nba-playoff Page 66 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

TNT's Slow Zoom On Mitch Kupchak's Face In The Final Minutes Of The Lakers' Season Was Sadistic
Only true Lakers believers (or the truly blind) couldn't see the Lakers' season was nearing an end long before the horn sounded on last night's 106-90 series-seizing Thunder victory. Yet it seems the moment of truth for Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak came at a time that TNT producers jumped upon for max...

If Beast Mode Exists In Basketball, Russell Westbrook Entered It
The action in Oklahoma City has been hot tonight, with Thunder fans matching the intensity of the players (from both OKC and L.A.) on the court. Russell Westbrook's been especially full of flair this evening, but his steal-and-circus-shot is the kind of highlight that deserves several looks; Kevi...

LeBron's Choice Of Pre-Game Reading Material? <em>The Hunger Games</em>
ABC showed a brief clip of LeBron James in the locker room before today's Heat-Pacers Game Four in Indianapolis, and surprise of surprises, he was reading Suzanne Collins's young adult novel The Hunger Games. We won't shame anybody for their choice of reading material—indeed, we'd love for more ro...

It's All Going According To (Pat Riley's) Plan
1. "Jay, it's Pat. Pat Riley? Yes, I remember when I cursed you out and told you to never, ever call me 'Pat,' and then hit you pretty good with my briefcase. How many stitches did you need? That's a lot of stitches. But we're friends, right? You can call me Pat anytime. How's Michelle?...

TNT Should Not Have Allowed This Morbidly Obese Sixers Fan To Participate In The Shirt-Off
The Utah State Aggies have a superfan named Wild Bill who distracts free throw shooters by wearing bizarre, Disney-inspired outfits that often reveal his generous girth....

Boston's Game Two Loss Left This Celtics Fan Looking For Something To Lick
The Sixers downed the Celtics 82-81 last night to even their Eastern Conference semifinal series at one-all, a result that got this Bostonian so hot and bothered he was reduced to panting....

JaVale McGee Gave Us The Going-Away Present Of Trying To Dunk His Own Missed Free Throw
This season JaVale McGee did crazy things, lazy things, stupid things, and even awesome things. Last night in the final moments of the Nuggets' Game Seven loss to the Lakers, he gave us all a nice parting gift when he tried to dunk his own missed free throw....

If The Lakers Lose Tonight Mike Brown Will Be Out Of A Job, Says Lakers Vice President (Magic Johnson)
Last night, Magic Johnson had some relatively strong (hypothetical) words for the Lakers coach and key big men....

Kenneth Faried Appeared To Be Broken After Being Flagrantly Fouled By Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant earned a flagrant foul call for this hit on the Nuggets' Kenneth Faried, a shot that—for a moment, at least—made some wonder if Faried would be able to return to the game....

Miami Heat Apologize For "Extinguishing" Amar'e Stoudamire
This is what happens when an otherwise personality-less P.A. announcer tries to show a bit of personality. The Miami Heat have now formally apologized for "extinguishing" Amar'e Stoudamire after his sixth foul last night....

After Amar'e Stoudemire Fouled Out, He Was Gonna Help Shane Battier Up, But ... Nah
Last night, we showed you how the Heat's PA guy made a corny reference to Stoudemire being "extinguished from the game" when he fouled out. But this video shows you what happens at the end of that clip, when Amar'e decides to lend a helping hand before he doesn't....

The Heat PA Guy Announced Amar'e Stoudemire Fouling Out As "He Has Been Extinguished From The Game"
Ha! Ha! Get it? Because he severely injured his hand punching a fire extinguisher! You're winning friends the right way, Miami Heat. (We isolated the arena audio track so you can hear it more easily.) [TNT]...

Last Night JaVale McGee Did A Lot Of Great Things, At Least One Bad Thing, And A Very Strange Thing
The Denver Nuggets forced a Game Six in their series with the Lakers last night with a 109-99 win at Staples Center, and JaVale McGee played a big part in the team's success with 21 points, 14 rebounds, and a number of highlight reel plays you can view here....

Amar'e Stoudemire To Start For Knicks In Game 4 Against Miami Heat
Less than a week after "half his hand was just hanging off" Amar'e will start for the Knicks today in what will most likely be New York's final game of the season....

Rick Carlisle Was In A Very Bad Place Last Night
A blown charging call that resulted in an Oklahoma City bucket sent Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle off the edge yesterday, and understandably so: the Thunder went to 3-0 in the series against Dallas, nearly ensuring we won't have a repeat NBA champion (which, frankly, was not likely to begin with)...

Report: Half Of Amar'e Stoudemire's Hand Was Just "Hanging Off"
That's what a source who witnessed the incident told ESPN's Chris Broussard:...

Atlanta Hawks Fans Are Not The Most Welcoming
Unlike many of my esteemed Deadspin colleagues, I am not blessed to live the Big Apple, a city of vogue fashion and style. The only reason I recognize the Chanel logo on this Hawks fan's bizarre t-shirt is because my grandmother has worn Chanel No. 5 for 60 years and we buy it for her every Christm...

This Guy Bet On The Clippers When They Were Down Big And Turned $75 Into $41,000
We love when the house loses. Nothing brought us more joy than seeing a Vegas patron get 999/1 odds on the Cardinals when they were seemingly out of the race in Mid-September, then cashing in big time. So while the Clippers, down by as many as 27 to Memphis in game 1 on Sunday, couldn't offer odds t...

Was Amar'e Stoudemire's Hand Injury Caused By The Compressed Season?
Knicks forward Amar'e Stoudemire required stitches to close a laceration on his left hand, suffered yesterday after a Game 2 loss to the Heat. And the country's top medical experts—people on the internet—are wondering if the lockout-shortened schedule may be to blame. ...

Rick Carlisle's "Dirty Bullshit Has Got To Stop" Led To An <em>Inside The NBA</em> Discussion Of Profanity In Popular Music
Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle showed some frustration after Oklahoma City's 102-99 win over Dallas tonight, especially in regard to this incident between Dirk Nowitzki and Kendrick Perkins, one that might look mild when compared with certain proponents of World Peace but an example of the phy...