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Bad LeBron good for Boston

Oakland Tribune, May 7, 2008 by Anonymous

BOSTON -- LeBron James couldn't make a field goal down the stretch -- or virtually any other time -- and the Boston Celtics eked out a 76-72 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night in the opener of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Kevin Garnett scored 28 points to make up for an off night for the rest of Boston's Big Three.

James was held to 12 points on 2-for-18 shooting. He missed three drives and a 3-pointer in the final minute. Game 2 is Thursday night in Boston.

James scored Cleveland's first field goal and then missed his next 10 shots before driving for a layup that cut Boston's lead to 66-65 with 5:34 left.

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He then missed his last six shots, including a potential game- tying finger roll that bounced off the inside of the rim with 8.5 seconds left. James scored just two points in the second half and finished with nine rebounds, nine assists and 10 turnovers.

Rajon Rondo scored all 15 of his points in the first half, and Kendrick Perkins grabbed 12 rebounds for the Celtics. Paul Pierce drew two charging fouls while guarding James but scored just four points, on 2-for-14 shooting, and Ray Allen (0-for-4) didn't score.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers.

Bryant wins first MVP award

LOS ANGELES -- Finally, an MVP award for Kobe Bryant.

Regarded as the NBA's best player for several years but never its most valuable, Bryant earned the honor at last on Tuesday after leading the Los Angeles Lakers to the best record in the Western Conference.

He entered the season as the league's two-time defending scoring champion. He had finished as high as third in the MVP voting twice.

Bryant received 82-first-place votes and 1,105 points in the media vote. He was followed by New Orleans' Chris Paul (28 and 889), Boston's Kevin Garnett (15 and 670) and Cleveland's LeBron James (1 and 438).

Bryant will receive the trophy tonight from commissioner David Stern before the Lakers face Utah in Game 2 of their conference semifinal. The Lakers won the opener 109-98.

Los Angeles rose to the top of the West despite key injuries and following Bryant's trade demands last spring when his team was eliminated in the first round by Phoenix for the second straight year.

Bryant averaged 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.84 steals per game while playing all 82 games despite tearing a ligament in his right pinkie in February.

"I didn't know if it was going to come in my career, but to have the moment come now is special, especially to share it with the group of guys we have here," he said when word leaked out last week he would win.

Bryant, second in the NBA in scoring behind James, is the first Laker to win the MVP award since Shaquille O'Neal in 2000.

NBA: Billups' shot was too late

NEW YORK -- The NBA admitted Chauncey Billups' 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter of Monday's Detroit-Orlando playoff game should not have counted, but said referees weren't allowed to review instant replay to determine that.

League president Joel Litvin also said the disputed shot, which gave Detroit a 78-76 lead in its 100-93 victory, could not have been replayed after the clock malfunction was discovered. There were 5.1 seconds left in the third quarter when the play began, and the clock did not run the final 4.8 seconds, and video review determined the play took 5.7 seconds, Litvin said.

Bad LeBron good for Boston

Oakland Tribune, May 7, 2008 by Anonymous

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