for the next 6:17, and Miami took the lead on the first possession of the second quarter.

Tensions were already high, and emotions soon overwhelmed.

Jermaine O'Neal - who had been easily influenced by James 27 seconds earlier in transformation - tried to stop another drive, the two-time reigning MVP with a shoulder check about 4 minutes in the second, otherwise play ball.

A melee broke out shortly under the curve. O'Neal received a flagrant-1, James has a technique to throw the ball to O'Neal, Wade and Pierce also received technicals for some pushing and shoving, and a small amount of waste flew into the stands on field.

"I thought it was all theater, all the shit. I guess that's tough call in these days," said Rivers. "Two guys run into each other, you have to call an obvious mistake, which I thought was a joke. And I thought the response has been both a joke. "

Bosh got his second technical 2 1 / 2 minutes later, saying he committed a loose ball in Rondo, only to have referees in Boston granted a timeout. But the heat stayed calm, keep throwing the second half, turned his eyes toward the street games in Atlanta on Monday that infest and Wednesday in Toronto.

"It's cool and everything," Bosh said, "but we still have two more games."

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Rose leads Bulls past Celtics 97-81 - Close in on Home-court Advantage

CHICAGO - Derrick Rose scored 30 points and the Chicago Bulls on top seed closed in the Eastern Conference, beating the Boston Celtics 97-81 on Thursday.

The Bulls "The 17 in 19 games to put four games over Boston and Miami with four to play and to remove heat from entering the No. 1 seed.

The Celtics, who play the Heat on Sunday, mathematics, once again, but a remote control.

But unless the collapse, Chicago is the top seed in the East.

It is another step for a team that should great things after a major overhaul, and all the Bulls have done is to provide their best season since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen made championship celebrations a regular event.

Rose was a highlight reel of a man against Rajon Rondo, hit him with a crossover and reach the edge, especially at the start of classes. Rose scored 16 points in the first half as the Bulls jumped out to a 48-43 lead, and Chicago after a brief regrouped in the third position.

Luol Deng scored 23 points and Carlos Boozer added 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Chicago dominated the Celtics 44-22 in the paint, outrebounded them 44-35 and held Boston to 38.4 percent shooting.

Paul Pierce led Boston with 15 points. Kevin Garnett scored his 10 points in the second half and finished with seven Rondo Jeff Green scored 10 and Ray Allen had seven points.

The Bulls led 48-43 at halftime when Pierce made a bridge and Rondo hit his first two baskets to give Boston a one-point lead, but the Bulls responded by running 10 straight, a dunk by Deng and the float Rose what it 58-49 midway through the third.

E 'state after 61-58 Glen Davis hit two free throws just over three minutes from the end of the quarter, the Bulls began a journey that stretched 13-2 in the fourth quarter.

Deng began the surge with a 3, and followed by a layup off a turnover Boozer with a steal and layup to make it 68-58 with 1:31 left. Davis hit two free throws for Boston. But Rose made a 3 with 23 seconds left in the quarter and Boozer added a play to three points 45 seconds into the fourth to strengthen the lead 74-60 in Chicago.

Not only do the Bulls in front of one of the best teams in the East, also honored with the unveiling of a sculpture Pippen him during a halftime ceremony.

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Shaq is Back for Celtics — But Only for a Moment

BOSTON – Boston Celtics center Shaquille O'Neal limped off the court 5 1/2 minutes into his first game back in more than two months with a new injury that casts new doubt on his ability to help the team in the playoffs.

After missing 27 games with a sore right leg, O'Neal entered Sunday night's game against the Detroit Pistons with 4:43 left in the first quarter. He scored on Boston's first two possessions and again later before grabbing a seat for the final play of the quarter.

Then, after returning for the start of the second, he lasted just 49 seconds more before limping off to the locker room accompanied by medical staff. The team said he had a strained right calf — the previous injury was in his right Achilles' tendon — and that he would be re-evaluated at halftime; at the break, a Celtics spokesman said he would not return.

It's not clear how long the injury will sideline the 39-year-old former NBA MVP. The Celtics had been counting on him to take important minutes at center in the playoffs — especially after trading Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City for Nenad Krstic, who is day-to-day with a bone bruise in his right knee.

A 15-time All-Star and four-time NBA champion, O'Neal signed with the Celtics for the veteran's minimum salary last summer for the chance to win another title. He has been limited to 37 games this season and is averaging 9.3 points.

He missed a week in November with a bruised right knee, a week in December with a calf injury and another in January with a sore right hip. He returned for three games — a total of about 34 minutes — before missing the next 27 games with what the team officially has called a sore right leg.

Although the injury was originally expected to keep him out just a few games, his absence stretched to more than two months.

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Miami Heat Seal Southeast Division Title

Newark, NJ - LeBron James had 31 points and 11 rebounds, and Miami Heat won the Southeast Division title with a 108-94 victory over the New Jersey Nets faced Sunday night.

"We do not want to be exhausted, coach Erik Spoelstra said after the Heat won their first division title since 2007." This is the first step. It is not our ultimate goal. We want to swallow As much as possible. "

Dwyane Wade added 18 points, despite a thigh injury in the first quarter and Chris Bosh had 16 as the Heat won their third in a row and eighth time in nine games.

The victory led Miami (54-23) within 2 1 / 2 games of idle Chicago (56-20) in the race for a place in the Eastern Conference. The heat has five games left, one fewer than the Bulls.

Deron Williams had 18 points and 12 assists to lead the Nets, who have lost six straight and 10 of 11 Travis Outlaw added 17 points and nine rebounds, while Brook Lopez had 16 points.

New Jersey was without leading rebounder Kris Humphries (ankle, heel) and the second straight game, and showed the plates. Miami won 50-30 advantage Erick Dampier grabbing a game-high 14

Miami's biggest concern was the game right thigh Wade. Outlaw Racing in the first quarter and spent the second quarter of changing rooms for treatment of contusion side. He convened the Court after the interval and looked so well after warmups, but he played almost 20 minutes in the second half, scoring nine points.

James was the catalyst for the Heat most of the game. He made 15 points in the first quarter and finished with 13 and 18 from the field and three assists shy of his fifth triple-double of the season.

Miami wasted no time in beating the Nets for the third time in as many games this season, and the seventh in a row overall. The Heat jumped out to lead 17-4, James and Wade will do more damage.

Wade scored six points and had an assist on an ally, PF James, who began a series of nine straight points from James.

The Heat led 26-10 when Wade's 3-pointer, and 32-18 at the end of the quarter by hitting an incredible 3:20 p.m. shots.

The Nets, who shot only 33 percent during the quarter, even within 14 points at halftime before cutting twice the margin of seven points in the third quarter.

The closest was a 83-77 Nets have two free throws by Lopez with 7:44 to go.

However, Bosh hit a jumper from the lane and James Jones hit a 3-pointer to ignite jet 11-2 that put the game away.

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