If you ask Brandon Jennings, he probably still thinks Milwaukee is winning in seven games. Everyone else? They know this series is over, especially after the Heat’s predictable shutdown second half in their 104-91 win to take a 3-0 lead. LeBron scored 22, Dwyane Wade had one of the oddest statlines (1-for-12 shooting, four points, 11 assists, nine rebounds, five steals and two blocks) you’ll ever see, and Ray Allen came off the pine smoking. Jesus hit five triples (breaking Reggie Miller‘s record for career playoff triples) on his way to a game-high 23 points, and consistently found himself wide open because of mind-numbingly stupid rotations from the Bucks. The No. 8 seed, which watched the Heat eat them alive in both seconds halves in Miami, had just one string of decent basketball after halftime: a 9-0 third quarter run that was sparked by the following Larry Sanders (16 points, 11 rebounds) coast-to-coast jam. But besides that burst, Miami hit the hosts with a 15-4 run spanning from the end of the second to the start of the third quarter, then drove the stake through the heart at the end of the third. …
Was last night’s Brooklyn/Chicago Game 3 one of the ugliest games of the season? You could make the case. The Bulls barely held on, winning 79-76 for a 2-1 series lead even after they went nearly seven minutes of crunch time with just two points (the only thing the Nets had going were Joe Johnson‘s serious Air Jordan 11s). Long before that, Brooklyn jumped out 17-5 to start the game, then proceeded to miss 14 straights shots. Eventually, they’d go a full 12 minutes and score only four points, missing a total of 25 of 26 shots. Carlos Boozer (22 points, 16 rebounds), Luol Deng (21 points, 10 rebounds) and Brook Lopez (22 points, nine rebounds, seven blocks) were the only ones who brought their games, yet the matchup was determined elsewhere. Both Nate Robinson and Joakim Noah split trips to the line in the final minute, leaving Brooklyn one last chance down three with 4.4 seconds left. Fittingly, it ended with an awesome defensive possession from Chicago. They drove Johnson and MarShon Brooks to give it up, and it ended with a wild air ball from C.J. Watson. … Taj Gibson did unleash one sick highlight: dealing Kim K-like harshness out to Kris Humphries.
Dikembe Mutombo was in the Grindhouse to present the Defensive Player of the Year award to Marc Gasol, but it took about three minutes to realize this was going to be Zach Randolph‘s night. Z-Bo went for 27 points and 11 rebounds in the Grizzlies’ 94-82 Game 3 win, bench-pressing Blake Griffin‘s (16 points, two boards) body in the process. According to the genius of Lionel Hollins, “Everyday life throws a knife at you” and it’s all about how you respond (we guess?). The Grizzlies weren’t pretty, but they definitely responded after falling down 0-2. At one point in the second half with the fans chanting “Z-Bo!” the big fella was so hyped he actually got excited when Matt Barnes damn near took his head off. That was also an example of how soft the NBA has gotten. Z-Bo HUGGED Barnes after that hit, and yet the refs decided it was a flagrant foul. … Hit page 2 to hear about why the Lakers are in even more trouble…
In other playoff news, not long after complaining about the “horrendous” officiating that screwed over Kevin Garnett‘s forgettable Game 2 performance in New York, Doc Rivers was fined $25,000 by the NBA. That was expected, but what wasn’t was this: the Lakers’ Steve Blake is out indefinitely because of a hamstring while two epidural shots in the back and a cortisone shot in the hip have Steve Nash doubtful for Game 3. Add in Jodie Meeks‘ injury issues, and L.A. could be resorting to Chris Duhon soon. … Former Celtic Kendrick Perkins isn’t waiting for Saturday night to boil up some bad blood with the Houston fans. Just a few days after hating on Gasol’s Defensive Player of the Year (he thinks his boy Serge Ibaka should’ve won), Perkins first tweeted that he’s sorry about pissing people off, that it’s all about a ring (he got away with a cheap foul on a crucial basket in Game 2). Then came this:
And if you don't like what I did then do something about it. Ill be in Houston tomorrow. 1
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) April 26, 2013
We used to hear stories about how Peja Stojakovic would stay after practice in Sacramento and go 15 minutes without missing a shot. We never saw any actual evidence of this, but yet anyone can go to a shootaround before tipoff and watch random players in the NBA effortlessly bang jumper after jumper after jumper. So it’s not inconceivable that a star player in the NBA could get NBA Jam hot. But Michigan’s Nik Stauskas was on another planet in this YouTube video. In the rain, the dude made 70 out of 76 triples and 46 in a row during a five-minute stretch. Stephen Curry is the best shooter in the game right now, and even he wants to see Stauskas in a three-point shootout.
Hit page 3 to see a ridiculous photo from J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert…
Skylar Diggins took a break from her on again/off again courtship over the Lady Mamba title with Kobe Bryant to announce yesterday that she’s signed on with Jay-Z‘s Roc Nation Sports agency. Jigga, as you might recall, is in the process of giving up his massive one-fifteenth of one percent stake in the Brooklyn Nets to become a mogul (owners can’t also be agents), and Diggins, the recent No. 3 overall pick of the Tulsa Shock, is about to become a major part of the best (and biggest) class of rookies the WNBA has ever seen. Seems like a good match, right? We bet fans are already clamoring to get the hardwood goddess into Hov’s next music video. … Speaking of the Nets, reports indicate the team is finalizing a multi-year extension for GM Billy King. Under his leadership, Brooklyn has morphed into a No. 4 seed in the East, and are one of the few teams in the league that has both a franchise point guard (finally playing like one after forgetting his game in Utah for almost two years) and a dominant, low-post center. Yet, he’s been hit or miss. He basically traded a shot at Damian Lillard (or Harrison Barnes, Terrence Ross or Andre Drummond) for an evaporating Gerald Wallace, then traded for Joe Johnson‘s suffocating contract, and then gave Kris Humphries $24 million to be a sideshow. More importantly, this means it’s all but cemented in stone that the Zen Master won’t be bringing his peace pipes to Brooklyn any time soon. … And the Knicks had a movie night for some team bonding yesterday, and J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert took the whole bonding aspect a little too literally. …
We’re out like Austin Rivers‘ allowance.
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