Lakers win it at the line; 76ers stun Celtics to even series

 
 

The obituaries for the Los Angeles Lakers can be put away, at least for now. The Lakers are alive in their Western Conference semifinal series with the Oklahoma City Thunder after a jaw-dropping free-throw performance Friday night enabled them to hang on for a 99-96 victory.

 

 

The Lakers trail the series 2-1 with Game 4 Saturday night in L.A.
The Lakers made 41 of 42 free throws (only Andrew Bynum missed one) and Kobe Bryant scored 36 points, helping L.A. claw back from a late five-point deficit. The performance at the line was the second-best in NBA playoff history for teams with more than 30 attempts. Only Dallas' 49-for-50 effort against San Antonio on May 19, 2003, was better.
The Thunder were 26-for-28 from the line, but it wasn't quite enough.
Over in the Eastern Conference, the decades-long rivalry between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics has rarely had a more memorable finish from a Philly point of view than what was witnessed Friday night. The Celtics just want to forget it.
The Sixers trailed 14-0 to start, then 20-5, then 46-31 at halftime after shooting 23% in the first two quarters.

 

And they won the game going away.
Whether it be attributed to younger legs or a stronger will, the 76ers blew past the Celtics in the second half for a 92-83 victory that tied their Eastern semifinal series 2-2.
After a first half in which they barely had more field goals (nine) than turnovers (seven), the Sixers were booed by their fans as they headed to the locker room. But they decided they weren't ready to head back to Boston Monday facing elimination.
Perhaps even more surprising, though, was the way battle-tested Boston went cold and melted down after what looked like it would be an easy win. The Celtics look nothing more than mediocre in these playoffs and are making things hard on themselves.
"We lost our composure," coach Doc Rivers said.
Winners:
Kobe Bryant -- Fourteen of his 36 points came in the fourth quarter, and he made all 18 of his free throws on the night. Talk about answering the call in a must-win game.
Pau Gasol -- The Lakers forward on Friday won the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his extensive charity work as a UNICEF ambassador, winning a vote by members of the Professional Basketball Writers Association. Gasol has traveled the world to raise awareness for UNICEF over the past seven years, primarily working on programs involving nutrition, education and health care for children. He also has strong ties to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, where he began his NBA career
Andre Iguodala -- He converted only five field goals, but two of them, including a huge three-pointer, gave the Sixers a late five-point lead.
Lavoy Allen -- Sixers rookie forward, a second-round pick, has seen his playing time jump recently and contributed eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds Friday in more than 32 minutes off the bench.
Losers:
Thunder players not named Durant, Westbrook and Harden -- The OKC big three combined for 73 points, but the other seven players who saw action accumulated only 23 and missed 19 of 29 shots. More will be needed.
Kevin Garnett -- Ugly numbers for the Celtics frontcourt star, who otherwise has had a good series: Nine points on 3-for-12 shooting along with seven turnovers. With their big man struggling, the Celts followed suit.

Lakers' Jordan Hill charged

HOUSTON -- Los Angeles Lakers forward Jordan Hill faces a felony assault charge after an incident with his girlfriend in Houston.
Hill is charged with allegedly shoving and choking 28-year-old Darlene Luna, about 1 p.m. on Feb. 29 at his Houston apartment. Luna told police that the two had been dating for about two years. He was charged by Harris County prosecutors in March.
Hill will have to make an appearance in Houston to face the charge -- third-degree felony for assault on a family member by choking -- the Houston district attorney's office said.
The district attorney's office said that Hill faces a sentence of two to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. After paperwork is complete, a warrant for his arrest will be issued.
The Lakers have an off day in their first-round playoff series against the Nuggets before hosting Denver Tuesday.

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Hill was part of the trade that sent Derek Fisher to Houston March 15. The Rockets had a game the date of the incident but Hill did not dress for that game.
As word of the charge began to spread, two messages were posted on Hill's Twitter account: "Wowwwww," and "Unbelievable!!!!!!!!"
Hill later issued a statement.
"I'm saddened to learn of the accusations that were filed against me today," he said. "At this time I cannot comment further other than to say that my attorneys are working to gather all of the facts and evidence and I plan to cooperate completely with the authorities.
"I'd like to apologize to the Lakers organization and to all of their fans for the untimeliness of these accusations. I promise to keep my focus and attention on the playoffs during this time and to helping my team win another championship."
The Lakers also issued a statement later Monday.
"We are aware of the media reports alleging an incident involving Jordan Hill from two months ago when he was a member of the Houston Rockets," the statement read. "We do not have any details regarding these reports and therefore, as well as due to the personal and legal aspects, it would not be appropriate for us to comment. Any further inquiries regarding this should be directed to Jordan's representative."
Hill participated in Lakers practice Monday after meeting with Lakers coach Mike Brown and Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak to discuss the allegations.
"It's not that we were worried about his mental focus, we just told him we're behind him and let the legal process handle it however it needs to be handled," Brown said.
Brown said that, from his understanding, Hill would be available to play in Game 2 and did not anticipate Hill's role as the first big man off the bench in the Lakers' rotation changing moving forward.
Both Hill and Brown said they did not expect Hill to be absent from any games or practices as the case unfolds.
"But again, it's something that's not in my control and if he has to miss, then he has to miss," Brown said.
Hill is in his third year in the league out of Arizona. He has career averages of 5.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per

Amare Stoudemire lacerates hand after New York Knicks’ loss to Miami Heat

The sad reality for the Knicks: Amare Stoudemire administered far more damage to his hand — and an AmericanAirlines fire extinguisher — than his Knicks have done to the Heat so far in this playoff series.
As if falling down 0-2 against the Heat wasn’t discouraging enough, Stoudemire made matters worse after the game when he sustained a lacerated left hand when he took out his frustrations on a glass enclosure around a fire extinguisher in the hallway outside the visitors’ locker room.
Doctors and paramedics were summoned, but Stoudemire was not taken to the hospital, according to the Knicks. J.R. Smith said Stoudemire required stitches. Stoudemire was seen leaving the arena with his hand bandaged and his arm in a sling.
When reporters were allowed into the locker room after a much longer than usual 35-minute wait, there were drops of blood on a hallway inside.
Knicks coach Mike Woodson and players would not say how Stoudemire was injured, and Woodson said he’s not sure how serious the injury is.
But center Tyson Chandler said, “I just know he has a laceration and he is probably going to be out.
“You can’t fault anybody because Amare is a good person that has high emotions at times. One quick decision-making mistake, and now you’ve got to deal with repercussions.’’
Stoudemire said on Twitter after the game: "I am so mad at myself right now. I want to apologize to the fans and my team. Not proud of my actions, headed home for a fresh start."
New York forward Carmelo Anthony — who said he knew nothing about Stoudemire’s injury — did his part Monday, rebounding from a brutal Game 1 (11 points, 3-for-15 shooting) to produce 30 points and nine rebounds in Game 2.
Anthony was brilliant offensively in a 21-point first half but couldn’t replicate that in the second half, mustering only nine points after intermission.
He didn’t get nearly enough support from many of his teammates, as New York suffering the ignominious feat of equaling the NBA record for consecutive playoff losses, with 12.
The Memphis Grizzlies set the record from 2004 to 2006.
The Heat flummoxed Anthony in Game 1 by often fronting him, denying him the ball at times, and sometimes sending over a second defender.
New York countered that in Game 2 by running more pick-and-rolls (some involving Stoudemire) and by having Anthony often initiate offense on the perimeter. Unlike in Game 1, many of Anthony’s shots came off the dribble.
That approach worked in the first half, with Anthony shooting 9 of 18 from the field. At one point, Anthony nailed three consecutive jumpers over Shane Battier.
Anthony shot 1 for 5 in the third quarter, missing three jumpers. In the fourth quarter, he shot 2 for 3 and scored six points.
“I missed some shots,” Anthony said. “They weren’t going to allow me to score 40 or 50.”
Anthony insisted “the series is still up in the air. It’s their home court. It’s our turn now. We can’t wait to get back and protect home court. We’ve got to keep everybody positive. It’s far from over.”
• Chandler told Woodson he was feeling “great” after being hindered by the flu in Game 1. “I was just like a zombie out there [Saturday].”
Chandler, who went scoreless in 21 minutes Saturday, was more energetic in Game 2, closing with 13 points and seven rebounds. But in the center matchup, Chris Bosh had the better offensive game (21 points) Tuesday.
• Point guard Baron Davis (stiff back) started but said he wasn’t close to 100 percent. He had 12 points and six assists.
• Landry Fields replaced injured Iman Shumpert as New York’s starting shooting guard and could neither slow Dwyane Wade nor contribute much offensively. Wade called Fields one of the best cutters in the league. Fields scored two points, missing four of five shots.