Tag: Carmelo Anthony (Page 17 of 20)

      Lakers win back home court

      May 23, 2009 /

      The Lakers didn’t play all that well, but they performed well enough to get a win (103-97) on the road in the playoffs, and that is no small feat. Denver had control for much of the game, and with Carmelo Anthony on the bench, the Nuggets built a seven-point lead at the end of the third quarter. But a sorry five-minute stretch to start the fourth quarter was Denver’s undoing. Check out these nine possessions:

      11:41 J.R. Smith misses 25-foot three point jumper
      10:49 Linas Kleiza misses 5-foot jumper
      10:27 Chauncey Billups misses 26-foot three point jumper
      10:11 Chauncey Billups makes technical free throw
      9:59 Chris Andersen misses layup
      9:44 J.R. Smith misses layup
      8:53 Nene Hilario misses 9-foot two point shot
      8:22 Trevor Ariza blocks Carmelo Anthony’s 15-foot jumper
      8:18 Kenyon Martin misses layup
      7:39 Pau Gasol blocks Chris Andersen’s layup

      That’s one point in the first four and a half minutes of the fourth quarter. By the time they scored again, they were trailing by one. Carmelo Anthony went cold and the Nuggets simply struggled to score. Chauncey Billups launched some ill-advised shots (and hit a few of them), but it was J.R. Smith who seemed to be the go-to man down the stretch.

      For the Lakers, Trevor Ariza and Pau Gasol played well in the closing minutes, but down two with about a minute to play, it was Kobe Bryant who hit a huge three pointer to put his team ahead. Denver turned the ball over (again) on the inbounds pass, and again, it was Ariza who made the big defensive play. At that point, the Lakers just had to knock down their free throws, and they did. With the win, the Lakers wrested back control of the series. Game 4 is of the “must-win” variety for the Nuggets.

      NBA, NBA Finals

      Couch Potato Alert: 5/24

      May 22, 2009 /

      “Gentlemen, start your engines.”

      These four words begin one of the grandest traditions in auto racing, as the 93rd Indianapolis 500 will take place this weekend. The Old Brickyard has been home to some memorable finishes and characters that make this one of the marquee events on the racing season.

      The NBA Conference Finals are really heating up. Arguably, the four best players (LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard) in the league are fighting tooth and nail for a title. All four have shown the determination and drive needed to win a NBA crown.

      All times ET…

      NBA Playoffs
      Fri, 8:30 PM: Orlando Magic @ Cleveland Cavaliers (TNT)
      Sat, 8:30 PM: Los Angeles Lakers @ Denver Nuggets (ABC)
      Sun, 8:30 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Orlando Magic (TNT)

      NHL Playoffs
      Fri, 8 PM: Detroit Red Wings @ Chicago Blackhawks (Versus)
      Sat, 7:30 PM: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Carolina Hurricanes (Versus)
      Sun, 3 PM: Detroit Red Wings @ Chicago Blackhawks (NBC)

      MLB
      Sat, 4:10 PM: Philadelphia Phillies @ New York Yankees (FOX)
      Sun., 1:30 PM: New York Mets @ Boston Red Sox (TBS)
      Sun., 8 PM: Milwaukee Brewers @ Minnesota Twins (ESPN)

      Auto Racing
      Sun, 1 PM: The 93rd Indianapolis 500 @ Indianapolis Motor Speedway (ABC)

      Tennis
      Sun, 5 AM: The French Open (ESPN2)

      Couch Potato Alert, MLB, NBA, NHL, Television, Tennis

      Resilient Nuggets take Game 2, 106-103

      May 21, 2009 /

      After their tough, emotional loss in Game 1, conventional wisdom said that the Nuggets would be reeling and wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight in Game 2. But these aren’t your father’s Nuggets. With the addition of Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony’s transformation after playing in Beijing with Team USA, these Nuggets are tough-minded.

      It took a while for Denver to get going. The Lakers came out like gangbusters and had a 13-point lead with 2:40 to play in the second quarter. But the Nuggets went on a 14-2 run over the last 160 seconds to narrow the lead to one at halftime.

      The Lakers built a seven-point lead in the middle of the third quarter, but once again, the Nuggets responded and cut the lead to one at the end of the period. In the fourth quarter, it was the Nuggets turn to build a seven-point lead with 9:06 to play. At this point, I was a little perplexed by George Karl’s decision to go with J.R. Smith (1-6, 3 points) instead of Linas Kleiza (5-8, 16 points, 8 rebounds) down the stretch. Smith didn’t play horribly in the final minutes, but he didn’t do anything positive either. The Lakers fought back, and with 1:00 to play and the Nuggets up two, Smith turned the ball over (his third of the night). Karl obviously knows his team far better than I do, but Kleiza simply played much, much better tonight and probably should have been in the game.

      There were a couple of missed calls down the stretch. Kobe traveled before he made his three to tie the game at 99-99 and during a jumpball with 0:18 to play, the refs missed Smith slicing through the circle before the ball was touched. That should have been Laker ball out of bounds, but since the refs missed Kobe’s travel, things evened out.

      Chauncey Billups made 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to seal the 106-103 win. Derek Fisher had a shot from the corner to tie the game at the buzzer but he missed the rim.

      Carmelo Anthony had another great game, posting 34 points, nine rebounds (five offensive) and four assists. Chauncey Billups had 27 points, while Kleiza and Kenyon Martin chipped in with 16 apiece. Kobe led the Lakers with 32 points, while Trevor Ariza added 20 points (on 6 of 7 shooting) and four steals. Pau Gasol added 17 points and 17 rebounds.

      I know that Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant have a long history with Derek Fisher, but he went just 1 of 9 from the field tonight, and is shooting under 30% in the last two playoff series. It might be time to give Jordan Farmar a few more minutes.

      NBA, NBA Finals

      Lakers take Game 1

      May 20, 2009 /

      With an efficient 39 points from Carmelo Anthony, it looked like the Nuggets might pull the upset in Game 1, but a key steal by Trevor Ariza and some clutch play from Kobe Bryant sealed the Laker win, 105-103.

      The Lakers struggled early on, and with Anthony scoring 16 points in the first quarter, the Nuggets led by eight after the first period. As the game wore on, it became clear that the Nuggets are simply tougher than the Lakers. Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Kenyon Martin, Nene, Chris Andersen, Anthony Carter, and even Dahntay Jones — they’re all tough players, both mentally and physically. How many Lakers fit that description? Kobe? Yep. Derek Fisher? Yep. Anyone else? Not really.

      But Kobe is a closer. He had 18 points in the fourth quarter, 40 on the game. He literally carried the Lakers offensively. And he did a great job on Billups for most of the game before having to switch to Anthony to try to slow him down. I was really impressed with how Kobe and Melo battled throughout the game. Anthony really stepped up on the glass and defensively, even though Bryant went off in the final quarter.

      The Nuggets made a few mental errors down the stretch. Carter’s bad pass led to the Ariza steal, and K-Mart had a bad, bad foul on Kobe Bryant when the game was tied with 0:30 to play. The questions about the Nuggets remain — do they know how to win in the clutch?

      This looks like it’s going to be a great series.

      NBA, NBA Finals

      Foul taste: NBA admits refs’ error in Game 3

      May 10, 2009 /

      The NBA admitted the game officials were wrong for not calling an intentional foul on the Dallas Mavericks prior to Denver Nuggets Carmelo Anthony’s game-winning three-point shot on Saturday evening.

      The Mavericks had a two-point lead and a foul to give. The play began with Anthony receiving the inbounds pass with less than eight seconds left in the game. Antoine Wright clearly body checks Anthony twice, but no whistle was blown. Melo kept playing and hits the three-pointer to give the Nuggets a 106-105 victory and a commanding 3-0 series lead.

      After reviewing the game tape, NBA president of league and basketball operations, Joel Litvin, issued this statement:

      “At the end of the Dallas-Denver game this evening, the officials missed an intentional foul committed by Antoine Wright on Carmelo Anthony, just prior to Anthony’s three-point basket.”

      In the aftermath of a gambling scandal involving former referee Tim Donaghy, the NBA has been public to acknowledged officiating mistakes in playoff games. Last year, the league ruled a foul should have been called against Derek Fisher on Brent Barry’s three-point shot at the conclusion of Game 4 of the Western Conference finals. The play was at the end of a two-point contest, and a foul could have given the Spurs a chance to win the game and even the series at two games apiece.

      NBA

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