ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)—Overlooked and begging for respect all season, the Orlando Magic can no longer be ignored. After 14 frustrating years, they’ve returned to the NBA finals.
Dwight Howard dominated inside for 40 points, Rashard Lewis added 18 and the Magic, a team that can make 3-pointers drop from thin air, hit 12 in a 103-90 victory over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night.
The Magic will be making their first finals appearance since 1995, one year before Shaquille O’Neal bolted as a free agent for Los Angeles, leaving this Florida franchise in ruins.
It’s been a long, slow climb back, but Orlando has been rebuilt and will meet the Lakers on Thursday night at the Staples Center in Game 1. Read more…
LOS ANGELES — Carmelo Anthony and Chauncy Billups lead the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of NBA’s Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Anthony scored the game high 34 points and grab 14 rebounds while Billups scored 27 points and together with 16 rebounds to tie the series at 1-1.
Kobe Bryant scored 40 points in Game 1 to lead the Los Angeles Lakers in a 105-103 victory on Tuesday night.
Kenyon Martin hit a layup in traffic with 29 seconds left and Chauncey Billups made 3 of 4 free throws to give the Denver Nuggets a 106-103 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night to even the Western Conference finals at 1-1. Read more…
LOS ANGELES (AP)—Those wildly inconsistent Lakers turned up for their Western Conference finals opener against Denver and still pulled off to defend their home court.
Kobe Bryant scored 40 points, including six free throws in the final 30 seconds, to lift Los Angeles to a 105-103 triumph over the Nuggets on Tuesday night.
Pau Gasol added 13 points and 14 rebounds and Derek Fisher had 13 points for the Lakers, who faced a seven-point deficit in the last quarter. Gasol’s two free throws tied the game for the last time at 99 before Bryant went to the line, offsetting a 3-pointer by Chauncey Billups and a free throw by J.R. Smith. Read more…
AKRON, Ohio (AP)—On one of the biggest days of his life, LeBron James took the long way home.
Once inside his hometown’s city limits, James pulled his high-powered Ferrari off I-77 and drove the back roads to St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, his alma mater.
Turning on Maple Street, he went past his first house on Hickory. Then, it was past the one on Silver Street, where his mother, Gloria, began raising him by herself. James visited The Boondocks, where he and his friends first dribbled on the playgrounds.
James retraced the steps on Monday. His path to NBA superstardom.
An unstoppable offensive force who became an elite defender this season, James claimed the league MVP, receiving the award in the gym where he first became a star. Read more…
