Pierce, Celtics beat Pistons to reach NBA finals

The Boston Celtics got past an old nemesis to set up an NBA finals matchup with another rival — the Los Angeles Lakers.

Paul Pierce scored 27 points, Ray Allen had 17 and Kevin Garnett added 16 to lift Boston to an 89-81 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Boston, which locked up with Detroit many times in the 1980s, will now rekindle another classic series in the NBA finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.

"It's kind of surreal," Garnett said.

The Celtics are in the NBA finals for the first since losing to the Lakers in 1987, the third meeting in a four-year span.

The Pistons were eliminated on their home court for the first time during a six-year run that included a trip to the conference finals each year and the 2004 title.

Boston entered the series without a road win in the postseason, then beat Detroit on its home court twice to win the grueling series.

After playing two Game 7s, the Celtics will get a needed break before hosting Kobe Bryant and the Lakers on Thursday night.

"We're emotionally drained," Garnett said.

Chauncey Billups scored a playoff-high 29 points and Richard Hamilton had 21, but the rest of their teammates had lackluster efforts — especially Rasheed Wallace.

At one point Billups had 21 points, matching the total for the rest of the team.

Wallace scored just four points on 2-of-12 shooting and had three turnovers in what might've been his last game as a Piston and could've been Flip Saunders' last as Detroit's coach. President of basketball operations Joe Dumars will likely make some sort of changes on the bench, the court or both.

"I'm sure that's something Joe and I will sit down and evaluate," Saunders said.

After it was 58-all, Detroit closed the third quarter with a 10-2 run and took its first lead since midway through the opening quarter.

Just when it seemed the Pistons might be in control with a 70-60 lead early in the fourth, the Celtics scored nine points in less than 2 minutes and went on a 19-4 run that put them ahead 79-74.

Billups' three-point play pulled Detroit to 83-79 with 2:24 left, then the Pistons wasted a chance to get closer.

Tayshaun Prince grabbed a loose ball after a Boston miss and turned the ball over when James Posey surprised him from behind and snatched it away.

Pierce made two free throws on the possession, putting the Celtics up by six with 1 1/2 minutes to go.

"It was the best fourth quarter we played all playoff long," Pierce said.

The Pistons failed on their 3-pointers down the stretch and couldn't take advantage of Garnett missing two free throws with 36 seconds left.

The Pistons were eliminated at home for the first time since Pierce helped Boston do it in the second round of the 2002 playoffs. Detroit had won its previous five games this postseason when coming off a loss.

Detroit lost Game 6 of the conference finals for the third straight year and with only one title and two NBA finals appearances during its impressive six-year run, the franchise will draw more comparisons to baseball's Atlanta Braves.

The Celtics, meanwhile, validated their bold move of adding Garnett and Allen to Pierce to form a Big Three. They played key roles in the decisive fourth quarter, helping Boston outscore Detroit 29-13.

Boston point guard Rajon Rondo scored 11 points and Kendrick Perkins added seven points and seven rebounds.

Unlike early games in the series, neither team jumped out to a big lead in the opening minutes.

Boston led 24-21 after five lead changes — the last coming at the 6:12 mark — and a tie in the first quarter and a negated shot.

Pistons rookie Rodney Stuckey made a jumper late in the quarter, but it was waved off after a video review showed the ball in his hand when the shot clock expired.

Allen and Hamilton, in a matchup of Connecticut greats, had 10 points apiece in the first quarter to lead both teams.

After the Celtics went ahead by seven, Billups made a 3-pointer and later a free throw to pull Detroit within a point.

Garnett then went to the bench with three fouls and 3:11 left in the first half, and seldom-used reserve Leon Powe replaced him and matched the superstar's point total of four points to help Boston lead 40-37 at halftime.

Garnett opened the game by making his first two shots, then missed his final eight attempts in the first half.

Both teams had two starters making shots and three putting up bricks.

Billups and Hamilton were a combined 11-of-19, while the other three starters were 1-for-12. Wallace and Prince missed all five of their shots.

Allen and Pierce combined to go 9-of-15. The rest of the starters were 5-for-21.

Garnett and Prince both ended their skids by making jumpers early in the second half.

Prince scored nine points in the third to help Detroit score 31 in the quarter after being held to just 37 in the first half.

Antonio McDyess made two free throws with 3 minutes left in the third quarter to put Detroit ahead as part of a 22-6 run that gave it a 10-point cushion early in the fourth.

Notes:@ Hamilton did not seem to be affected by a sore right elbow, which he injured late in the previous game. "My dad said to spit on it," Hamilton said. "I guess that's an old-school thing." Did he follow the advice? "Yeah," Hamilton said with a grin. ... Both teams were watching replays of Game 5 before Game 6 and were still complaining about the officiating. When Pierce was shown essentially tackling Billups in the previous game, he joked to teammates: "I got him down at the 2." ... Faces in the crowd included Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez, singers Kid Rock and Anita Baker along with Lions linebacker Ernie Sims. ... Detroit fell to 4-4 when trailing 3-2 in the playoffs, dating to the 2003 playoffs, when four of their current starters played key roles. ... The Celtics and Pistons met five times between 1985 and 1991, with Detroit winning three matchups.

Celtics beat Pistons to reach NBA finals

The Boston Celtics rallied in the final quarter to beat the Detroit Pistons 89-81 Friday, advancing to the National Basketball Association finals for the first time in 21 years.

The Celtics trailed 68-60 to start the final quarter before out scoring Detroit 29-13 in the fourth to win the semi-final series in six games.

Paul Pierce, who led the Celtics with 27 points, said his mind was racing at as the final seconds ticked down.

"I was thinking about getting this game over with," Pierce said. "We were up five or six points and that buzzer couldn't come any sooner.

"All the hard years I put in in Boston and to finally get to this point in my career. There is nothing better than this."

With a rich history to draw from, the Celtics will face the storied Los Angeles Lakers in the finals which begins Thursday in Boston.

"The crazy thing is I grew up watching Boston against Los Angeles Lakers playoff series. As a kid I hated the Celtics. That's what got me into basketball and now I am going to be part of basketball history," said Pierce who grew up a Laker fan in Los Angeles.

Ray Allen had 17 points and Kevin Garnett added 16 points for Boston who have not met the Lakers in the finals since 1987.

"I been waiting all my life for this so I am going to take advantage," Garnett said.

Kendrick Perkins had seven points and seven rebounds and also made a crucial shot block in the final minute to help blunt the Pistons' late rally.

Pierce iced the victory by making one of two free throws with 30.7 left to give Boston a seven-point lead.

The Celtics, who avoided a third straight game seven used a powerful 23-6 run in the fourth.

Chauncey Billups scored 29 points for Detroit, which lost in the semi finals for the third-straight season.

Richard Hamilton had 21 points for the Pistons. Hamilton strained his right elbow with 8.2 seconds left game five but X-rays were negative so he suited up for game six.

"We ran out of juice or whatever," Detroit coach Flip Saunders said. "We got to a point where we couldn't make the big shots we had been making earlier."

Heading into Friday's game, Boston had been having trouble closing out games on the road in the playoffs.

They are just 2-7 away from the TD Banknorth Garden during the playoffs and they know they will have to play better on the road to beat the Lakers in Staples Centre.

"Ten long years baby. Let's go to Los Angeles. Let's do it," Pierce said.

Said Boston coach Doc Rivers, "The Lakers won the west and we won the east and now we get to play each other. That's the way it should be."

Dominant Lakers expect stiff Spurs challenge in Game Five

Poised to reach the NBA finals for the first time since 2004, the Los Angeles Lakers are taking nothing for granted as they prepare for Thursday's Game Five against the San Antonio Spurs.

Although the Lakers have won all seven playoff games at home this season and are riding a wave of momentum after their 93-91 road victory on Tuesday, they expect a stiff challenge from the wounded NBA champions.

"They certainly can't rely on home court," Lakers coach Phil Jackson told reporters after his team grabbed a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals. "They will have to go out and play a ball game.

"It is very important that we come out there (in Los Angeles) and play a similar type of game, with the kind of energy that we had, the kind of board and rebounding and ball possession. That will win the ball game for us."

Inspired by MVP Kobe Bryant who scored 28 points and had 10 rebounds, the top-seeded Lakers handed the Spurs their first home loss of the playoffs in San Antonio on Tuesday.

The Spurs never led in Game Four but could have snatched a last-gasp victory had Brent Barry made a three-pointer at the buzzer. Barry claimed he was fouled by Derek Fisher but there was no call.

"I was nervous, man I was nervous," Bryant said of the final play of the game with 2.1 seconds left on the clock. "I just kind of watched the flight of the ball. Once it hit the side of the backboard, I was extremely relieved."

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Overall, though, Bryant was delighted with his team's road win against older and much more experienced opponents.

"It is a big step for us," said the All Star guard, who helped the Lakers win three consecutive NBA titles from 2000-02.

"Game Three was an opportunity for us to learn in terms of how hard we need to play, the speed we need to play with.

"We came out and did a much, much better job to win in this building in this particular game. It's big for us."

Like Jackson, Bryant preferred to talk about Game Five at a sold-out Staples Center in Los Angeles with caution.

"Just focus on one game," he said. "We have been doing a good job of that all year, just focusing on one game. We're just preparing as much as we can, get ready for them."

For San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, Tuesday's home defeat was a bitter pill to swallow for a team who have clinched four NBA titles in the last nine years.

"Tough loss," he said. "I thought we fought back all night long. We did a good job of being persistent and not giving in at all. So I'm real proud of them for that. We just didn't quite get it done so now we have a lot of work ahead of us."

(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

Ginobili leads Spurs to Game 3 win over Lakers

The Spurs were happy to be home. They felt even better about having Manu Ginobili back in top form.

In an 0-2 hole to the Los Angeles Lakers and in desperate need of a win, San Antonio prevailed 103-84 on Sunday night in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. The Spurs were led Ginobili, who scored 30 points after struggling mightily in the first two games.

"We saw a turnaround coming," said Spurs star Tim Duncan, who added 22 points, 21 rebounds and five assists. "To say that we saw him come out and shoot the ball the way he did, can't say that. But we knew he was going to be aggressive. Knew he was going to try to turn this series around for himself."

And for the Spurs, who overcame a 0-2 deficit against the New Orleans Hornets one round ago.

The Lakers still lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Tuesday in San Antonio.

Kobe Bryant led Los Angeles with 30 points and Pau Gasol scored 15. Lamar Odom struggled, finishing 2-of-11 from the field for seven points. But he had six of the Lakers' 13 assists and 11 rebounds.

The Lakers also had trouble at the free throw line, going just 8-of-17. Bryant went to the line only once.

"We missed a couple foul shots. That's always like a turnover when you do that. Little things that happen," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We just didn't complete plays."

Ginobili hit five of the Spurs' 10 3-pointers to keep the defending champions from falling behind 0-3, which no NBA team has ever overcome.

San Antonio's super-sub and league's top sixth man — who has a sore ankle and torn fingernail — had just 17 points on 5-of-21 shooting in Games 1 and 2.

"He played great. It was unbelievable. He got us going," said Tony Parker, who added 20 points and five assists. "He hit those 3s. He was very aggressive."

The Spurs are a perfect 7-0 at home this postseason.

On Sunday, they took the lead midway through the second quarter and never looked back, despite a late surge from league MVP Bryant.

"It's a good experience for us to play against the defending champs and have them kick our butts the way they did," Bryant said. "I think we grew up a lot tonight."

The Spurs squandered a 20-point lead to lose Game 1 in Los Angeles and the Lakers routed them in Game 2.

"Probably we had a little more sense of urgency because of the fact of being (down) 2-0," Ginobili said.

Up 69-57 entering the fourth, the Spurs opened with a 12-4 run, and Parker's layup gave them a 20-point lead with a little over eight minutes to play.

Then Bryant did what Bryant does: almost single-handedly pulled his team out of the hole. He hit four 3-pointers in less than 2 1/2 minutes and his last one brought the Lakers to 88-76 with 5 minutes to play.

But the Lakers would get no closer, not when the Spurs' title defense would be all but ruined with a loss in Game 3.

Duncan answered with a three-point play to put the Spurs back up by 15 and not long after Brent Barry's steal that resulted in a three-point play for Ginobili made it 97-78 with 3:26 to go.

"We didn't move the ball very well," Lakers guard Derek Fisher said. "We did have some decent opportunities on the inside, but those shots didn't go in. We didn't shoot the ball terribly, but we didn't move it well enough consistently to get the assists up."

The Spurs shot better than 51 percent (38-of-74) from the field. The Lakers shot nearly 43 percent (35-of-82).

Reserve Jordan Farmar scored 10 points for the Lakers.

In the first half, Parker was penetrating the paint, but Ginobili, who had 22 points at the break, was the big key for the Spurs.

After Bryant's driving dunk past Duncan with 4:57 left in the first quarter put the Lakers up 15-8, Ginobili hit back-to-back 3s from the same spot on the wing to get the San Antonio within a point.

He didn't stop in the second quarter.

His second of back-to-back 3s 4 1/2 minutes in put the Spurs up 33-30, giving his team the lead for good. Then he got to the rim about 30 seconds later and was fouled. His free throw made it 36-32.

The Lakers struggled in the second quarter — turning the ball over early in the period on a shot-clock violation, missing free throws and shooting 7-of-17 from the field — and the Spurs pulled away.

Ginobili hit his fifth 3 of the night as the shot clock expired with less than a minute left in the first half. The Spurs outscored the Lakers 28-15 in the second quarter for a 49-39 lead at the break.

Odom was 1-of-7 from the field in the first half and Fisher was scoreless.

In the third, Duncan's two jump shots with less than two minutes to play, plus Ginobili's drive that showed he can still get to the basket, gave the Spurs a 12-point lead heading into the fourth.

"I don't feel like my last step is as strong as probably a couple months ago, but it's not a big issue," Ginobili said. "I mean, I think I can still finish."

Notes:@ Fisher got a technical foul with 4:45 left in the third quarter just after teammate Vladimir Radmanovic hit a layup to bring the Lakers within eight. ... In a dig at Bryant, the crowd chanted "M-V-P" when Duncan went to the line late in the fourth quarter. ... Ginobili got a standing ovation from the crowd when he went to the bench with 2:56 to play. ... Fisher finished with two points on 1-of-4 shooting. ... The Spurs hit 10 3s, the Lakers hit six.

Celtics beat Pistons in Detroit; lead series 2-1

Kevin Garnett led the Boston Celtics to their first win on the road in the playoffs. He had plenty of help. Garnett scored 22 points and was one of six players to make the Celtics' first six baskets, helping them build the first of many big leads en route to a 94-80 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night and a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

The NBA's top-seeded team had lost its first six road games — tying a league record — and was 9-0 at home until losing Detroit in the previous game.

"We took care of business, getting our first win on the road," Garnett said.

The Pistons will host Game 4 on Monday night.

"They got home court back," Detroit coach Flip Saunders said. "Monday is a crucial game for us — the biggest of the year."

Detroit rallied to pull within 87-78 — its smallest deficit since midway through the second quarter — but couldn't get closer in a game in which it trailed by as many as 24 points.

"We didn't come out and play. That's it point blank," Pistons rookie reserve Rodney Stuckey said. "We didn't give no effort at all at the start of the game, and you can't do that against a team like that."

Boston's Big Three scored as much as its supporting cast.

Garnett, Ray Allen (14) and Paul Pierce (11) combined for 47 points to match the rest of the team. Kendrick Perkins, Rajon Rondo and James Posey each scored 12 for the Celtics.

"Their role players really hurt us," Saunders said.

Detroit's Richard Hamilton scored 26 points and Stuckey added 17.

Tayshaun Prince scored four points on 2-of-11 shooting and Chauncey Billups had six points and appeared to be slowed after aggravating his right hamstring injury in Game 2.

Boston, which scored the first 11 points, led 50-32 after holding Detroit to a playoff-low in the first half and getting at least two points from each of the nine Celtics who played.

"The main concentration was to come out aggressive and get the lead early," Pierce said.

The Pistons pulled within 13 early in the second half only to have their comeback hopes dashed by the Celtics' 12-0 run.

Boston led by 20-plus points late in the third quarter and ABC-TV showed mercy for Saunders, letting him off the hook for his previously scheduled interview before the fourth.

Besides making shots and playing tough defense, the Celtics beat Detroit to a lot of loose balls and offensive rebounds.

Garnett went to the bench with two fouls 5 minutes into the game and his replacement, P.J. Brown, promptly dunked on his first offensive possession.

The Pistons responded with a 13-0 run to go ahead for the first time only to let the Celtics score the last 10 points of the quarter and take a 25-17 lead.

Boston used nine players in the first quarter and they all scored, helping the team shoot 53 percent and hold Detroit to 30 percent.

After the Pistons pulled within four early in the second quarter, Boston went on a 16-3 run and maintained the cushion as it ended the first half ahead 50-32.

Pierce had just two points, making the lead even more impressive.

Garnett's jumper on the opening possession of the second half put Boston ahead by 20 before Detroit showed some signs of life.

The Pistons pulled within 13 midway through the third, leading to the Celtics calling a timeout.

Boston then scored seven straight, forcing Detroit to call a timeout to search for answers again.

"They came out aggressive and we missed some shots," Saunders said. "We're the type of team, the way we play, we try to grind it out. It's tough to play from behind like that."

Notes:@ The Pistons' loss put a damper on an unprecedented night in sports. The Motor City became the first metropolitan area to host a Stanley Cup finals game and an NBA conference finals game on the same day, according to STATS LLC, and Detroit hosted Minnesota in baseball as a bonus at the same time as the other two games. The crowd cheered when the videoboards showed — Red Wings 4, Penguins 0 — then got even louder when they displayed another score: Tigers 19, Twins 3. ... The Pistons had their first white-out promotion, giving each fan a white T-shirt to wear, and Saunders said there was "no chance" he would wear a white suite as Louisville's Rick Pitino did last season in a similar situation. ... Faces in the crowd included Bob Seger, Anita Baker, Chuck Daly, Jalen Rose and Danny Manning. ... Boston PG Sam Cassell had five points in 8 minutes after not playing in the first two games.

Bryant bides time before taking charge

Even Spurs coach Gregg Popovich knew the Lakers' Kobe Bryant was just biding his time.

"Kobe, he was doing a trust-his-teammates thing in the first half," Popovich said. "He was checking it all out and seeing where his territory was going to be. In the second half, he went to work."

With just two points on 1-of-3 shooting at halftime, Bryant finished with 27 points Wednesday night to rally Los Angeles to an 89-85 victory over San Antonio in the opening game of the Western Conference finals.

"I just tried to see the flow of the game, tried to manage the game," Bryant said of the first two quarters. "I can get it off any time, and in the second half, I did that.

"I know I can make that push and I knew once I did, I could get the game back under control, get it under 10 where we knew we could be in striking distance," he added.

The Lakers had trailed 65-45 early in the third quarter.

Bryant went 10-of-18 in the second half, including a 10-foot jumper for an 87-85 lead with 24 seconds left. He finished with nine assists and five rebounds.

Pau Gasol had 19 points and seven rebounds for the Lakers, who will try to make it two in a row over the defending NBA champions when the series resumes Friday night at Staples Center.

Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 30 points, 18 rebounds and four blocked shots. Tony Parker had 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

The Spurs went stone cold in the fourth quarter, going 3-of-21, including 1-of-9 from 3-point range as they were outscored 24-13. Manu Ginobili missed all three of his shots in the fourth, finished the game 3-of-13 and had 10 points.

"They started hitting some shots, all the obvious stuff, and we continued to attack but we couldn't get anything to fall at that point," Duncan said. "Obviously, they're a very good team in the fourth quarter, especially with Kobe."

Asked if it was an especially tough loss because of wasting the big lead, Duncan said, "You have to win four games, so losses are losses. Obviously, we were up 20 and we hoped to put that one away and put them on their heels, but we didn't. We have to recover. We have to come out next game and get that one."

Popovich, asked if he was worried about any carryover to Game 2, smiled and said, "Well, sure. Coaches worry about everything. We've got to dig down deep, forget about this and figure out a way to come back just as aggressively as we (played) the first three quarters."

The Lakers are 6-0 at home in the postseason, and have won 12 straight games at Staples Center overall.

Bryant made his go-ahead jumper after two free throws by Ginobili with 1:22 remaining and a follow shot by Duncan with 41 seconds left tied it at 85. After Bryant's basket, Ginobili missed a 3-pointer and the Lakers' Sasha Vujacic made two free throws with 7.3 seconds.

"We almost gave up home-court advantage to a great effort by the Spurs," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "That was a big comeback. We were deep in the hole, there was no doubt about it. Twenty down and half the quarter gone in the third period. It was a struggle to fight back into the ballgame by the end of the third quarter."

The Lakers hadn't played since Friday, when they beat Utah to make the conference finals for the first time in four years. The Spurs advanced by winning at New Orleans three nights later, and their flight from Louisiana to Los Angeles was delayed several hours, so they didn't arrive at their hotel in suburban Santa Monica until Tuesday morning around 9 a.m.

Still, they insisted fatigue was no factor in the loss.

"No one gives any excuse," Parker said. "We were in pretty good shape, had a great lead. We had a great chance to win the game and we just didn't play well enough in the fourth quarter."

Consecutive baskets by Bryant cut San Antonio's lead to three points with eight minutes remaining. San Antonio's Bruce Bowen made a 3-pointer with 7:38 left, but the Spurs didn't score again for almost 6 1/2 minutes.

The Lakers scored 10 in a row to take a 4-point lead. Bryant gave them their first lead of the game by making two free throws with 2:42 left, and added a jumper 24 seconds later to make it 85-81.

The Spurs outscored the Lakers 14-2 to start the third quarter to open the 20-point bulge. But the Lakers then ran off a 14-0 string over a 3:05 span to narrow the gap to six, with Bryant leading the way with seven points and two assists.

Notes:@ The Lakers have beaten the Spurs in seven of their previous 10 postseason matchups, including all three in the conference finals. ... The teams are meeting in the playoffs for the sixth time since 1999, but the first since 2004, when the Lakers prevailed in six games in the conference semifinals. The Lakers didn't win a postseason series from 2005-07.

Chicago Bulls win No. 1 pick in NBA draft lottery

Suddenly, a coaching search isn't the only big decision facing the Chicago Bulls.

Now they have to figure out what to do with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

The Bulls were the surprise winners of the draft lottery Tuesday night, giving them the right to choose between Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose.

Hiring a new coach and deciding what to do in free agency already figured to take up plenty of general manager John Paxson's time. He never figured one of college basketball's stud freshmen could land in his lap.

"I try to stay realistic through all these things for the odds," Paxson said on a conference call. "Tonight for some reason that ball popped up for us and we were there. Now it's my job to make the most of it."

Coming off a miserable season and still without a coach, the Bulls vaulted from the No. 9 spot, where they had a 1.7 percent chance of landing the top choice.

"After this season, we needed a break and I think we just got one tonight," said Steve Schanwald, the Bulls' executive vice president of business operations who represented them on the podium.

Chicago will almost certainly choose between Beasley, the Kansas State forward who averaged 26.2 points and an NCAA-best 12.4 rebounds, or Rose, the point guard who carried Memphis within minutes of the national title.

"We'll have an opportunity to get close to those guys. We'll really take a long look at what makes the most sense for our basketball team," Paxson said. "Having the pick puts you in a unique position to make your team better."

The Miami Heat, who had a 25 percent chance of landing the top pick thanks to their NBA-worst 15-67 record, fell to second. The Minnesota Timberwolves will go third.

The Seattle SuperSonics, who moved up to No. 2 last year to pick Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant, fell from second to fourth. Memphis will pick fifth, followed by New York, the Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee, Charlotte and New Jersey.

Indiana has the 11th pick, followed by Sacramento, Portland and Golden State. The lottery settled the top three spots. The remainder of the first 14 picks are determined inverse order of their record.

The NBA draft will be held June 26 in New York.

Chicago came into the season with high expectations after reaching the Eastern Conference semifinals last season. But the Bulls never recovered from a dismal start and finished 33-49. They fired coach Scott Skiles on Christmas Eve and have already decided not to retain interim coach Jim Boylan.

The Bulls failed to land the coach they wanted, Mike D'Antoni, but the position became much more appealing Tuesday, giving them a chance to draft first for only the second time. The Bulls, who took Elton Brand No. 1 in 1999, could turn this time to hometown star Rose, who D'Antoni said was like Jason Kidd with a jump shot.

"Everybody was picking us to go to the conference finals last year, actually to the NBA finals because we won 49 games the year before and pushed the Detroit Pistons to six games in the second round last year and we have a very exciting good corps of young players, and we added Joakim Noah to that mix," Schanwald said. "Now we will get a chance to add another great player, a really great player. So it is very exciting for us."

Schanwald gave a fist pump early on when he realized he would move up, then took a deep breath and pumped both fists after beating out the Heat, represented by All-Star guard Dwyane Wade.

Only twice have teams with the worst record won the lottery since the current format began in 1994. Though the lottery is weighted to give teams with the poorest records the best chance to win, the longshots keep finding a way.

Last year, Portland and Seattle moved up to grab the top spots, taking Greg Oden and Durant. Again, two star freshmen are the top prizes.

"Obviously the lottery as a precursor to the draft is a time of great hope," commissioner David Stern said.

The Bulls already had a busy offseason planned. Besides hiring a coach, they have to make contract offers to restricted free agents Luol Deng and Ben Gordon.

Now they've got another decision: Beasley or Rose?

"As I sit here tonight, what I think is again you've got two players who are different and unique," Paxson said. "One is point guard. The point guard is a natural leadership position on a team. It's something every team covets. And the other ... just has the unique ability to put the ball in the basket, just will be a go-to scorer.

"I'm certainly not going to throw myself into this thing and do something quickly."

Nor will the Heat. President Pat Riley likes both players, but implied the pick could even be traded.

"Based on their performance and what they did in one season, both of them showed that they can help their team win," Riley said. "Both showed enough physical maturity to be dominant at times as a 19-year-old. All of the intangibles when it comes to competitive desire and when it comes to leadership and character and all of those things, we still have a lot of work to do in terms of a lot of players in the draft."

The Bulls' surprising victory should quickly restore interest in the underachieving team. Interviewed immediately following the result, Schanwald read the number for callers to buy season tickets.

"I thought it was a waste of time. I thought coming here was an absolute waste of time. I knew I would get a great meal out of it, but I thought it was a waste of time," Schanwald said of the Bulls' chances.

"I'm on top of the world. I feel great. It's the most exciting day of my life," he added.

LeBron can't save Cavs despite memorable Game 7

Unable to carry the Cleveland Cavaliers to a win, LeBron James will have to settle for a memorable performance in a loss.

James scored 45 points on 14-of-29 shooting in the Cavaliers' 97-92 loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday. His teammates mustered very little, including Wally Szczerbiak, who was scoreless, but James didn't blame anyone.

"We just tried to put ourselves in a position where we could try to get back in and we did, we just didn't come through," James said. "I'm not disappointed in any of my teammates or in any of my coaching staff."

James' effort in Game 7 was overshadowed by Paul Pierce, who scored 41 points and matched him shot for shot. The battle was reminiscent of the 1988 duel between Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins, who combined for 81 points during Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in which Boston beat Atlanta 4-3.

"I love going against the best and Paul is one of those guys," James said. "We both tried to will our team to victory and, just like Dominique Wilkins, I ended up on the short end and the Celtics won again."

Swept by San Antonio last year in the NBA finals, the Cavaliers tried to get James the help he needed with a big move at the trade deadline.

General manager Danny Ferry acquired Delonte West and Szczerbiak from Seattle and pried Ben Wallace and Joe Smith from the Chicago Bulls on Feb. 21. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, there was marginal improvement, as they struggled to a 15-13 record over the last 28 games and never got into any rhythm because of injuries.

"What we have is very good. We need to continue to get better. We know that if that means some personnel changes need to happen, then so be it," James said. "Right now I'm not thinking about it, but we do need to get better. The teams around us in this league are continuing to get better," including Orlando, the Los Angeles Lakers, Detroit, Boston and New Orleans.

West, who scored 15 points, played well after being traded and knows James can still improve.

"The setup for his growth is unreal, him being 23 years of age, and the way he's playing," West said. "The way Paul and LeBron competed today against one another, you've just seen a whole other generation of superstars battle."

Szczerbiak, who had been traded from Boston to Seattle before the season, spoke of the loss in a subdued locker room.

"I just can't describe it," he said. "We worked so hard, came so close. It's just tough."

After struggling through the first four games, shooting 20-for-78, James finally broke through with 35 points in Game 5 in Boston and followed that with 32 in Game 6.

"When I lost four straight games in the finals, I knew I had to get extremely better," James said. "Now I don't need to reinvent anything, just fine tune my game."

He has extra time to do that now that his season is over.

"I always want to win," James said. "I'm just disappointed that the season is over."

Hornets beat spurs 101-79 to take 3-2 series lead

David West and the New Orleans Hornets sure looked happy to be at home. West had career playoff highs of 38 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots, lifting New Orleans to a 101-79 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night and a 3-2 series lead.

New Orleans looked impressive in winning the first two games at home but stumbled in San Antonio. Back in the Big Easy, the Hornets cruised again.

"We've proved all season long we're one of the better teams in the NBA," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "We had every reason after Games 3 and 4 to fold, but again, being with these guys, they've showed this type of resilience all season, so I'm not surprised."

Chris Paul had 16 of his 22 points in the second half and added 14 assists for New Orleans, which has never advanced past the second round of the playoffs.

Manu Ginobili led San Antonio with 20 points and Tony Parker had 18. The Hornets held Tim Duncan to 10 points, though Duncan was a force on the glass with 23 rebounds.

"They did a great job of crowding the paint and also getting back to our shooters," Duncan said. "They were very physical on the post. I didn't shoot the ball very well and those opportunities kind of turned into them running it back at us."

Game 6 is Thursday night in San Antonio, where the Spurs are 5-0 in the postseason.

Guarded mostly by Tyson Chandler, Duncan was 5-of-18 shooting, but Chandler left the game early in the fourth quarter with a bruised left foot. Meanwhile, a trainer put an ice pack on West's back after he left the game in the final minutes as the Hornets All-Star forward grimaced in pain.

Scott said both were in obvious pain, but he did not expect either of them to miss the next game.

Morris Peterson had 12 points for New Orleans on four 3-pointers, picking up the slack for Peja Stojakovic, who was guarded closely again.

Stojakovic still managed a crucial transition 3 in the fourth quarter, however, giving the Hornets an 81-68 lead with 7:05 to go.

San Antonio pulled to 85-77 on Ime Udoka's third 3-pointer, but Paul responded with a driving layup with 4:33 left and scored again on a pass from West to turn back the Spurs' rally.

Paul, who had six points in the first half, scored nine points and set up Chandler for an alley-oop dunk during a 20-4 Hornets run to open the third quarter. Peterson's 3 capped the surge, giving New Orleans a 64-51 lead.

While Stojakovic managed only nine points, he recognized who had the hot hand. His pass to the corner set up Peterson's fourth 3, which put the Hornets ahead 68-54. Paul then added two free throws, giving him 12 for the quarter, and West scored his 30th point of the game on a jumper over Parker, giving the Hornets a 72-58 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Duncan was held scoreless until early the second quarter, but the Spurs hit their first four 3s and six of their first eight. Ginobili's second 3 put San Antonio up 37-30.

West, who had 22 in the opening half, got New Orleans as close as 38-36 on a jumper late in the second quarter, then tied it at 43 when he put back a blocked fast-break layup.

The Spurs took a 47-44 lead into halftime after Parker got up from a hard foul and sank two free throws in the final seconds.

Notes:@ Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was called for a technical between the first and second quarters while arguing with referee Joe Crawford about an earlier delay of game call. ... Robert Horry's appearance for San Antonio gave him 238 in the playoffs, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most in NBA history. ... New Orleans' Melvin Ely and Fabricio Oberto of the Spurs were called for double fouls and double technicals after a collision under the San Antonio basket in the first quarter. ... Saints quarterback Drew Brees, among the local celebrities at the game, signed a football brought to him by a Hornets mascot and threw it to a fan in the upper deck of the arena.

Bryant and Garnett lead NBA's All-Defensive Team

League MVP Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett were selected to the NBA All-Defensive Team on Monday, along with Marcus Camby, Bruce Bowen and Tim Duncan.

Garnett, who helped the Boston Celtics to the league's best record, was chosen for the ninth time. The forward was chosen Defensive Player of the Year last month.

Bryant, who earned his eighth selection, and Garnett each received 24 first-place votes from the league's 30 coaches. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.

Garnett led a defense that held opponents to 90.3 points per game and a league best .418 field goal shooting percentage.

Camby had a league-leading 3.61 blocked shots per game for the Denver Nuggets and was second in rebounds (13.1 per game). Duncan, on the team for the 11th time, and Bowen, making the team for the eighth time, play for the San Antonio Spurs.

The second team is Shane Battier of the Houston Rockets, Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, Tayshaun Prince of the Detroit Pistons and Raja Bell of the Phoenix Suns.

James, Cavs shoot down Celtics to trim series deficit to 2-1

LeBron James scored 21 points on another off-shooting night, but Delonte West scored 21, Joe Smith had 17 and the Cleveland Cavaliers raced to a large, early lead in Game 3 in a 108-84 win Saturday night over the road-challenged Boston Celtics to pull within 2-1 in their playoff series.

Parker, Ginobili both score 31 in Spurs' Game 3 win

Manu Ginobili, voted the league's top reserve this season, didn't have his usual downtime at the start of the first quarter on Thursday night.

The super sixth man instead got his first start of this postseason, and the San Antonio Spurs harnessed his energy early against the New Orleans Hornets and avoided going into what has historically been an insurmountable hole.

Ginobili and Tony Parker scored 31 points apiece to lead the defending NBA champions to a 110-99 Game 3 win in the Western Conference semifinals. New Orleans still has a 2-1 series lead.

"Going down 3-0 would have been really difficult — obviously," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We played for 48 minutes for the first time in the series, and it got us a win."

Game 4 is Sunday night in San Antonio.

In the other NBA playoff game Thursday night, Boston beat Cleveland 89-73. Home teams are 10-0 in the four conference semifinal series.

No NBA team has ever come back from an 0-3 deficit, and Ginobili and the Spurs knew it.

"Today, for us, it was a Game 7," said Ginobili, who along with Parker consistently got to the rim. "We knew if we didn't win today, it was almost over. So we had a different approach. We played with more passion, more edge."

Chris Paul, still almost unstoppable, led the Hornets with 35 points and nine assists. David West had 23 points and 12 rebounds for New Orleans, which was dominant in the first two games of the series.

"We can't let them dictate how we're going to play. The first two games we didn't do that," West said. "We just can't let them dictate how we're going to play. We have to be willing to go out and just play with what's going to give us some success."

Tim Duncan had 16 points and 13 rebounds for San Antonio. Tyson Chandler scored 12 for the Hornets.

After trading leads all night, Ginobili led a Spurs charge early in the final quarter. Left alone, he hit an open 3 and was fouled by Bonzi Wells. Ginobili's free throw put San Antonio up 87-82, and another 3 by Ginobili 38 seconds later made it 90-84.

New Orleans got within 90-88 before the Spurs took over, playing out the fourth quarter better than they've played all series.

"I don't think there's cause for us to panic or anything like that," Paul said. "We understand what we did. We're just going to go to the drawing board and get this thing right."

San Antonio went on an 11-0 burst to take a 101-88 lead with 5:57 to play.

The Spurs couldn't stop Paul, but West missed three of four free throws and the Hornets got no closer than 10 points in the latter half of the quarter.

The Spurs outscored the Hornets 27-21 in the fourth with Parker and Ginobili combining for 17 points.

Peja Stojakovic, the Hornets' 3-point sharpshooter, was held to eight points on 2-of-7 shooting while being guarded by San Antonio's Bruce Bowen.

"Chris is going to score regardless. He's got the ball in his hands every single time. Every single play it's Chris Paul," said Parker, who had 11 assists. "He's going to score. So we decided to put Bruce on Peja and at least hold somebody down, because Peja was killing us."

The Hornets took an 8-0 lead in the first quarter before the Spurs evened things and started the second quarter down 23-21.

While Bowen was successful in containing Stojakovic in the first half, West and Paul, the stars of Games 1 and 2, were let loose and shot a combined 14-of-21.

Chandler dunked alley-oop passes from West, Paul and Wells in the first half, each time quieting the raucous Spurs crowd that took to booing both the officials and the Hornets.

The Spurs led by as many as four points in the second quarter after Michael Finley hit a corner 3 to give San Antonio a 41-37 lead.

After Parker hit a jumper with 49 seconds to play in the first half, Stojakovic and Morris Peterson each hit 3s to leave the Spurs down 56-49 with 23 seconds left. But Bowen hit a 3 and Ginobili hit a buzzer-beating jumper to bring San Antonio within 56-54 at halftime.

Duncan was quiet in the first half with just five points as New Orleans' double-teams continued to hamper him.

The Spurs did not break down in the third, as they did in Games 1 and 2 when New Orleans took control. Duncan, Parker and Ginobili scored all but three of San Antonio's 29 points.

"We were just trying to have a good third quarter," San Antonio's Kurt Thomas said. "That's been our struggle the first two games."

But the Hornets wouldn't go away. Paul scored 11 points in the quarter, and late in the period he hit a highlight shot when he flipped up the ball as he spun around and put his back to the basket. He was fouled for the three-point play to bring the Hornets within 77-76.

Celtics 89, Cavaliers 73

At Boston, the Celtics got contributions from all of its Big Three and now have a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Paul Pierce scored 19 points, Kevin Garnett added 13 with 12 rebounds, and Ray Allen had 16 points. The Celtics trailed by 10 points in the first quarter but took control in the third.

Pierce was 2-for-14 from the field in Game 1 and Allen didn't score, missing four shots. Garnett had 28 points in the opener.

LeBron James had another poor shooting night for the Cavaliers. One game after going 2-for-18 from the field and missing his last six shots, including a layup to tie the game with 8.5 seconds left, James missed his first three shots and finished with 21 points on 6-for-24 shooting.

Game 3 is Saturday night in Cleveland.

Billups leaves Pistons-Magic game early in 1st with injury

Detroit guard Chauncey Billups left the court with a strained right hamstring early in the first quarter of Game 3 of the second-round series against Orlando on Wednesday night.

The Pistons said Billups' return was questionable. He got tied up with Orlando's Jameer Nelson on a drive to the basket. Nelson's leg caught Billups', and the Pistons' All-Star fell to the court.

Billups is averaging 17.5 points in the postseason, second-best on the team.

NBA says Billups' contested 3-pointer shouldn't have counted

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.

"After reviewing the video of last night's Pistons-Magic game, we determined that the play that concluded with Chauncey Billups' 3-point field goal at the end of the third quarter took approximately 5.7 seconds," Litvin said in a statement. "Because there were only 5.1 seconds remaining in the quarter when the play began, the shot would not have counted had the clock continued to run."

Billups was bringing the ball up the court for the Pistons when the clock froze at 4.8 seconds because of a problem with the arena's timing system. After he made the shot, the game referees had to estimate how long the play took without the aid of replay because the league's rules don't allow for reviewing a play to determine when the clock started.

The league said the timekeeper who worked the game was from a "neutral" city, standard procedure for all games.

After the game, Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said the referees indicated it took 4.6 seconds to complete the play. Lead official Steve Javie declined a postgame interview by a pool reporter.

"The referees followed proper procedure in addressing the clock malfunction by estimating the elapsed time and using their judgment as to whether the shot was taken in time," Litvin said. "Under NBA rules, the referees did not have the option of using instant replay and a timing device to determine exactly how much time had elapsed, nor do the rules allow for a re-play after a clock malfunction is discovered."

The NBA frequently talks about expanding the instant-replay capabilities for game officials, but this might finally get the league to act.

"The NBA Competition Committee was scheduled to discuss the possible expanded use of instant replay at its meeting at the end of the month and we will raise, for the Committee's consideration, the use of replay in situations like this," Litvin said.

Billups scores 28 as Pistons edge Magic 100-93 for 2-0 lead

The Detroit Pistons took advantage of what seemed to be a little help from the scorer's table and went on beat the Orlando Magic. Chauncey Billups scored 28 points, three on a disputed shot at the end of the third quarter, and Detroit got past Orlando for a 100-93 win Monday night and a 2-0 lead in the second-round series.

"It's tough to be on the other end of that play," Billups said. "But I'll take it."

Billups officially made a 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds left in the third, ending a play that started with 5.1 seconds and seemed to take a fraction of a second longer using replays the officials didn't use during a 5-minute delay.

The shot put Detroit ahead 78-76.

Lead official Steve Javie declined to be interviewed by a pool reporter during a timeout, and ignored another reporter shouting to speak with him after the game ended.

The Magic still had a chance to win after trailing by 14 in the first half.

Orlando had the ball down by two points late in the game, but Rashard Lewis missed a running scoop shot, Dwight Howard just missed on a putback and Hedo Turkoglu couldn't grab the offensive rebound.

Magic reserve Keyon Dooling fouled Richard Hamilton before the ensuing pass was made from the sideline, giving Detroit a free throw — made by Hamilton — and the ball.

Billups then made two free throws to put Detroit ahead by five points with 10.9 seconds left to seal the win.

Game 3 in the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night in Orlando.

The Magic likely head home bitter about a call that went against them and some strong performances that went all for naught.

Howard bounced back from a lackluster game with 22 points, 18 rebounds and two blocks.

Jameer Nelson scored 22 points, making five 3-pointers, before fouling out with 1:23 left in the game, hacking Hamilton and putting him on the line down by two points.

Lewis overcame a slow start to score 20 points. Maurice Evans had 13 points and Turkoglu added 12, putting each of the Magic's starters in double figures.

Detroit had a balanced attack, too.

Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince scored 17 points apiece, and Prince added 10 rebounds and five assists. Jason Maxiell was a threat as a shooter for the second straight game, adding 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting.

The Magic got back to their game of driving and kicking for 3-pointers, making seven of their 11 3s during a 36-point third quarter that got them into the game.

But Turkoglu, Lewis and Howard combined for 17 of Orlando's 19 turnovers, ending many promising possessions with wild passes and bad hands.

The score was tied at 29 after the first quarter, then Detroit outscored Orlando by 10 in the second period to earn a cushion at halftime.

Orlando quickly got back into the game in the third quarter, only to be demoralized by the timer's slow trigger finger and the questionable decision by the officiating crew.

Notes:@ Detroit's post players got into foul trouble guarding Howard, leading to Antonio McDyess fouling out with 3:50 left in the game. McDyess had six points and eight rebounds. ... The Pistons have won nine straight playoff games against Orlando, including last year's sweep in the first round and a rally from a 3-1 deficit in the opening round of the 2003 playoffs.

Celtics rout Hawks to advance in NBA playoffs

Paul Pierce scored 22 points and Kevin Garnett added 18 as the Boston Celtics overwhelmed Atlanta 99-65 Sunday to reach the second round of the National Basketball Association playoffs.

The Celtics, who have won a record 16 NBA titles but none since 1986, beat the Hawks four games to three in the best-of-seven series, with home teams winning every game in the Eastern Conference first-round matchup.

"Atlanta wanted it to finish in seven games. This is what you get," Garnett said. "This is how we play at home. We play hard defense. It's hard to win here."

Boston will open the second round against Cleveland here on Tuesday. The Celtics split four regular-season games with the Cavaliers, whose star LeBron James averaged 32.3 points against Boston on his way to the NBA scoring title.

"We're solid at home. We have to learn how to win on the road," Garnett said. "We're going to enjoy this and get ready for Cleveland."

"We can celebrate for maybe an hour, but then let it go and back to the scouting report," Boston center Kendrick Perkins said. "Besides LeBron they have a lot of guys that can play, they just came out of a tough Washington series, we just have to have another great focus."

The Celtics had an NBA-best 66-16 regular-season record to earn a home-court edge throughout the NBA playoffs, but any intimidation factor from the feat might have been lost after struggles with Atlanta, the losingest playoff club.

Garnett, Pierce and Ray Allen have a history of playoff failure, none of them ever reaching the NBA Finals despite individual success. But this season, they came together in Boston with the goal of finally winning a championship.

The Celtics avoided becoming only the fourth top seed ever dumped out of the playoffs by a bottom seed in the first round of the playoffs, although it did happen just last year when Golden State rocked Dallas.

Pierce sank a 3-pointer 30 seconds before the end of the first quarter to give the Celtics a 27-16 lead after the period. Pierce had nine points in the quarter while Perkins added eight points and six rebounds for Boston.

"We missed some good shots in that first period. We missed four layups," said Hawks coach Mike Woodson. "We didn't get back up the floor and that hurt us."

The Celtics stretched the lead to 44-26 at halftime, Boston's defense keeping Atlanta to only 26.3 percent shooting in the first half.

Atlanta's frustration bubbled over 2:51 into the third quarter when Marvin Williams tackled Boston guard Rajon Rondo as he jumped in the air for a layup to try and add to the Celtics' 51-28 lead.

Williams was ejected for the flagrant foul and Rondo answered with two free throws and an assist on a 3-pointer as Boston advanced the lead to double Atlanta's total at 56-28.

From there it was only a matter of how huge the blowout would be and whether or not the Hawks would avoid the record-low point total for a game seven, Cleveland's 61 against Detroit in 2006, against the Celtics reserves.

Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 16 points while Garnett had 11 rebounds and Perkins had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Celtics improved to 18-5 in seventh games, the most game seven wins by any club in NBA history. That includes a 15-3 record at home in seventh games.

Boston improved to 4-0 mark in game sevens against the Hawks, including the 1957 NBA Finals, when the Hawks were based in St. Louis, and the 1988 second round, when Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins were stars.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers avoided becoming only the second coach in NBA history to lose his first three game sevens.

The Celtics were never expected to need a game seven against the lowly Hawks.

"I really had no doubt in my mind how we was going to come out tonight," Pierce said. "You kind of saw it from the guys after game six on the plane - wasn't a lot of talking, we knew that we let a couple of games get away in Atlanta, and I just knew we was going to take care of business tonight."

Bryant, Lakers anxious to end layoff

When the Staples Center crowd chants "MVP! MVP" in Kobe Bryant's direction Sunday, it won't simply be based on sentiment.

While the Los Angeles Lakers' players were watching the finale of the Houston-Utah first-round playoff series Friday night at a Hollywood restaurant, Bryant received an e-mail informing him he had won his first Most Valuable Player award.

While it hasn't been made official, the honor has been expected since the completion of the regular season 2 1/2 weeks ago, when the Bryant-led Lakers finished with a Western Conference-best 57-25 record.

The word came through a Los Angeles Times report, which quoted sources as saying NBA commissioner David Stern would be in Los Angeles this week to present the MVP trophy to Bryant. That's expected to happen Wednesday night before Game 2.

League spokesman Brian McIntyre declined to confirm or deny the Times report, and wouldn't comment further.

"The game tomorrow is a beast sitting on my shoulders," Bryant said after practice Saturday, referring to the opener of the second-round series against the Jazz. "I'm reserving judgment until I hear from David Stern."

That being said, the 29-year-old Bryant didn't need much prodding to share his feelings.

"I'm very excited about it. I didn't know if it was going to happen in my career," he told reporters. "It's a great honor. It means a lot. To me, it's very special. It's very special to share it with these guys."

Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic said Bryant informed his teammates at the restaurant.

"We congratulated him," Vujacic said. "He deserved it. He told us how proud he is of the whole team."

Vujacic smiled when asked if Bryant's teammates went into an "MVP! MVP!" chant upon hearing the news.

"When he paid the bill, we did. Not before," Vujacic said.

"I bit the bullet," Bryant confirmed when asked if he picked up the check.

Tipoff Sunday will be some 38 1/2 hours after the Jazz beat the Rockets 113-91 to win the series 4-2 and reach the second round. The Lakers haven't played since Monday night, when they completed a first-round sweep of the Denver Nuggets.

"Let's play. Let's get this under way," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

"We're ready to go. We're excited about the opportunity," Bryant said.

Utah coach Jerry Sloan waxed philosophical regarding the quick turnaround.

"We'll just have to go play, that's the way the rules are," he said before the Jazz flew to Los Angeles. "They've had a chance to prepare for us. Their energy level should be as high as it can get, but we still have to play the game."

Jackson had a different take, saying: "We just have to come out and match their energy. We've been sitting around for six days."

Sloan and Jackson are meeting in the playoffs for the first time since Jackson coached the Chicago Bulls to victory over Sloan's Jazz in the 1998 NBA finals.

The Lakers won three of the four regular-season games between the teams, but were without Pau Gasol in all four. Three were played before he joined the Lakers on Feb. 1, and he missed the fourth because of a sprained ankle. Despite playing short-handed, the Lakers won a 106-95 decision March 20 to snap Utah's 19-game home winning streak. The Jazz had an NBA-best 37-4 record at home, but they were just 17-24 on the road.

"Regular season's not playoffs," Jackson said when asked the significance of his team's record against the Jazz.

The Jazz are led by Carlos Boozer, who averaged 21.1 points and 10.4 rebounds, and Deron Williams, who averaged 18.8 points and 10.5 assists.

"Bad Boy," Bryant said of Williams. "I love his game. He's a little Cadillac, that's what I call him. He's a phenomenal, phenomenal player."

Williams made six 3-pointers and had 25 points and nine assists in the finale against Houston.

While Williams might represent a challenge for the Lakers, Bryant represents the ultimate challenge. He averaged 28.3 points during the regular season and 33.5 points in the first-round sweep of Denver.

"You tell me somebody in this league that is equipped to guard him," Sloan said. "He's a great player, and you don't stop great players."

Utah's Andrei Kirilenko pointed to the Lakers' supporting cast.

"I don't think we need to pay attention on Kobe only," Kirilenko said. "It's all about team defense. It's all about helping each other defensively. We have succeeded in the past."

The Jazz were successful last season, reaching the conference finals before losing to eventual champion San Antonio. Lakers guard Derek Fisher was a key member of that team, averaging 10.1 points while playing in all 82 games with 61 starts.

Fisher played his first eight NBA seasons with the Lakers before leaving to sign a free-agent contract with Golden State, where he played two years before being traded to the Jazz before last season.

He drew attention last spring when he left the Jazz before Game 2 of the conference semifinals to go to New York, where his 10-month-old daughter, Tatum, was treated for a cancerous tumor in her left eye, but returned in the third quarter and scored all five of his points in overtime of Utah's 127-117 victory over the Warriors.

Fisher asked the Jazz to release him from his contract last summer so he could concentrate on finding the best medical care for his daughter, and that turned out to be in Los Angeles.

"They're a confident group," Fisher said of the Jazz. "I'm happy they've made it to this point. But they stand in the way of my goal and the goal of my teammates."

NBA suspends Wizards' Songaila for 1 game

Washington Wizards reserve forward Darius Songaila was suspended by the NBA for Game 6 of his team's first-round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night for hitting LeBron James in the face.

"Did I think it was intentional? I'm not sure. But it happened," James said before the game.

"It's the postseason. It's physical. At the same time, you've got to draw a line," James added.

Songaila, averaging 5.8 points and 2.6 rebounds in 15.4 minutes during the series, and Wizards coach Eddie Jordan have said the contact was accidental as the player tried to pull his arm free after getting tangled with James in the first quarter of Game 5 on Wednesday.

"Songaila's contact was not made in the normal course of a basketball play, and he struck Lebron James in the face, and by rule receives an automatic suspension," NBA executive vice president Stu Jackson said in a conference call with reporters Friday.

"In viewing this many times," Jackson said, "we do feel that it was intentional contact."

Songaila was called for a technical foul, the latest example of what a rough-and-tumble series this has been. He wasn't at the arena for Friday's game; one of his No. 9 jerseys rested on a seat on the Wizards' sideline.

Even James acknowledged Songaila's foul didn't rank among the hardest of the first five games.

"No, no," James said. "Probably about 10th."

Said Washington's DeShawn Stevenson: "It just shows you he gets any call he wants."

In Game 1, James elbowed Washington forward Andray Blatche in the chin, a move later quietly upgraded to a flagrant foul — but one Jackson said Friday did come in the "course of a basketball movement." Washington center Brendan Haywood was ejected from Game 2 for shoving James, and there also were flagrant fouls called on Stevenson and Anderson Varejao during the series.

But Jackson said that the Songaila-James play was viewed on its own — and that the NBA has not warned the Wizards.

"There's no subliminal message here," Jackson said. "We evaluate each of these plays on its own merit."

Songaila participated in Washington's shootaround at its arena Friday morning, before the league announced the suspension. Jordan said he would have given more practice time to Andray Blatche had he known Songaila would be ruled out.

"We conducted an investigation that included interviewing both of the players involved and also taking input from the officials on the floor," Jackson said. "After that, we reviewed the video and then ultimately gathered all the information and made a decision."

Washington won 88-87 on Wednesday to cut Cleveland's lead to 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.

"It's Game 6, a must-win game, and you kick out one of our main bench players for an accident," Gilbert Arenas said. "I think that's wrong."

Stevenson, involved in an off-court feud with James and fined for a throat-slashing gesture during Game 4, was hit by a towel thrown from the stands while he stood near the sideline during Game 5. Jackson said the league is looking into that.

Stevenson had his doubts.

"If it ain't LeBron James," Stevenson said, "they ain't going to look at nothing."

On Thursday, neither Songaila nor Jordan had sounded worried there might be a suspension when they discussed the run-in with James.

"We got tangled up, my arm got caught inside of his, and when he tried to free himself, it was just an accident. He lifted my arm and it him right in the face. It was caused by him," Songaila said Thursday. "It wasn't my intention or anything like that. If anything, it was an accident."

Jordan watched video of the play and his opinion hadn't changed.

"I stand my ground. I thought he got tangled up with LeBron, and LeBron tried to get untangled. And in his method of trying to get untangled, Darius' arm just flew at his chin," Jordan said Thursday. "And LeBron's a terrific actor. We've seen some of his commercials."

Sonics' Durant honored as rookie of the year

Kevin Durant was so excited to learn he had just won the NBA Rookie of the Year award, he went back to sleep. That's what seven months and 82 games — more than double the amount the lanky 19-year-old had played in any previous season — can do to a teenager.

Fatigue that wasn't apparent while Durant soared in Seattle this season finally caught up to the SuperSonics' star this week. Then his mother, Wanda Pratt, woke him up with the news that he had just joined mentor LeBron James plus Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain in a legendary legacy of rookie award winners.

"I was asleep. It was a LONG season," Durant said Thursday with a smile about Seattle's 20-62 disaster, the worst season in team history. "My mom woke me up when she got the call. She screamed. I was happy.

"Then I went back to sleep."

Durant, the national college player of the year at Texas and the No. 2 overall draft pick last year, was as dreamy as advertised during an otherwise nightmare season in Seattle.

Despite being the only man opposing teams schemed to stop, the 6-foot-9 Durant averaged 20.3 points, 7.7 more than any other rookie. He was the only rookie to lead his team in five categories — points, blocks, steals, free throws made and free throw percentage. Durant blocked more shots than any other guard in the league (75).

The rest of Seattle's season involved losses and lawsuits.

Sonics owner Clay Bennett recently got league approval to move the team to Oklahoma City. Seattle has a trial date next month, its effort to make the Sonics play inside KeyArena for the final two seasons of their lease.

"It's good to shine some light on our team. You know, a lot of people aren't real fond of our team right now," Durant said.

He recently purchased a home in suburban Seattle. His mother lives with him. She and Durant's father, Wayne Pratt, joined four other family members at Thursday's announcement.

"I love Seattle. My home's here. My mother's here," Durant said, acknowledging where he plays next season is out of his control.

Durant received 90 first-place votes (545 points) from a panel of 125 writers and broadcasters. Atlanta's Al Horford finished second with 390 points, and Houston's Luis Scola was third with 146.

It's all beyond what Durant could have comprehended two years ago as a senior at Montrose Christian School in Rockville, Md.

"If you would have told me a couple of years ago that I would be the NBA Rookie of the Year, to be in the same company as LeBron James, Larry Bird ... I would have told you you were crazy," he said.

"I didn't think I would get it, because those other rookies helped their teams get into the playoffs."

Some believe that benchmark should have given Horford the award. Sonics coach P.J. Carlesimo isn't one of them.

"It would have been a travesty if they had picked anyone else," Carlesimo said minutes before general manager Sam Presti said the coach "absolutely" will return next season.

Durant said Horford congratulated him on the award Wednesday, just before Game 5 of the Hawks' surprisingly competitive first-round playoff series against Boston.

"I'd rather trade this in to be where he's at right now — in the playoffs," Durant said.

One of the first text messages of congratulations Durant received was from James, the Cleveland superstar whom Durant calls a mentor and good friend. Durant attended James' playoff games with the Cavaliers in Durant's hometown of Washington last weekend.

James was the Rookie of the Year in 2004, when he was 19.

"He told me congratulations. That's when I was thinking like, `Man, I'm in the same company as LeBron, when he was a rookie,'" Durant said. "I just smiled inside.

"He's like a big brother to me."

Though Carlesimo said "If he did anything wrong, at times he made it look too easy," Durant admitted he struggled early in the season. He said he was taking too many 3-point shots and not driving to the basket.

After the All-Star break, Durant said he took it upon himself to be more aggressive. He got higher percentage shots and more chances at the free throw line. He finished the season by averaging 24.3 points in April, including a season-best 42 in the finale at Golden State.

Yet he has areas where he wants to improve.

"Post skills. Ball-handling. Shooting," he said. "When I get bigger and stronger, hopefully my game will take off to the next level."