Spurs surge late to beat Grizzlies

 

The Grizzlies outscored the Spurs by 12 points in the third period but were unable to maintain their intensity in the fourth as the home side forced the game into overtime.
And the Spurs showed why they are one of the most devastating teams in the competition with a 12-8 run in the additional period.

Tony Parker posted a game-high 30 points and fellow veteran Tim Duncan hit 27 points and picked up 15 rebounds, while Australian Patty Mills added seven points, included a three-pointer in the fourth that sparked an 8-0 run.

Centre Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies with 20 points and Mike Conley was next best following his double-double (18 points and 12 assists).
Reigning NBA champions the Miami Heat powered past the Brooklyn Nets 102-89 on the back of a season-best performance from Dwayne Wade.

Wade scored 34 points and racked up seven assists as the Heat overcame a nine-point deficit at the half-time break.
Andray Blatche was the pick of the Nets players with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Gerald Wallace chipped in with 13.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Central division leaders the Bucks edged the Boston Celtics 91-88 in Milwaukee, Luol Deng hit 25 points as he guided the Chicago Bulls to a 93-88 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers and the Dallas Mavericks outclassed the Detroit Pistons with a dominant 92-77 win.
The Los Angeles Clippers extended the Sacramento Kings' winless away record to six, recording a convincing 116-81 triumph.

Jamal Crawford shot 17 points off the bench, while Blake Griffin and Chris Paul added 14 points each.
In one of the games of the season, the Portland Trail Blazers prevailed 118-117 against Cleveland in double overtime.

The Cavaliers led by two with 0.2 seconds remaining but Nicolas Batum sunk a three-pointer to hand the Trail Blazers a road victory.
Meanwhile, a 39-point final quarter inspired the Houston Rockets to a 124-116 win over the Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City eased past New Orleans 100-79 for their fifth win on the bounce and the Golden State Warriors got the better of the Indiana Pacers 103-92.

Carmelo Anthony posted 34 points as the New York Knicks preserved their unbeaten home record with a 106-99 win over the Phoenix Suns

 
Anthony reached the 30-point mark for the fifth time this season as the Knicks improved to 7-0 at home on Sunday and closed to within half a game of Eastern Conference leaders Miami Heat.

Raymond Felton hit 23 points and seven assists while centre Tyson Chandler chipped in with a double-double (15 points and 13 rebounds) to help the Knicks to their third successive win.

Marcin Gortat was the Suns' leading point-getter with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Shannon Brown notched 17 points for the visitors.

Despite Rasheed Wallace's early first-quarter ejection for his second technical foul, the Knicks went into the second period with a 24-20 lead before outscoring their opponents by 13 points for a 59-42 buffer at the main break.

Phoenix rallied in the third and even outscored New York by 10 points in the final quarter but the Knicks had already done enough to move a full game clear of rivals Brooklyn Nets in the Atlantic division.
Also on Sunday, a stunning 40-point final quarter lifted the Orlando Magic to a surprise 113-103 triumph at the Los Angeles Lakers.

In Dwight Howard's first match against Orlando since his lucrative switch to Los Angeles in August, it was the Magic who came up trumps at the Staples Center.
Experienced campaigners Al Harrington and Hedo Turkoglu were absent but it mattered little thanks to starring efforts from Arron Afflalo (30 points), Glen Davis (23 points and 12 rebounds) and Jameer Nelson (19 points and 13 assists).
Kobe Bryant posted a game-high 34 points, while Howard scored 21 points and 15 rebounds as Lakers slipped to 3-4 under new coach Mike D'Antoni.

The Los Angeles Clippers ended Utah's undefeated home run this season with a thrilling 105-104 victory.

 
The Jazz came agonisingly close to maintaining their 100 percent record at EnergySolutions Arena after Randy Foye (19 points) hit a three-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining in the match to get the hosts within a point of the Clippers.
But Foye's attempt to repeat the dose from beyond the perimeter just before the buzzer fell short to hand Los Angeles the win.

Blake Griffin was supreme for the visitors, accumulating 30 points and 11 rebounds in a dominant display while Jamal Crawford (20 points) and Chris Paul (14, nine assists) provided valuable support.
Only Mo Williams (20, 12 assists) scored more for the Jazz than Foye while Al Jefferson (16, 10 rebounds) also registered a double-double.
Elsewhere, the Denver Nuggets claimed a thrilling home win against Toronto, edging out the Raptors 113-110.

The Raptors fell short of a remarkable comeback after being down 89-75 at three-quarter time, edging within one point late on with Terrence Ross (12 points) hitting a three pointer and Kyle Lowry (24 points) also instrumental.

Denver's Ty Lawson (16 points) landed a three to give the hosts a cushioning lead late in the game, while Lowry did his best to reduce the gap with a three-pointer with 14 seconds to go, but it was not enough and the Nuggets held on for a thrilling win.
The Orlando Magic also claimed a hard-fought victory by defeating the Golden State Warriors 102-94 at the Oracle Arena on Monday.

The Warriors were denied a fourth straight win as the Magic proved to be too strong in the final quarter.
The two teams were tied at 79 apiece at three-quarter time but the Magic prevailed 33-25 in the last, with Arron Afflalo and Glen Davis scoring 24 points apiece for the victors.
In Monday's other results, the Portland Trailblazers accounted for the Charlotte Bobcats on the back of LaMarcus Aldridge's 25 points and 13 rebounds, the Detroit Pistons defeated a depleted Cleveland Cavaliers outfit 89-79 and Ryan Anderson netted 22 points to lead the New Orleans Hornets past the Milwaukee Bucks 102-81.

LeBron's heroics can't stop Wizards

 


While Heat star LeBron James missed a three-point jump shot with 3.9 seconds to play to tie the game, Crawford produced clutch plays when required.
The 24-year-old guard drew two fouls in the last 10 seconds and sank three of four from the line to clinch the win, improving the Wizards to 2-13.

Tuesday's game saw the Southeast Conference's bottom side, the Wizards, up against the top-placed Heat, with the former charging out to a strong lead in the first quarter, 30-25.
By half-time Washington had extended their lead to six points but the visitors fought back in the second half but failed to force extra-time.

James completed a triple-double (26 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists) but missed a three-point shot from the corner when his side needed it most, while Crawford scored 22 points off the bench and had six assists.
In Houston, the Rockets stormed home for a 107-105 win over the Los Angeles Lakers with Greg Smith scoring 14 fourth-quarter points for the home side.

The Rockets trailed 73-83 at three-quarter-time and were 12 points down soon after before going on a 23-9 run to take the lead with less than three minutes left.
With 13 seconds on the clock, Kobe Bryant sank a three-pointer to bring LA within a point of Houston.
But after Toney Douglas extended the Rockets' lead to 107-105 from the line, Bryant missed another three-point attempt and Lakers team-mate Metta World Peace failed with an eight-foot jump shot to hand Houston the win.

Douglas top-scored for the home team with 22 points, and Smith (21 points and nine rebounds) was also a key player for Houston, while Bryant (39 points) was clearly LA's best on the court.
Zach Randolph almost matched Bryant's haul in the Memphis Grizzlies' 108-98 overtime triumph over the Phoenix Suns.

The Grizzlies' power forward scored 38 points and had 22 rebounds after Memphis came from behind in the final quarter to force overtime before they blitzed the Suns in the extra period.
In other NBA results, the Minnesota Timberwolves thumped the Philadelphia 76ers 105-88, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Brooklyn Nets 117-111 and the Indiana Pacers won 80-76 over the Chicago Bulls.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant scored his 30,000th NBA point to lead his side past the New Orleans Hornets 103-87.

 

Bryant finished the game with 29 points, six rebounds and four assists, but it was a simple two-point jump shot that took him to the historic mark - making him just the fifth player of all-time to reach the milestone.
At 34, Bryant is the youngest to reach the 30,000-point mark. Wilt Chamberlain was 35, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone were 36 and Michael Jordan was 38.

Despite Bryant's heroics, Hornets forward Ryan Anderson was the top scorer with 31 points and nine rebounds.

The result saw the Lakers improve their season record to 9-10, still behind city rivals the Clippers and the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors chalked up a comfortable 104-97 win away at the Detroit Pistons to improve to 11-7, with trio Klay Thompson (27), Stephen Curry (22) and David Lee (20) all scoring 20-plus points.
Thompson was once again on his game from three-point range, netting five maximums from eight attempts.
In the late tip-off, the Clippers (12-6) defeated the Dallas Mavericks 112-90 as Jamal Crawford top-scored off the bench for LA with 20 points
.
Eastern Conference leaders the New York Knicks made it four wins on the trot with a 100-98 triumph away at the Charlotte Bobcats.
A fade-away jumper from JR Smith on the buzzer got the Knicks over the line, seeing them come back from eight points down midway through the final quarter.
The Bobcats have now lost their past five to slip to a 7-10 record after a promising start to the season.
An Atlantic division rival of the Knicks, the Boston Celtics coasted to a 104-94 victory at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Each of the Celtics' starting five reached double figures in the points column, headed by Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett (18 each).
The Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks both recorded home victories, with the former beating the Portland Trail Blazers 99-92 and the latter accounting for the Denver Nuggets 108-104.
Central division leaders the Chicago Bulls won away at rivals the Cleveland Cavaliers, as Marco Belinelli shot a game-high 23 points in his side's 95-85 victory.
The San Antonio Spurs continued their impressive season, moving to a 15-4 season record with a 110-99 triumph over the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Utah Jazz saw off the Orlando Magic 87-81, while the Sacramento Kings beat the Toronto Raptors 107-100.

Dag Dig Dug menanti tiket ke US

 

Dag Dig Dug Menanti Tiket ke Amerika

Hari ini Pengumuman DBL All - Star

Hari penentuan itu tiba juga. Sore nanti (5/7) di DBL Arena akan diumumkan 24 camper terbaik (12 putra dan 12 putri) DBL Camp 2012. Mereka akan masuk skuad DBL All-Star 2012 yang pada November mendatang belajar dan bermain basket di Seattle, Amerika Serikat.

Sebanyak 24 camper terbaik itu adalah pilihan di antara 235 student athlete (121 putra dan 114 putri) yang mulai menjalani camp sejak Minggu lalu (1/7). Setelah dilakukan dua kali eliminasi, tinggal 48 camper yang berpeluang ke Seattle kemarin.

Menanti pengumuman masuk DBL All-Star 2012 tentu membuat camper dag dig dug. Setelah berjuang keras untuk menampilkan performa terbaik pada hari keempat kemarin, mereka sangat berharap bisa mendapatkan tiket ke Amerika.

'Saya sih tidak terlalu yakin bisa terpilih. Entahlah. Namun, besok (hari ini, Red) saya harus mati-matian. Tidak ada pilihan lain karena kurang sehari,' kata Aric Soedarsono dari SMA Xaverius 1 Palembang.

Hal yang sama dirasakan Adriyani Nabila dari SMAN 3 Jakarta. Dia mengungkapkan tidak puas dengan penampilannya dalam sesi latihan dan scrimmage game kemarin. 'Saya belum maksimal. Rasanya, koksayabelum tune in. Memang persaingan sangat berat dan membuat fisik saya menurun,' tuturnya.

Kemarin dan hari ini tim pelatih dari World Basketball Academy (WBA), Australia, melakukan serangkaian seleksi final. Kumpulan coach kualitas dunia yang berbasis di Perth, Australia Barat, tersebut menekankan latihan tim (team training) secara intensif. Materi yang diberikan meliputi skill development yang berkaitan dengan posisi tiap pemain. Ada tiga posisi yang menjadi perhatian utama, yakni guard, wing, dan big man.

Tiga pemain dari NBL Indonesia, Andrie Ekayana (CLS Knights), Jerry Lolowang (Satya Wacana Angsapura Salatiga), dan Fandi Andika Ramadhani (Aspac Jakarta), membantu tim pelatih WBA mentransfer pengetahuan kepada camper. 'Hari ini (kemarin, Red) memang sangat intens. Kami menghadapi saat-saat yang menentukan. Semoga, para pemain menunjukkan kemampuan terbaiknya dan fight agar bisa terpilih dan berangkat ke Amerika Serikat,' kata anggota tim WBA Andrew Vlahov.

Berbeda dari tiga hari sebelumnya, Shane Froling mengambil alih posisi koordinator camp. Sebab, Mick Downer harus pulang ke Australia untuk mendampingi tim negaranya yang akan bertanding tingkat universitas di Tiongkok. Froling dibantu Vlahov, Jamie Pearlman, serta Jason dan Donna Cuperus.

Di tiap akhir sesi latihan Froling mendorong tiap pelatih untuk mengeluarkan semua pendapat dan unek-unek dalam rapat evaluasi. Hal itu penting. Sebab, hari ini tim pelatih menentukan sepenuhnya komposisi DBL All-Star 2012.

'Kami (kemarin, Red) harus menentukan 12 camper terbaik besok (hari ini, Red). Setidaknya, 14 camper lah. Memang mereka belum aman karena besok masih ada tes. Namun, list ini akan memudahkan kami untuk terus fokus kepada mereka,' papar Froling.

Selain memilih pemain untuk mengisi tempat DBL All-Star, tim pelatih ngebut untuk memilih kandidat most valuable player (MVP) DBL Camp 2012. Froling dkk menentukan enam camper yang menjadi kandidat. Mereka terdiri atas tiga camper putra dan tiga camper putri. Meski begitu, dia masih belum bersedia untuk membocorkan siapa saja kandidat yang dimaksud. 'Tunggu saja kejutannya,' tuturnya