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NBA Playoff Roundup: Spurs start strong, rout Grizzlies 105-83 in Western Conference finals opener

May 20, 2013 By Admin

(PhatzRadio / AP) — SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs opened the Western Conference finals resembling the past champions who’ve been there so many times before.

The Memphis Grizzlies looked like the first-timers still trying to adapt to their first conference finals appearance.

Tony Parker had 20 points and nine assists, Kawhi Leonard scored 18 points and the Spurs struck first by beating Memphis 105-83 on Sunday.

San Antonio raced out to a 17-point lead in the first quarter, then came up with a response when Memphis rallied to get within six in the second half. Both teams pulled their starters with over 5 minutes left and the Spurs leading by 21.

“I can promise you this: Nobody’s happy in our locker room, because we were up 2-0 (in the West finals) last year and we lost,” Parker said. “It’s just one game. It means nothing. We still have a long way to go.”

The Spurs avoided a repeat of their Game 1 loss when the teams met two years ago in the first round. The Grizzlies went on to knock San Antonio out of the playoffs as the top seed that time.

Memphis has lost its opener in each round in this year’s playoffs, recovering from an 0-2 hole in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers and an 0-1 deficit against Oklahoma City in the West semifinals.

Game 2 is Tuesday night in San Antonio.

“We just didn’t play well. It’s not anything specific,” coach Lionel Hollins said. “It’s just that we were running too fast, we missed some layups, we were taking bad shots and our defence was really awful. And the Spurs played well.”

The NBA’s stingiest defence wasn’t up to its usual standards, allowing the Spurs to hit 53 per cent of their shots and a franchise post-season-record 14 3-pointers while All-Star power forward Zach Randolph struggled. Randolph had just two points, getting his only basket with 9:26 left in the game.

He had a playoff-best 28 points and 14 rebounds in his last game, as Memphis eliminated defending West champ Oklahoma City in Game 5 on Wednesday night.

“Obviously, he’s their best scorer. He’s a beast inside,” Parker said. “We know he’s not going to play like that every game. It’s just sometimes it happens.”

The Grizzlies started to rally as soon as Randolph came out of the game for the first time in the second half.

Quincy Pondexter made a baseline cut for a layup off Darrell Arthur’s pass, then hit back-to-back 3-pointers during a 10-0 burst. Jerryd Bayless’ two-handed, fast-break dunk off a steal got the Grizzlies within 62-56 with 3:43 left in the third quarter.

The comeback was short-lived, though.

Bayless missed a 3-pointer on the next trip, and Manu Ginobili was able to make one at the opposite end to spark an 11-1 response that immediately restored the Spurs’ lead to 16 by end of the quarter. Leonard hit a pair of 3-pointers and Gary Neal had one as San Antonio kept pouring it on in the fourth.

The four regular-season meetings were all won by the team with more points in the paint, but perimeter shooting proved to be a bigger factor in the playoff opener. Memphis, which was second in the NBA by holding opponents to 33.8 shooting on 3-pointers, let San Antonio make 13 of its first 24 from behind the arc and finish 14 of 29.

Danny Green connected three times and scored 16, and Matt Bonner hit four of his five attempts for 12 points.

“We did a good job of moving the basketball, finding each other, trusting each other,” Green said. “Luckily we made some today.”

Pondexter led Memphis with 17 points, Marc Gasol scored 15 and Mike Conley had 14 points and eight assists.

“We were just so hyper, just running all over the place on defence,” Hollins said. “We’d have four guys in the paint and nobody would be out on the perimeter guarding anybody. And that’s not how we play defence.”

The Spurs asserted themselves early, scoring on their first seven possessions and also getting a couple head-to-head defensive stops from their veterans while claiming a quick 23-8 lead. Parker swiped the ball from Conley on Memphis’ second possession, running out for a layup, and Hollins burned a timeout in the first 2 minutes.

Tim Duncan snuffed out the ensuing play by blocking Randolph’s shot, and the Spurs’ strong start continued. Bonner hit back-to-back 3-pointers for a 17-point edge late in the first quarter, and San Antonio pushed out to a 43-23 advantage following consecutive baskets by Parker with 6:06 left before halftime.

It was the largest first-half deficit for the Grizzlies during the playoffs.

“Every time we made a mistake defensively, they made us pay every time,” Gasol said, who had three baskets in a push that helped Memphis get within 51-37 at halftime. “It was over-help or no help or whatever it was, they made you pay.”

Notes: Memphis’ only other deficit larger than 20 this post-season came in the first-round opener against the Los Angeles Clippers. L.A. didn’t lead by 20 until the final minute of a 112-91 victory. … Tracy McGrady got a standing ovation when he checked in with the Spurs up by 20 midway through the fourth quarter. … The Spurs had 13 3-pointers in Game 1 of their second-round series against the Clippers in last year’s playoffs.

NBA Playoff Roundup: Spurs start strong, rout Grizzlies 105-83 in Western Conference finals opener is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

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WNBA: Griner, Delle Donne, Diggins discuss sports and sexuality

April 18, 2013 By Admin

395c511c0a0839e37b8ab269a2738d21 WNBA: Griner, Delle Donne, Diggins discuss sports and sexuality

(PhatzRadio / SI) — SI Video host Maggie Gray: “Another big topic in sports recently is sexuality, especially with the NFL. In football it was rumored that maybe one or more players were going to come out–that would become huge news in the sports world and in general. In female sports, women’s sports, in the WNBA, players have already come out, and it’s really accepted. Why is there a difference between men and women in that issue?”

Brittney Griner: “I really couldn’t give an answer on why that’s so different. Being one that’s out, it’s just being who you are. Again, like I said, just be who you are. Don’t worry about what other people are going to say, because they’re always going to say something, but, if you’re just true to yourself, let that shine through. Don’t hide who you really are.”

Gray: “You’re in a different position where you’re not just a regular person, you’re a famous athlete, you’re the number one pick in the WNBA draft. How difficult was it for you to make the decision?”

Griner: “It really wasn’t too difficult, I wouldn’t say I was hiding or anything like that. I’ve always been open about who I am and my sexuality. So, it wasn’t hard at all. If I can show that I’m out and I’m fine and everything’s OK, then hopefully the younger generation will definitely feel the same way.”

Gray: “The second part of what people talk about with the NFL is that a male player would be hesitant to come out because they’re worried about what the people in the locker room would say about it. If you guys were her teammates, how would you respond to it?”

Elena Delle Donne: “In our sport, we’re fine with it. We’re all friends, and I want everybody to be who they are. You shouldn’t have to lie, that’s not fair. Hopefully the men can one day adopt that same attitude that we have.”

Skylar Diggins: “Yeah, we don’t ask Brittney to bring the ball up the court. We like Brittney because she’s a post player and that’s what she does best. We like her because she’s herself. I think it’s the same, we don’t care, you know, it has nothing to do with basketball or how you play the game. I think that people need to realize that. And once we do that, we’ll start to figure out everything out in the world, maybe become a better place, if people start accepting people for who they are.”

WNBA: Griner, Delle Donne, Diggins discuss sports and sexuality is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

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March Madness – Men’s Results: Louisville beats Duke 85-63 / Michigan rolls over Florida 79-59

April 1, 2013 By Admin

fd262b4f4bd678f93a8ac1a50c4da3f2 March Madness – Men’s Results: Louisville beats Duke 85 63 / Michigan rolls over Florida 79 59
(Michigan jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, while Louisville fought through an emotionally draining first half to join Syracuse and Wichita State in Atlanta for the national semifinals.)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Crying and shaken by the sight of Kevin Ware writhing on the court, his right leg splintered, Rick Pitino and his Louisville players had no idea how they were going to pull it together with a half still left to play and a Final Four berth on the line.

Ware showed them the way.

“I don’t think we could have gathered ourselves – I know I couldn’t have – if Kevin didn’t say over and over again, “Just go win the game,”’ Pitino said. “I don’t think we could have gone in the locker room with a loss after seeing that. We had to gather ourselves. We couldn’t lose this game for him.

“We just couldn’t.”

With Russ Smith, Peyton Siva and Gorgui Dieng leading the way, the Cardinals finally shook off their grief early in the second half, erupting for a 13-2 run that Duke was powerless to answer. The 85-63 victory clinched a second straight trip to the Final Four for the top-seeded Cardinals, who are determined to win it all for Ware, a New York City native who moved to the Atlanta area for high school.

The Cardinals (33-5) will play Wichita State in the national semifinals next Saturday. The ninth-seeded Shockers (30-8) added to their streak of upsets with a 70-66 victory over Ohio State on Saturday night.

As the final seconds ticked down, Ware’s best friend on the team, Chane Behanan, put on the guard’s No. 5 jersey and stood at the end of the bench, screaming. Cardinals fans chanted “Kevin Ware! Kevin Ware!”

“We talked about it every timeout, “Get Kevin home,”’ Pitino said.

Smith finished with 23 points and earned Most Outstanding Player honors for the Midwest Region. Siva added 16 while Dieng had 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Mason Plumlee had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Duke. But the Blue Devils (30-6) couldn’t overcome a poor start by Seth Curry, who scored all 12 of his points in the second half, or their foul trouble.

“I thought we had a chance there, and then, boom,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “That’s what they do to teams. They can boom you.”

This was the first time Pitino and Krzyzewski had met in the regional finals since that 1992 classic that ended with Christian Laettner’s improbable buzzer-beater, a game now considered one of the best in NCAA tournament history.

This game will be remembered, too, but for a very different – and much more somber – reason.

With 6:33 left in the first half, Ware, who has played a key role in Louisville’s 14-game winning streak, jumped to try and block Tyler Thornton’s 3-point shot. When he landed, Ware’s right leg snapped midway between his ankle and knee, the bone skewing almost at a right angle. Ware dropped to the floor right in front of the Louisville bench and, almost in unison, his teammates turned away in horror. Thornton grimaced, putting his hand to his mouth as he turned around.

“I heard it and then I seen what happened, (the bone) come out,” Smith said. “I immediately just, like, fell. I almost didn’t feel nothing.”

Pitino went to help Ware up and then saw the leg, which broke in two places.

“I literally almost threw up,” Pitino said, his voice catching. “Then I just wanted to get a towel to get it over that. But all the players came over and saw it.”

Louisville forward Wayne Blackshear fell to the floor and Behanan looked as if he was going to be sick on the court, kneeling on his hands and feet. Luke Hancock patted Ware’s chest as doctors worked on the sophomore and Smith walked away, pulling his jersey over his eyes. The arena was silent, and several fans wept and bowed their heads.

Pitino had tears in his eyes as he tried to console his players. Dieng draped an arm around the shoulders of Smith, who repeatedly wiped at his eyes and shook his head.

“It was really hard for me to pull myself together,” Smith said. “I didn’t ever think in a million years I would ever see something like that. And that it happened, especially, to a guy like Kevin Ware, I was completely devastated.”

As the Cardinals (33-5) gathered at halfcourt to try and regroup before play resumed, Pitino called them over to the sideline, saying Ware wanted to talk to them before he left.

“Basically, the bone popped out of the skin. It broke in two spots,” Pitino said. “Remember the bone is six inches out of his leg, and all he’s yelling is “Win the game, win the game.’ I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Added Siva, “He told us countless times: “Just go win this game for me. Just go win this game. Don’t worry about me, I’m fine. Just go win this game.’ I don’t know how he did it. I don’t know how he got strength to do it, but he told us to go out there and win.”

News of the injury dominated social media. Joe Theismann, whose NFL career ended with a horrific broken leg, said on Twitter, “Watching Duke/ Louisville my heart goes out to Kevin Ware.”

Pitino wiped away tears as Ware, whom Smith described as the Cardinals’ “little brother” was wheeled off the court. Surgeons reset his leg and inserted a rod in his right tibia during a 2-hour operation at Methodist Hospital. Ware is expected to remain in Indianapolis until at least Tuesday, and Pitino said he, his son Richard and the Cardinals’ equipment manager planned to visit the player later Sunday night and again Monday morning.

“He’ll come back,” Pitino said. “We’ll get Kevin back as good as new.”

But when play resumed, it was clear the Cardinals’ minds were elsewhere. They missed four of their next five shots along with two free throws, and were uncharacteristically sloppy. But they regrouped after a timeout, with Smith’s finger roll sparking a 12-6 run to finish the half that gave them a 35-32 lead.

Smith picked up where he left off at the start of the second half, making all three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt to give Louisville a 38-32 lead, its largest of the game to that point.

But just as he did against Michigan State, Curry got hot after halftime, making two 3s in the first three minutes. A Plumlee dunk tied the game at 42.

That, however, was all Louisville needed.

Clawing for every rebound, diving on the floor for loose balls and cranking the intensity up even higher on their ferocious defense, the Cardinals were not going to lose.

And everyone, Duke included, knew it.

This was only the second time the Blue Devils have reached the regional finals and failed to make it to the Final Four. The only other time? In 1998, when the Blue Devils lost to eventual national champion Kentucky.

“We got beat by a better team,” Krzyzewski said.

Smith made a layup. Siva had a nice jumper at the top of the key, and then followed with a layup. Just like that, Louisville was off. Siva had seven points during the run, which was only halted by a timeout. But Dieng kept it rolling with a jumper and a tip-in. After Plumlee made a pair of free throws, Hancock made a 3 and the roof of the Lucas Oil Stadium nearly blew off.

“When Kevin went down, it was devastating for all of us,” Siva said. “We just came together and Kevin Ware really was the reason why we pulled this game out.

“Everybody on the team just wanted to step up for him. For us to show that focus and that determination, we just tried to do it for him.”

050ef3218ce7c1f1946eb301d8f0ca4d March Madness – Men’s Results: Louisville beats Duke 85 63 / Michigan rolls over Florida 79 59
(Michigan jumped out to a 13-0 lead on Florida on Sunday and the Gators never recovered, thanks in part to six 3-pointers from Nic Stauskas. The Wolverines will now face Syracuse in the national semifinals.)

Michigan rolls into Final Four, beats Fla. 79-59

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Trey Burke and Michigan had the perfect response for everyone who said they were too young or not tough enough to make it all the way to Atlanta.

The championship trophy for the South Region is headed back to Ann Arbor, while another fabulous group of young Wolverines is going to the Final Four.

Led by Burke and sharp-shooting guard Nik Stauskas, one of three freshmen starters, Michigan controlled Florida from start to finish in a 79-59 win Sunday.

“It means the world – 20 years has passed and we haven’t been on that stage yet,” said Tim Hardaway Jr., the junior elder statesman in the starting lineup.

The last time Michigan made it this far was the Fab Five era of the early 1990s, what until now had been considered the program’s glory years.

Might be time to start rethinking that.

Once they got ahead Sunday, the Wolverines (30-7) maintained a double-digit lead against the experienced Gators (29-8), who won the regular-season title in the Southeastern Conference, but lost in a regional final for the third straight year.

“We’ve almost become numb to it now. Been here before,” Gators junior center Patric Young said. “I just really wish we were out there cutting the nets down.”

Stauskas scored 22 points while making all six of his 3-pointers. Burke, the South Region’s most outstanding player, scored 15 points even while dealing with some spasms in his upper back, and 6-foot-10 freshman Mitch McGary had 11 points and nine rebounds.

When the game ended, Burke and several of his teammates went to the opposite side of the court toward Michigan fans behind press row with fingers raised. Fans were chanting, “It’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine!”

And great to be young.

“Seeing it all come together, I don’t what to say,” sixth-year Wolverines coach John Beilein said. “I’m a little bit speechless.”

Michigan hadn’t reached the Final Four since consecutive finals appearances in 1992 and 1993, the freshman and sophomore seasons of the Fab Five – Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson and Jimmy King.

Webber was gone before that team’s 1994 regional final loss to Arkansas played in the now-demolished Reunion Arena in Dallas, with Rose and Howard following him to the NBA after that.

With four wins in this NCAA tourney, the Wolverines already have more tournament victories than their total (three) from the end of the Fab Five era to this season. They won a game in 1998, and then didn’t even make the field again until 2009.

Burke is from Columbus, Ohio, and grew up an Ohio State football fan while rooting for Duke basketball. The sophomore still knew of the Wolverines’ history and isn’t surprised to be back in the Final Four again so quickly after arriving in Ann Arbor.

“I said it in the summer and the coaches kind of got on me saying we can be national championship contenders. But that was coming from my heart,” said Burke, surrounded by the sons of three former NBA players. “I knew once we put the talent with the toughness and execution, then I knew this team could be special. We’re coming together at the right time.”

The Wolverines overcame a 14-point deficit in the final 7 minutes against top seed Kansas two days earlier, getting to overtime after Burke’s long 3-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation.

Despite being the only team to make regional finals each of the last three seasons, the Gators haven’t been to the Final Four since winning consecutive national titles in 2006 and 2007 for coach Billy Donovan.

Kenny Boynton and Erik Murphy, the four-year seniors who came in not long after those titles, will leave without one of their own. They were part of the only Gators class to win consecutive outright SEC regular-season championships, but came up short in the biggest games.

Florida is the first team to make it to three consecutive regional finals without winning at least one of them, according to STATS LLC. Wyoming lost in the round of eight from 1947-49, but that stretch ended two years before the NCAA tournament expanded to more than eight teams.

“I feel more upset for Boynton, (Mike) Rosario and Murphy, who don’t get a chance and have come so close,” Donovan said. “This one, we didn’t play well enough or deserve to win.”

Boynton and Will Yeguete had 13 points apiece for the Gators.

The Gators were able to recover from an early deficit against Florida Gulf Coast for a 62-50 win Friday night on the raised stage at Cowboys Stadium.

It was another story facing Big Blue.

After McGary started the scoring with a layup, Stauskas made a behind-the-back pass to McGary for a slam before making his first 3-pointer less than a half-minute after that.

Burke passed to McGary for a layup before driving for one of his own. McGary’s jumper made it 13-0 only 3:05 into the game.

Stauskas, who was 2 of 12 from 3-point range the first three games of this NCAA tourney, was on target against the Gators.

The 6-foot-6 guard from Canada put the Wolverines up by 24 points with 4:08 left in the first half after two consecutive 3s from the left corner in a span of 27 seconds.

Like he did on all of his makes, Stauskas came back down the court with a smile on his face, sharing the moment with the Wolverines fans who made the trip to North Texas.

“I can’t even explain the feeling. I was having so much fun,” Stauskas said. “I’ve been working and dreaming my whole life about something like this. To finally have it, I have a smile on my face and I’m enjoying the moment.”

Florida missed its first seven shots before Yeguete made a layup more than 3 1/2 minutes into the game.

It was a rough finale for Murphy, who twice thought he had easy baskets in front of him only to have the shots blocked. Murphy had eight rebounds, but finished 0-of-11 shooting and was scoreless for the first time this season.

Murphy was clearly devastated, staring at the floor with slumped shoulder in the locker room after the game.

“Just missed shots,” Murphy said, barely loud enough to be heard, and answering in short spurts. “Our defense was bad.”

Even with an 11-2 run late in the first half punctuated by Boynton’s 3-pointer, the Gators were still down by 15 with a minute to go in the first half.

But the Wolverines were able to score even after it appeared that the half had ended; Burke was already heading off the court pumping his right arm toward the Michigan fans.

Stauskas was fouled on a 3-point attempt with .4 seconds left and, after officials reviewed the play, hit two free throws to give the Wolverines a 47-30 lead.

It was that kind of day for Michigan, and for Florida, as well.

March Madness – Men’s Results: Louisville beats Duke 85-63 / Michigan rolls over Florida 79-59 is a post from: PhatzRadio.com