2008 NBA Playoffs

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Jason Kidd escapes NBA suspension over flagrant foul
04/29/2008 | 11:30 AM

Email this | Email the Editor | Print | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us DALLAS - Jason Kidd won't be suspended for his flagrant foul on New Orleans' Jannero Pargo, meaning the Mavericks will have their starting point guard Tuesday night when they try to avoid elimination Tuesday night in Game 5.

Kidd's takedown of Pargo drew an automatic ejection. The NBA reviewed the play Monday and determined further punishment wasn't necessary, league spokesman Tim Frank said.

The play came with 7:16 left in the Hornets' 97-84 victory Sunday. Dallas trails 3-1 in the first-round series.

Pargo said after the game he was surprised Kidd was ejected. Kidd said he was "just trying to stop him from getting an easy layup." - AP

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Kobe fires 31 as Lakers sweep Nuggets, 107-101
04/29/2008 | 03:25 PM

Email this | Email the Editor | Print | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us DENVER - No surrender on this night. No matter, the Los Angeles Lakers dispatched the tempestuous Denver Nuggets anyway. Kobe Bryant scored 14 of his 31 points over the final 5 1/2 minutes Monday night, leading the Lakers to a 107-101 victory over the Nuggets and a sweep of their first-round series.

Pau Gasol added 21 points in the Lakers' first sweep of a playoff series since whitewashing New Jersey in the 2002 NBA finals, the last time they won it all.

The Nuggets became the first 50-win team to ever be swept in the first round of the playoffs.

The Lakers will meet the winner of the Utah-Houston series, which the Jazz lead 3-1, in the Western Conference semifinals.

The Nuggets won 50 games this season for the first time in two decades, and they did it in the power-packed Western Conference. But they were no match for the top-seeded Lakers, who are 25-5 with Gasol in the lineup.

Bryant took over in the waning minutes, scoring nine straight points in every way — a turnaround jumper, a 3-pointer, a driving layup and a 15-foot floater — to give the Lakers a 97-96 lead.

When Luke Walton made a wide-open 3 from the right corner, the Lakers went ahead 100-96 with 2:37 left, and Denver's Kenyon Martin and Carmelo Anthony soon fouled out.

Bryant made three free throws and a jumper after that.

Anthony accused his team of quitting in Game 3 and he insisted he wasn't going to let that happen Monday night. He was right. The Nuggets didn't lay down, even when they fell behind by 13 points in the first half. They stormed back to make it a seesaw game in the second half.

But again, Los Angeles had the answers and sent the Nuggets to their first-ever sweep in a seven-game series.

Anthony fouled out with 1:19 left and Bryant made one free throw for a 101-96 lead. After Nene's slam dunk, Bryant's running bank shot make it 103-98.

Marcus Camby's first points since the series shifted to Denver came on a 3-pointer from the left corner with 33 seconds left, cutting the Lakers' lead to 103-101, but Gasol maneuvered underneath for a dunk, and Bryant added two free throws with 18 seconds left to cap the scoring.

Lamar Odom had 14 points and 12 rebounds for Los Angeles and Vladimir Radmanovic scored 12 points.

J.R. Smith led the Nuggets with 26 points, while Allen Iverson had 22 and Anthony 21.

The Nuggets were bounced in the first round for the fifth straight season — only this time, they didn't even win their customary one game, suffering their first sweep since San Antonio beat them 3-0 in 1995, when the first round was best-of-five.

The Nuggets couldn't keep Los Angeles out of the lane for easy layups and dunks and they made the silly mistakes that the Lakers avoided, like the missed dunks by Nene and Anthony, who blew an alley-oop rim-rattler that bounced out of bounds at halfcourt in the third quarter.

Anthony trotted back downcourt, laughing all the way. Moments later, he picked up his fourth foul.

It looked like the Nuggets were ready to surrender for the summer.

Then, out of nowhere, they made a game of it, taking their first lead of the night on Linas Kleiza's step-back 11-footer that put Denver ahead 73-71, igniting the crowd.

The Lakers righted themselves and took a 79-77 lead into the back-and-forth fourth quarter.

Gasol sent the Lakers to their locker room up 64-54 at halftime when he made a difficult layup between two defenders at the buzzer.

In the first quarter, Gasol drove the lane for a dunk while Anthony watched from the lane like he was awaiting a free throw. Another time, Gasol slammed home a dunk while Camby lay on the floor after what he thought was a foul and the officials saw as a flop.

After missing two dozen shots in the paint in their 102-84 loss in Game 3, the Nuggets ditched their off-day practice and watched 10 minutes of film and listened to motivational speeches from their coaches while the Lakers went through a 90-minute workout.

The Nuggets had dozens of "I Believe" signs taped throughout their weight room, on the walls, even on the machines. - AP

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Source: Bobcats to hire Brown as coach
04/29/2008 | 12:21 PM

Email this | Email the Editor | Print | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Well-traveled Larry Brown has reached an agreement to return to the NBA as coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, a person familiar with the decision told the Associated Press on Monday.

The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because an official announcement has not been made, said Brown was expected to sign a contract on Tuesday. The Bobcats have called an afternoon news conference for what was termed a "major basketball announcement."

Brown will replace Sam Vincent, fired on Saturday after going 32-50 in his one season. It'll be Brown's ninth NBA team and his first coaching job since his messy exit as coach of the New York Knicks in 2006.

The move means Bobcats part-owner Michael Jordan has turned to a fellow former North Carolina Tar Heel to try to get the fourth-year Bobcats into the playoffs for the first time. Jordan and the 67-year-old Brown both played for former North Carolina coach Dean Smith. - AP

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Celtics stumble at a bad time
TIM DAHLBERG, AP Sports Columnist
04/29/2008 | 04:51 PM

Email this | Email the Editor | Print | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us David Stern was courtside in Atlanta, taking in the game and making sure no one was flashing any signs not officially approved by the NBA.

Stern did his job well because there wasn't a gangsta moment all night, unless you count the mugging Joe Johnson and the Hawks gave the Boston Celtics in the fourth quarter of a series that by all accounts was supposed to be over by now.

Depending on whose side you're on, the fact that it's not either says something about the unpredictability of a league where anything can happen or the silliness of having a team that couldn't come close to winning half its games in the regular season even being allowed into the playoffs against the team with the best record in the NBA.

Sure, the Celtics will likely prevail by the time it is all over, if only because home-court advantage means so much and two of the final three games will be played in Boston. The Hawks won only 12 games on the road during the regular season, so their chances of stealing one in the playoffs aren't all that good, even with the momentum on their side.

Still, the worst team in the playoffs is giving Boston fits, which outside of Atlanta is a huge buzz killer for a postseason that so far hasn't lived up to the lofty expectations that most everyone had coming in.

"Basketball is a strange thing," Boston's Sam Cassell said. "Strange things happen."

Strange things do happen, but usually the great teams find a way to overcome them. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers must have thought it was strange that the Denver Nuggets actually came to play after rolling over in the second half of their game a few nights earlier, but that didn't stop Los Angeles from completing an easy four-game sweep.

While the Celtics are struggling with a team that wouldn't have sniffed the playoffs had it been in the West, the Lakers dominated a team that won 50 games in the regular season and had a pair of superstars in Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson. In doing so, they put to rest the theory that any playoff team in the Western Conference could beat any other team.

That's largely because the Lakers have Bryant, who will likely finally win the MVP award this year that has always somehow eluded him. Bryant finally has a big man to complete him once again, but it was he, not Pau Gasol, who took over at the end of the game to make sure the Nuggets didn't steal one.

"He just exploded at the end of the game," Anthony said. "It's something he always does."

Bryant and the Lakers looked just like what they were supposed to be – the No. 1 team in the conference and the favorite to still be standing when the playoffs mercifully end many weeks from now. They took care of business with cool efficiency, and will now be able to go home and spend some time resting up for either Utah or Houston.

The Celtics won't have that luxury. They have at least two more games against the lowly Hawks, games they should never have had to play, and have accomplished nothing so far other than to make a long season even longer.

They may still emerge from the East to play in the finals, but it no longer seems the certainty it did after the Celtics finished the regular season with a league leading 66 wins. While Bryant can carry his team seemingly whenever needed, Kevin Garnett made it past the first round of the playoffs only once in eight attempts with Minnesota.

Garnett, of course, never had the supporting cast he now has with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, but teams of destiny don't lose one first round game to the likes of the Hawks, much less two in a row.

"We've got to find us real quick," Cassell said. "We've got to find our team identity, our team chemistry, we've got to find all that real quick."

Boston coach Doc Rivers didn't seem all that worried about his team's ability to recover its swagger. Someone noted that the Red Sox had lost five in a row and wondered what Rivers would tell people who might be thinking of jumping off a bridge in despair over the twin losing streaks.

"Don't jump," Rivers said, chuckling.

Good advice, because the Celtics will be back home Wednesday night and should again look like the team that won the first two games of the series by an average of 21 points. They're so talented that Vegas oddsmakers had them a nine-point favorite on the road against Atlanta, and a blowout wouldn't be surprising.

The Celtics are still likely to run the table and hold up their part of the bargain for the dream matchup in the finals against the Lakers that would send television ratings through the roof. Their ill-timed stumble aside, they're still by far the best team in the East.

But so far they're making it a lot harder on themselves than they should. - AP

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Pat Riley to quit as Miami coach: reports

Agence France-Presse

MIAMI - Pat Riley will resign as coach of the Miami Heat after struggling through the worst season of his National Basketball Association career, area newspapers reported Monday.

The Miami Herald and South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that Riley would step down but remain as team president, a move the club would not confirm even as it announced plans for a news conference later Monday.

Riley, 63, met with Heat owner Micky Arison over the weekend to talk about the future direction of the team, which finished a league-worst 15-67 this season, trading Shaquille O'Neal to Phoenix and watching guard Dwyane Wade struggle with nagging injuries.

The Sun Sentinel reported that Erik Spoelstra, a Heat assistant coach, would replace Riley as the bench boss.

Riley took over for Stan Van Gundy 21 games into the 2005-2006 season and guided the Heat to an NBA title, but this year's Heat matched their 1989-1999 inaugural version for the worst record in club history.

Riley has a 1,210-694 regular-season record and five NBA titles to his credit and will be inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame later this year.

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Pat Riley to quit as Miami coach: reports

Agence France-Presse

MIAMI - Pat Riley will resign as coach of the Miami Heat after struggling through the worst season of his National Basketball Association career, area newspapers reported Monday.

The Miami Herald and South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that Riley would step down but remain as team president, a move the club would not confirm even as it announced plans for a news conference later Monday.

Riley, 63, met with Heat owner Micky Arison over the weekend to talk about the future direction of the team, which finished a league-worst 15-67 this season, trading Shaquille O'Neal to Phoenix and watching guard Dwyane Wade struggle with nagging injuries.

The Sun Sentinel reported that Erik Spoelstra, a Heat assistant coach, would replace Riley as the bench boss.

Riley took over for Stan Van Gundy 21 games into the 2005-2006 season and guided the Heat to an NBA title, but this year's Heat matched their 1989-1999 inaugural version for the worst record in club history.

Riley has a 1,210-694 regular-season record and five NBA titles to his credit and will be inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame later this year.

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NBA imposes fines on Celtics' Pierce, Wizards' Stevenson
Agence France-Presse

NEW YORK - Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce and Washington guard DeShawn Stevenson were each fined 25,000 dollars on Monday by the National Basketball Association for "menacing gestures" in playoff games.

NBA commissioner David Stern said the punishments imposed were meant as a warning to players regarding on-court confrontations and challenges from rivals during games.

"The league is sending a message - You're the best athletes in the game. Play the game. If you get baited, don't take the bait," Stern said. "We're not going to let it degrade to something else."

Pierce made his gesture in the final seconds of a 102-93 loss to Atlanta in game three of their Eastern Conference opening-round playoff series. Pierce will appeal the fine after the playoffs, Celtics coach Doc Rivers said.

"It's behind us. We want to move forward," Rivers said. "We're going to focus on playing basketball."

The Celtics had the NBA's best record and own a home-court edge throughout the NBA playoffs.

"It's silly," Rivers said. "The guys have done things to everyone else as a sign to everyone else. Unfortunately, everybody is sensitive about signs. I didn't know that, but I know that now."

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Magic oust Raptors, advance in NBA playoffs
Agence France-Presse

ORLANDO, Florida - Dwight Howard scored 21 points and grabbed 21 rebounds here Monday to lead Orlando past Toronto 102-92, advancing the Magic to the second round of the National Basketball Association playoffs.

Jameer Nelson added 19 points while Rashard Lewis contributed 18 points and 13 rebounds for Orlando, which will face the winner of the Detroit-Philadelphia series in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Raptors led 50-49 at half-time but the Magic outscored Toronto 25-18 in the third quarter and held off the Canadian club in the final quarter to capture the clincher and win the best-of-seven series four games to one.

Philadelphia and Detroit are level at 2-2 in their series with game five Tuesday at Detroit and game six Thursday at Philadelphia. The Magic would own a home-court edge on Philadelphia but Detroit would have the advantage over Orlando.

Chris Bosh led Toronto with 16 points while T.J. Ford and Carlos Delfino each added 14 for the Raptors.

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Fil-Am takes coaching reins of Miami Heat

By ROY MEDINA
abs-cbnNEWS.com

Another Filipino has again made it to the A-list.

Eric Spoelstra, however, will not be belting out tunes in the "American Idol" or "Britain's Got Talent."

Instead, Spoelstra, 37, will take head the Miami Heat club in the National Basketball Association.

Spoestra, an assistant coach of the Heat, was appointed chief following the resignation of Pat Riley on Tuesday.


Related Stories
• Spoelstra takes over from Riley as Heat coach
• Pat Riley to quit as Miami coach: reports

"I believe Erik Spoelstra is one of the most talented young coaches in a long time," Riley told a news conference.

"The last five years I've been a little bit in conflict with whether or not I wanted to (coach)," said the 63-year-old who had also coached the Los Angeles Lakers to four NBA titles, led the New York Knicks to the NBA Finals and steered the Heat to the championship in 2006.

Despite his resignation, Riley said he will continue his duties as Heat president. "I am very excited about moving forward in building this franchise back to where we can all be proud of it."

Reuters reported that Spoelstra spent two years as a player-coach for Tus Herten in the German professional league following his spell at the University of Portland.

He is the son of Jon Spoelstra, a long-time NBA executive who helped run the Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets and New Jersey Nets.

"I'm fortunate I've had the opportunity to work for a great leader, a Hall of Fame coach and someone who has been an incredible mentor," said Spoelstra, who joined the Heat as the team's video coordinator 13 years ago.

Nearly played in the PBA

Spoelstra is proud of his Filipino roots.

He said he still has relatives in the Philippines and family in the US.

However, the new Heat coach said he has yet to return to his mother's homeland since he was three.

Spoelstra also admitted he nearly came home to the Philippines after finishing with a degree from the Unviersity of Portland.

"Looking back I wish I had the opportunity to play in the PBA," he told ABS-CBN's "Balitang America" during a previous interview.

Asked if there are immediate plans of visiting the Philippines, Spoelstra said he wants to bring NBA-style coaching to develop Philippine basketball. With Reuters

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Brown reaches deal to coach NBA Bobcats: report
Agence France-Presse

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina - Larry Brown, a Hall of Fame coach who guided Detroit to a National Basketball Association title, has reached a deal to coach the Charlotte Bobcats, the Charlotte Observer reported.

Citing an unnamed NBA executive source, the newspaper reported early Tuesday that Brown, who resigned last Thursday as executive vice president of the Philadelphia 76ers, agreed Monday to replace Sam Vincent as the Bobcats coach.

Vincent was fired Saturday and said he thought the availability of Brown was a factor in his being dumped. Brown said when he departed the 76ers that he was seeking a coaching position.

The Bobcats plan to make a major announcement Tuesday afternoon, likely the confirmation that Brown, 67, would take charge of the team whose executive decisions are made by retired NBA legend Michael Jordan.

Brown, a former University of North Carolina player, has not coached since guiding the New York Knicks in 2005.

It was in Philadelphia where Brown served six seasons as coach and vice-president - his longest stint in any of his numerous stops - before leaving both jobs in May of 2003.

Brown posted a 255-205 record with the 76ers and guided them to the playoffs five times, including the 2001 NBA Finals.

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Lakers sweep Nuggets to advance in NBA playoffs
Agence France-Presse

DENVER, Colorado - Kobe Bryant scored 31 points and Pau Gasol added 21 to spark the Los Angeles Lakers past Denver 107-101 Monday, completing a first-round National Basketball Association playoff sweep.

Bryant hit 12-of-24 from the field, including scoring nine consecutive Laker points in a key stretch late in the fourth quarter, and Lamar Odom added 14 points for the Lakers, the top seeds in the West.

"They did a good job in the third quarter denying me," Bryant said. "We made our adjustments, they made theirs and we made them pay in the fourth."

The Nuggets became the first 50-win team ever swept out of the playoffs in the first round, the Lakers taking the best-of-seven series in four games to book a second-round Western Conference date with either Utah or Houston.

"In the West there are no easy matchups," Bryant said. "We're looking forward to whoever we face."

The Lakers were also looking forward to a rest before the next round.

"It's extremely important to relax, get home, rest a little bit, get some treatment and get ready for the second round," Bryant said.

J.R. Smith scored a playoff career-high 26 points to lead the Nuggets while Allen Iverson added 22 points and Carmelo Anthony scored 21.

"I feel like me and my teammates gave everything they had and put everything on the line," Iverson said. "You have to accept that when guys give everything they had. We gave everything we had. We just got beat by a better team."

Denver went out in the first round for the fifth season in a row.

"There's a lot of guys in that locker room who want to win a playoff series and we haven't done it. That's the disappointment we all have," Nuggets coach George Karl said.

"The last four years... have not ended well in playoff basketball. Playoff basketball is the greatest stage in the NBA and we haven't found a way to conquer that.

"Our team made a big step forward this year but the Western Conference is amazing. We have to take some time to analyze what we have to do to move up."

With Iverson and Anthony among the NBA's top scorers, defense could be the key the improved playoff performance.

"Defense has to be the focus for next year," Iverson said. "We know we can score the ball. All it is is looking at yourself in the mirror and figuring out what you can do to make your team better."

Anthony, who accused his teammates of quitting in game three, felt differently after game four, saying, "We left it out there."

A Linas Kleiza jumper with 2:23 to play in the third quarter gave the Nuggets their first lead at 73-71 to cap a 10-0 Denver run, but the Lakers reclaimed the lead at 79-77 entering the fourth quarter.

The game was level at 90-90 when Bryant put the Lakers ahead on a 3-pointer with 4:27 to play, then drove for a layup that lifted the Lakers ahead 95-90.

Smith answered with a 3-pointer and a steal for a layup plus a free throw to put Denver on top 96-95.

Bryant answered with a jumper to put the Lakers ahead 97-96, his last of his nine in a row after 17 minutes with a basket from the field, and Luke Walton added a 3-pointer to put the Lakers ahead 100-96 with 2:37 remaining.

"You can't take nothing away from that Laker team. They had a great series," Anthony said. "Kobe took over the game in the fourth quarter. He hit some tough shots. He just exploded. He did those things he always seems to do."

Bryant added a bank-shot from the baseline that gave the Lakers a 103-98 edge but Marcus Camby, who grabbed 17 rebounds, answered with a 3-pointer to pull the Nuggets within two with stars Iverson and Anthony having fouled out.

Spanish big man Gasol responded with his first basket of the second half to lift the Lakers' lead to 105-101 and the Lakers hit free throws in the final seconds to finish off Denver.

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Struggling Bobcats appoint Brown as coach

Reuters

NEW YORK - The Charlotte Bobcats appointed Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown on Tuesday, replacing Sam Vincent who was sacked on Saturday after just one season in charge.

The only head coach to win an NCAA and NBA title and the fifth most successful in the NBA with 1,010 career victories, Brown takes over a team who finished the season 12th in the Eastern Conference with a 32-50 record.

"Few coaches in this league carry the type of basketball resume that Larry Brown offers," Bobcats managing member of basketball operations Michael Jordan said on the team's Web site (www.nba.com/bobcats).

"He is one of the great coaches of our game and we are pleased to have him as part of our organization."

The 67-year-old has coached the New Jersey Nets, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers with whom he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002.

He has led teams to 17 playoff appearances, seven division titles, three conference championships and the Pistons to an NBA title in 2003-04.

Brown also coached the University of Kansas to an NCAA championship in 1987-88 and was head coach of the US men's team at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and an assistant on the American gold medal team in Sydney four year earlier.

"Having played and coached in North Carolina I understand the rich history of the sport in this state," Brown, who played for and coached the University of North Carolina, said.

"I look forward to the opportunity to continue building the Charlotte Bobcats into a significant part of that tradition."

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Michael Jordan hires Larry Brown as Bobcats coach
04/30/2008 | 08:05 AM
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Larry Brown wanted to resurrect his vagabond, Hall of Fame coaching career. Michael Jordan needed a veteran teacher and a big hire to rescue his sinking re:"tion as an NBA executive.

The two former North Carolina players teamed up Tuesday when Jordan introduced Brown as coach of the Charlotte Bobcats — his ninth NBA coaching job. Brown agreed to a four-year contract, returning to the state where his nomadic coaching journey began.

"How are you going to say no to Michael?" Brown said. "I've known him a long time. The things he stands for have made our game better. There's no way I could say no to him. It was a pretty easy decision once my wife said yes."

The 67-year-old Brown replaces Sam Vincent, whom Jordan hired last year despite no NBA head coaching experience. Vincent, who was fired Saturday, struggled to find consistent rotations and clashed with players in a 32-50 season.

Brown's nine NBA teams are three more than any other coach — Kevin Loughery and Lenny Wilkens each coached six.

"I think I've coached almost everybody in the NBA, but I'm going to challenge everybody to do their best," Brown said. "That's what Michael is about and that's what I'm about."

The Bobcats are in their fourth year, and Brown gives the struggling franchise instant credibility. He's one of only five NBA coaches with more than 1,000 wins and the only coach to lead teams to NBA and NCAA titles.

"I don't want to put too much pressure on Larry," Jordan said. "But I think this is the atmosphere he enjoys."

But Brown hasn't lasted anywhere long, and has had some ugly divorces. His last coaching job was the disastrous 2005-06 season in New York, when the Knicks went 23-59 and Brown clashed with management.

His dismissal was followed by a long dispute over how much money he was owed for the rest of his contract.

A deal eventually was struck and Brown became an executive vice president with the Philadelphia 76ers, but Brown yearned to return to the bench.

"I was a bad coach. I did a bad job. I learned from that," Brown said, referring to his time with the Knicks. "But being out of it in the last few years, even though I had a title in Philly ... I just missed being around the game. I love it. I want to be a part of it."

Jordan said he contacted Brown before hiring Vincent last spring, but Brown said he wasn't ready to return. He changed his mind late this season, quitting his job in Philadelphia after being interviewed for the Stanford opening.

Shortly after the Bobcats fired Vincent on Saturday, Jordan called Brown again. The Bobcats job was more appealing and did not entail a cross-country move from Philadelphia. Brown's mother lives in Charlotte and he has other relatives there.

"I'm from California, but we just moved in September," said Brown's wife, Shelly. "Selfishly, I would not be ready to up and move to another coast. I think here Larry is surrounded by a lot of great guys with the same value system, same character. And they all want to win."

Brown was a point guard at North Carolina under Dean Smith, decades before Jordan led the school to a national title under the same coach. Brown's coaching career took root in this state. He was hired to coach Davidson, only to resign a month later without a coaching a game. He then went on to coach the ABA's Carolina Cougars.

While Brown took UCLA to the Final Four and won an NCAA title with Kansas, most of his experience has been in the NBA. Brown improved teams in Denver, San Antonio, Indiana and Philadelphia and won an NBA title with the Detroit Pistons in 2004.

"I'm very excited, of course," Bobcats point guard and former Tar Heel Raymond Felton said. "Carolina guy. He loves his point guards, for one. And on top of that he's a great coach. He's going to come in every day and he's going to try to get us better. I'm definitely looking forward to this experience."

Brown, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002, will now try to get the Jason Richardson-led Bobcats into the playoffs and help Jordan taste success for the first time in two stints running NBA teams.

While Jordan won six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls, he's made several questionable moves in the front office.

Vincent's ouster marked the second time a coach Jordan hired lasted only one season. Leonard Hamilton resigned after going 19-63 with the Washington Wizards in 2000-01.

Jordan was fired by the Wizards. He bought a minority stake in the Bobcats in 2006 and took over the decision-making from Bernie Bickerstaff. When Bickerstaff moved to the front office after three seasons on the bench, Jordan replaced him with Vincent.

"I told Michael, 'I'm not coming here unless I know you're fully committed,'" Brown said. "He told me that last year and he told me it again. You know how competitive he is. He wants to win. I can get to him at a

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Byron Scott is named NBA coach of the year
04/30/2008 | 09:58 AM
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NEW ORLEANS - When Chris Paul arrived for a workout before the 2005 NBA draft, Byron Scott took him to lunch and said the Hornets wanted the point guard if he was still available at the fourth pick.

Utah, which also needed a guard, picked ahead of New Orleans but went with Deron Williams. So Scott got his man, built his team around him, and Tuesday wore a wide grin as he glanced down at the Red Auerbach trophy in his hands.

Scott was voted the NBA coach of the year by a wide margin following a regular season in which the Hornets won a franchise-record 56 games and earned their first playoff berth in four years.

"This is a very humbling experience for me because this is something you never think about," said Scott, joking that the statuette of Auerbach "kind of looks like me."

"All I think about is getting great guys and trying to make them better and trying to win basketball games, so this is very special," Scott said. "I've got an unbelievable group of guys that I enjoy being around every day. They are a special group. I love them dearly. There's not a coach in this business that has a better job than I do."

Scott received 70 first-place votes, while Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers received 23 and Houston Rockets coach Rick Adelman 17.

It is Scott's eighth season as an NBA coach, including four with the New Jersey Nets before joining the Hornets. Scott won three NBA titles as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers and twice coached the Nets to the NBA finals.

Scott accepted the trophy hours before the Hornets, holding a 3-1 lead in their first round playoff series with the Dallas Mavericks, tipped off Game 5 Tuesday night.

Owner George Shinn, general manager Jeff Bower, players and numerous front-office personnel crowded into a room in the New Orleans Arena for the presentation.

Bower called the award a reflection of a team "growing together, struggling together and improving together to get the point where we stand here today to celebrate what's generally noted as one of the premier awards in the game.

"We have a great man here who has done an incredible job with his team. We have a great team here who has bonded together and allowed him to coach them," Bower said. "That is a fact that is so undervalued. It has to be a joint effort and it only exists and only comes together when there's that spirit that everybody understands why they're being asked to do things."

Scott cited his playing days under Pat Riley in Los Angeles and Larry Brown in Indiana, and his time as an assistant under Adelman in Sacramento as key influences in his coaching career.

"I've had three guys that have taught me how to approach this game from a coaching standpoint," Scott said. "It's kind of rubbed off. I always though, if you didn't take something from those guys then you were doing yourself an injustice."

Paul said Scott "really understands players because he's a players' coach."

"Guys on our team can really respect him and understand him because he played in this league and was successful," Paul said. "He was a great player in this league and that's why we listen to him and we understand we can learn a lot. Coach has made me into the player I am today and I'm forever grateful to him."

Scott became available to coach the Hornets when the Nets fired him during the 2003-04 season. New Jersey had been to the finals the previous season, but Scott's relationship with certain players, including then-Nets guard Jason Kidd, appeared to be strained at the time.

Scott took over the Hornets in 2004-05 and went 18-64 while presiding over a roster overhaul that included the trade of star guard Baron Davis to the Golden State Warriors.

New Orleans then drafted Paul and won 38 games in his rookie season, during which the team also was displaced to Oklahoma City by Hurricane Katrina.

The Hornets spent a second season in Oklahoma, winning 39 games and narrowly missing the playoffs despite a rash of injuries to Paul and fellow starters Peja Stojakovic, Tyson Chandler and David West.

This season, they returned to New Orleans full time and Scott became a front-runner for coach of the year after the Hornets went into the All-Star break with the best record in the Western Conference. That earned Scott the nod to coach the West squad in the All-Star game, which was hosted by New Orleans and included two Hornets players Paul and West.

Those factors won over fans who at first seemed hesitant to commit their money or emotions to a team widely thought to have an uncertain future in New Orleans.

Sellouts, always a certainty for the NFL's Saints, became the norm for the Hornets during the second half of the season. They remained in contention for the top seed in the West until the final week of the season.

New Orleans won what many considered the toughest division in the NBA, finishing ahead of San Antonio, Houston and Dallas, all 50-win teams.

They entered Tuesday night's game one victory away from becoming the first NBA team representing New Orleans to win a playoff series.

"It's been amazing, in a football town, that people are falling in love with the round ball," Shinn said. "It's been great." - AP

[AUSTIN316]

Hornets dump Mavs to advance to 2nd round
04/30/2008 | 10:20 AM
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NEW ORLEANS - Byron Scott accepted his NBA coach of the year award, then guided his team to the second round of the playoffs.

Chris Paul had 24 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds, and the New Orleans Hornets held on for a 99-94 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night to win their first-round series in five games.

David West scored 25 for New Orleans and Jannero Pargo had 17, while Tyson Chandler had 10 points and 14 rebounds.

Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Devean George added 11 points in the fourth quarter as Dallas nearly pulled off an improbable comeback. The Mavs cut a 17-point deficit to three in the final seven minutes before Peja Stojakovic hit a pair of free throws to seal it with 5.7 seconds left.

Tempers flared near the end, and Jerry Stackhouse was ejected for a second technical foul with 1:47 left after slapping the ball out of Paul's hands during a stoppage in play, then getting in a face-to-face standoff with West.

Dallas never led and was hurt badly by an 11-1 Hornets run after Nowitzki's free throw had pulled the Mavs to 73-66 early in the fourth quarter.

Dallas played solid defense on New Orleans' next possession, keeping the ball on the perimeter, but Pargo hit a deflating 3 at the shot clock buzzer.

Pargo then added a fast-break layup after rookie Julian Wright's steal on the other end. Paul then salvaged a botched alley-oop lob when he grabbed a loose ball and drained a baseline fade, and after West found Pargo cutting across the lane for a layup, New Orleans led 84-67 with seven minutes left.

While the crowd was celebrating what eventually became the first playoff series win by an NBA team representing New Orleans, Dallas regrouped and stormed back. The Mavs got as close as 97-94 after Brandon Bass, who had 11 points, hit two free throws with 33 seconds left.

The Hornets ran down the shot clock before Paul missed a jumper. Chandler got a hand on the rebound, however and tapped it to the perimeter, where Paul corralled it and smartly got the ball quickly to Stojakovic, the Hornets' best free-throw shooter, who finished with 11 points..

Dallas was unable to score again, and the Hornets raised their arms as the buzzer sounded, the crowd went wild and streamers shot down from the rafters.

Dallas must now decide what to do after their blockbuster trade for Jason Kidd yielded only an noncompetitive first-round playoff exit. That could include deciding whether to retain coach Avery Johnson, who's never won fewer than 51 games in any of his three full regular seasons but whose squads have had two straight first-round playoff losses since losing to Miami in the finals three seasons ago.

Kidd finished with 14 points and nine assists, while Jason Terry had 13 points and Josh Howard 12 for the Mavericks. Stackhouse had 11 points.

The Hornets shot nearly 54 percent in the first half and took their first double-digit lead on West's fadeaway as he was fouled late in the first quarter, making the score 24-13.

Dallas battled back to tie it at 32 when Stackhouse hit an acrobatic fast-break layup as he was being pulled to the floor on a hard foul by Pargo, but the Mavs never took the lead (in the opening half), and the Hornets began to pull away again when Pargo hit a 3.

Pargo's jumper several possessions later ignited a 17-3 run to close the second quarter.

Paul, who had 11 assists in the opening half, added a 3 during the surge, West hit another fade as he was fouled and Stojakovic added a transition 3.

Pargo's jumper capped it, giving New Orleans a 54-39 lead at halftime.

Dallas refused to capitulate, however, as Terry opened the third quarter with two quick 3s and the Mavs closed to 63-57 on Nowitzki's jumper.

Late in the quarter, the Mavs were within five after Bass stole a rebound and dunked among three Hornets defenders and Terry hit two free throws. But West converted yet another three-point play when he hit a running hook as he was fouled in the lane, giving New Orleans a 71-63 lead heading into the fourth quarter. - AP