Latest National Basketball Association (NBA) News
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (Reuters) - Eight people were wounded, one critically, by gun shots fired as thousands of sports fans left a National Basketball Association playoff game late Monday, police said. The shooting occurred during a confrontation outside Chesapeake Arena in downtown Oklahoma City, as fans walked to parking lots after the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Los Angeles Lakers. One victim was in critical condition while wounds suffered by seven others were not believed to be life-threatening, said Captain Dexter Nelson of the Oklahoma City Police Department. ...
 The Oklahoma City Thunder punched their ticket to the Western Conference finals, eliminating the Los Angeles Lakers in five games with a dominating 106-90 victory night.
 (Reuters) - Oklahoma City plunged the final dagger into the Los Angeles Lakers with a 106-90 rout that sent them to their second consecutive NBA Western Conference finals. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook propelled the rising Thunder while leaving the storied Lakers franchise in a state of uncertainty after completing the 4-1 best-of-seven series win. Durant and Westbrook combined for 53 points and the home team withstood 42 from Kobe Bryant to set up a West final against the top-seed San Antonio Spurs. "It's a step in the right direction. ...
 Brandon Bass scored a game-high 27 points as the Boston Celtics defeated Philadelphia 101-85 in crucial game five to take a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference series.
 The NBA's Orlando Magic fired coach Stan van Gundy and agreed to part ways with general manager Otis Smith on Monday after they were eliminated from the first round of the play-offs by the Indiana Pacers.
 (Reuters) - The Orlando Magic fired head coach Stan Van Gundy following a season where he clashed with All-Star center Dwight Howard, the National Basketball Association (NBA) team said on Monday.
 New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin, whose rise from obscurity to NBA stardom captured the world's attention, was among 13 young players named on Monday to the USA Select team.
 San Antonio continue to run roughshod across the NBA, completing their second-straight four-game series sweep in the postseason by beating the Los Angeles Clippers 102-99 in game four.
 LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The San Antonio Spurs steamrolled into the NBA Western Conference finals after a 102-99 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday gave them a clean sweep of their seven-game series.
 (Reuters) - LeBron James and Dwyane Wade combined for 70 points as the Miami Heat recovered from back-to-back defeats to grind down the Indiana Pacers 101-93 on Sunday and level the NBA's Eastern conference semi-final at 2-2.
 LeBron James finished with 40 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists and Dwyane Wade had 30 points as the Miami Heat beat the Indiana Pacers 101-93 to level their series at 2-2.
 LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A late three-pointer by Kevin Durant capped a dramatic fightback by the Oklahoma City Thunder as they left the Los Angeles Lakers on the verge of playoff elimination with a 103-100 win in Game Four on Saturday.
 Kevin Durant hit the go-ahead three pointer with 13 seconds left to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 103-100 win over Los Angeles to put the Lakers on the brink of elimination.
 Tony Parker scored 23 points and Tim Duncan added 19 as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 96-86 for their 17th NBA victory in a row.
 Kobe Bryant shot a perfect 18-of-18 from the free-throw line and had a game-high 36 points as the Los Angeles Lakers beat Oklahoma City 99-96 to hand the Thunder their first loss of the 2012 playoffs.
 (Reuters) - Kobe Bryant refused to let a second successive game slip through his fingers as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 99-96 in a cliffhanger on Friday to avoid going down 3-0 in their NBA playoff series. Bryant endured a 9-for-25 shooting night to score 36 points, including eight of his team's final 10 points, helping the Lakers get the home win needed in the second-round West matchup. Kevin Durant tallied 31 points, but missed a long, potential game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds, while Russell Westbrook and James Harden each had 21 in the loss. ...
 Andre Iguodala finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists as the Philadelphia 76ers rallied to beat the Boston Celtics 92-83 in game four of their Eastern Conference series.
 (Reuters) - The Atlanta Hawks have re-signed head coach Larry Drew back for a third season after he steered the injury-hit team to the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference, the National Basketball Association team said on Friday. Despite losing several key players for stretches of the lockout-shortened season, the Hawks made the playoffs for a fifth straight year before losing to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the postseason. ...
 (Reuters) - The Indiana Pacers, showing the poise and determination Miami was supposed to have, routed the cold shooting Heat 94-75 on Thursday to take a surprising 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-final series.
 Tony Parker celebrated his 30th birthday by scoring 22 points to lead San Antonio over the Los Angeles Clippers 105-88, stretching the Spurs' win streak to 16 games.
(Reuters) - Electronic Arts Inc lost its bid to be dismissed from a lawsuit accusing the video game company of involvement in an NCAA conspiracy to prevent college athletes from being paid. Plaintiffs led by former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon had accused the National Collegiate Athletic Association and its marketing company of violating U.S. antitrust law by conspiring to force students to sign away their ability to profit commercially from playing college sports. ...
 NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant struck for 22 points, five coming in a game-ending 9-0 run, as Oklahoma City stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 77-75 in the NBA playoffs on Wednesday.
 (Reuters) - The Oklahoma City Thunder scored nine unanswered points in the final two minutes to edge the Los Angeles Lakers 77-75 on Wednesday and seize a 2-0 lead in their second-round playoff series. There was no late drama in the Eastern Conference, where the Boston Celtics trounced the Philadelphia 76ers 107-91 to move ahead 2-1 in their best-of-seven series. Although the 76ers lost by a bigger margin, it will be the Lakers who will probably be suffering more due to the manner of their loss. ...
 Kevin Garnett scored 27 points while Paul Pierce added 24 and Rajon Rondo had 23 as Boston cruised past Philadelphia 107-91 to grab the lead in their NBA playoff series.
 Rick Carlisle, coach of the reigning champion Dallas Mavericks, and Dan Gilbert, the club owner spurned by LeBron James, are among 10 people named on Wednesday to the NBA's new competition committee.
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