Page 147 of 2956

Boston Celtics steal Game 5 from Miami Heat

The crowd in Miami was quiet all night. Maybe they sensed that the Heat would find a way to lose. Chris Bosh was activated for the game and played well in the first half, and the Heat seemed to be cruising early. But the veterans from Boston all stepped up, despite a horrible shooting night from Rajon Rondo, and Mickael Pietrus contributed 13 points off the bench, including two huge threes in the fourth quarter. Rondo didn’t shoot well, but he had 13 assists and came up with clutch passes time and again. Kevin Garnett was a beast with 26 points and some monster dunks, and Paul Peirce overcame early shooting woes to contribute 19 points and a three-pointer in Lebron’s face that served as the final dagger.

Meanwhile, the Heat just didn’t rise to the occasion. They didn’t play terribly, and Lebron didn’t wilt like he did last year in the Finals, but they just didn’t have enough to win a critical game 5 at home.

You can’t count Miami out for game 6, as Bosh should get more playing time and all of these games have been very close. But losing game 5 at home is devastating, and the Celtics won’t leave anything on the court for game 6. Will the Heat do the same?

Oklahoma City stuns San Antonio for Game 5 win

What a game. The Spurs looked like the Charlotte Bobcats in the first half, as their vaunted offense completely broke down. Yet somehow they were only down 8 points, and then Manu Ginobili went off in the third quarter with a barrage of three-pointers to give San Antonio the lead. But then the young studs of Oklahoma City just took over the game, and a late rally by the Spurs fell short.

Watching the Thunder, it’s hard to imagine them losing to the Heat or Celtics if they advance.

Meanwhile, the Spurs followed their 20-game winning steak with three straight losses against a team that looks like the next great NBA dynasty. They looked so bad tonight at home and the odds are stacked against them as they travel back to Oklahoma City.

Spurs try to rebound for game 5

When an elite team like San Antonio stumbles, everyone has a theory. Here’s Gregg Doyle:

Do something, Gregg Popovich. Same goes for you, Tim Duncan. Do something. Anything. Do more than what you guys did as the Western Conference finals shifted to Oklahoma City, and I’m not just talking geographically.

This series is now knotted at two games each and the Spurs remain in possession of the home-court edge, but the momentum and the mojo and the nasty have shifted to the Thunder. They took a series that was slipping away after two games in San Antonio, and they grabbed it by the throat. And they are squeezing.

Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan? They’re choking.

Really? That’s what’s happening? They’re choking?

Give me a break. Doyle might have some good points in his column but he sounds like a fool. Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan are great at what they do, but they’re also facing an amazing Oklahoma City team led by the incomparable Kevin Durant. They’re not choking. They just happened to lose two games to Durant and company on their court. It’s not choking, it’s basketball. Let’s stop with the over-analysis.

Celtics survive to even the series

Neither team played very well, and there were the usual controversial calls from the refs, but the Celtics are back in this series.

Everyone will dissect LeBron’s big three near the end of regulation along with his pass when he held the ball with the last possession, along with Wade’s off-balance missed three in OT. But the Heat might be at the point where they need Chris Bosh back to put Boston away. The Lebron/Dwyane show was working great for a while but they couldn’t steal one on the road. Home court might be enough to take out Boston, but getting Bosh back would surely help.

Tiger wins Memorial in dramatic fashion

I guess we can put a stop to those stories about whether Tiger can come back. Today’s win was vintage Tiger Woods, and now he has momentum heading into the US Open in a couple of weeks.

Dust off the Tiger Woods highlight reel and add another jaw-dropper, this one near the very top. From a downhill lie, to a green running away from him, and with a wall of water lurking if he went long, Tiger Woods hit a flop shot into the hole for birdie on the par-3 16th hole, one of the most amazing shots of his career, and went on to record his 73rd victory on Sunday.

The win at the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village ties Woods with tournament host Jack Nicklaus for second place on the career victories list, trailing only Sam Snead (82), and gives Woods a surge of adrenaline heading into the U.S. Open at Olympic Club, which begins in 11 days.

“That was one of the most incredible golf shots I think you’ll ever see played,” Nicklaus said on the CBS telecast of Woods’s chip-in. “It wasn’t just the pitch shot. It was where he had to land it, and what he had to do, and what the penalties were if he didn’t make it. Unbelievable.”

Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson dropped out of this invitational tournament after playing one lousy round. Things change quickly . . .

« Older posts Newer posts »