Rivers fined $25K for Justifiably Criticizing Officials by the NBA

+Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers has been fined $25,000 for publicly criticizing the officiating after a controversial call in his team's dramatic Game 5 loss to the +Oklahoma City Thunder.

According to a Clippers statement, the comments that earned Rivers the fine were made in the postgame press conference following the Clippers' 105-104 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on May 13, at Chesapeake Energy Arena. 

The Clippers believed the Thunder's Reggie Jackson had knocked the ball out of bounds with 11.3 seconds remaining, but officials ruled it Oklahoma City ball. After going to replay, the call stood, and the Thunder rallied to win the game.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers was livid, saying the Clippers were ''robbed,'' but +NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn said Wednesday in a statement that: ''In order to reverse the call made on the court, there has to be 'clear and conclusive' evidence. Since no replay provided such evidence, the play correctly stood as called with the Thunder retaining possession.''

Photo Courtesy +FOX Sports 

Grizzlies Outlast Thunder to Tie Series up 1-1: 2014 NBA Playoffs

Grizzlies beat Thunder 111-105 in OT to tie series

Memphis Grizzlies guard Tony Allen (9) jumps up to grab a pass intended for Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, rear,
in the first quarter of Game 2 of an opening-round NBA basketball playoff series in Oklahoma City,
Monday, April 21, 2014. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Zach Randolph scored 25 points to help the +Memphis Grizzlies defeat the +Oklahoma City Thunder 111-105 in overtime on Monday night and tie their first-round Western Conference +NBA playoff series at one game apiece.

Mike Conley added 19 points and 12 assists for the Grizzlies.

Kevin Durant had 36 points and 11 rebounds for the Thunder. Russell Westbrook scored 29 points for Oklahoma City, but he made just 11 of 28 shots.

Randolph's layup with 26 seconds left in overtime put the Grizzlies up by two. Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka traveled, giving the ball back to the Grizzlies. Courtney Lee made two free throws for Memphis to make it a four-point game. Durant missed a 3-pointer and Randolph made two free throws with nine seconds left to put the game out of reach.

Game 3 is Thursday night in Memphis.

The Thunder trailed by nine early in the fourth quarter, but they finally took the lead when Thabo Sefolosha stole the ball from Randolph, leading to a dunk by Durant with 1:14 remaining.

Mike Miller came back with a 3-pointer to put Memphis up 95-93 with 53.7 seconds left.

Westbrook missed a 3-pointer and Memphis rebounded. Conley missed the first free throw and made the second to make it a three-point game.

Tony Allen stole the ball from Durant, and Conley made two free throws with 18.1 seconds left to push the Grizzlies' lead to five.

Durant answered with a miraculous four-point play with 13.8 seconds remaining. He hit a 3-pointer from the corner as he was being pushed out of bounds by Marc Gasol. Durant then converted the free throw to make it a one-point game.

Conley made one of two free throws with 12 seconds left to make it 99-97. Westbrook missed a wild 3-pointer in the closing seconds, but Kendrick Perkins, who hadn't made a field goal all game, scored on a putback as time expired to force overtime.

NOTES: Memphis F Tayshaun Prince, who played just 4:27 in the opener because of a stomach ailment, started, but played just 14 minutes. ... Ibaka, who led the league in total blocks this season and was second in blocks per game, finished fourth in the Defensive Player of the Year balloting. He finished third in 2013 and second in 2012. Chicago's Joakim Noah won the award this year. ... Ibaka won the NBA's Community Assist Award for April in recognition of his charitable efforts in his home country, the Republic of the Congo. ... The Thunder shot 26.3 percent in the first quarter and fell behind 24-16. ... Memphis' Beno Udrih, a third-string point guard whose minutes have increased because backup Nick Calathes is serving a drug suspension, scored eight of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/gameflash/2014/04/21/36170/index.html#recap#ixzz2zaEeAF00

Durant passes MJ, but Suns get important win over Thunder

AP

Mark J. Rebilas / USA TODAY Sports

Goran Dragic (right) finished with 26 points and 5 assists. He was one of three Suns players to score more than 20 points.

PHOENIX (AP) —

Kevin Durant scored 38 points, surpassing Michael Jordan with his 41st consecutive game of 25 or more, but the Phoenix Suns got 26 points from Goran Dragic and 24 from Gerald Green to beat the +Oklahoma City Thunder 122-115 Sunday night.

Durant has the third-longest such streak in +NBA history and longest since Oscar Robertson did it for 46 in a row in the 1963-64 season.

P.J. Tucker scored a career-high 22 points, including a career-best four 3-pointers, Eric Bledsoe added 18 points, and the Suns pulled a game ahead of Memphis for the No. 8 playoff spot in the West. Phoenix is a half-game behind No. 7 Dallas.

Russell Westbrook had 33 points and eight assists for the Thunder, who are a game up on the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 2 spot in the West.

Oklahoma City took its final lead, 112-111, on Durant's two free throws with 2:39 to play.

+Phoenix Suns scored the next 10, the first four by Markieff Morris and the last four on free throws by Bledsoe, to lead 121-112 with 20.7 seconds to play. Durant sank a 3-pointer with 12.9 seconds to go, the only Thunder points in the final 3:49.

After struggling at the line all night, Phoenix made its last eight free throws.

The Suns led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, the last time at 85-71 on Green's 14-footer with 6:10 left, and were up 92-83 after consecutive layups by Dragic and Bledsoe with 4:04 left.

But the Thunder outscored the Suns 8-2 the rest of the quarter, Durant's driving dunk with 13 seconds left cut Phoenix's lead to 94-91 after three.

Durant and Nick Collison scored to start the fourth quarter and Oklahoma City led for the first time since the first quarter, 95-94, with 11:06 to play.

The lead bounced back and forth after that. Tucker's reverse layup put Phoenix up 111-110 with 1:52 to go.

Marcus Morris sank a pair of jumpers in a 12-4 run that put Phoenix up 38-29 early in the second quarter.

Oklahoma City cut it to 44-41 on Reggie Jackson's driving layup, but Tucker sank a 3, Dragic converted a three-point play then scored on another drive and the Suns were back up 52-43 with 3:53 to go and led 62-53 at the break.

NOTES: Dragic scored all 19 of his first-half points in the second quarter, Green scored 17 in the second half. ... Phoenix plays four of its final five games on the road. Its home game is against Memphis on April 14. ... Wilt Chamberlain scored at least 25 points in all 80 games of the 1961-62 season.

Thunder say Russell Westbrook's knee is fine after injury scare

+The Associated Press

Tom Szczerbowski / USA TODAY SportsRussell Westbrook (0) left in the third quarter of Friday's game and did not return.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — +Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook is fine after leaving Friday's game against +Toronto Raptors in the third quarter with what appeared to be an injury to his surgically repaired right knee.

A Thunder spokesman said the three-time All-Star had an MRI and a clinical exam Saturday, and team doctors said there were no issues after Toronto's Kyle Lowry inadvertently jumped into Westbrook near the sideline with 7:37 left in the third quarter Friday night.

+Kevin Durant scores 51, Westbrook leaves with knee injury in Double OT

Westbrook has been playing restricted minutes since his return in February from his most recent surgery. After the contact with Lowry, Westbrook immediately turned and called timeout and bent over in pain. He hobbled along the sideline and was tended to briefly by a trainer before walking off the court with help from center Hasheem Thabeet.

Durant Scores 51, Westbrook leaves with knee sprain in win over the Raptors, 119 - 118 in Double Overtime

+USA TODAY Sports Images (USATSI)

Durant scores 51, Westbrook leaves with sprained knee as Thunder beat Raptors 119-118 in 2 OTs

Published March 21, 2014
Associated Press

TORONTO – Kevin Durant has played in plenty of exciting, amazing and memorable games.

This one topped them all.

"That was the craziest game I've ever been a part of," Durant said after his go-ahead 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left in the second overtime helped the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the +Toronto Raptors 119-118 on Friday night.

Durant had 51 points and 12 rebounds and All-Star guard Russell Westbrook limped off in the third quarter as the Thunder rallied in the final minute of the second extra session to win an eventful, emotional affair.

"Down eight with (49 seconds) to go, and I missed a free throw late in the game, and we won?," Durant said. "Two guys foul out, Russell is out, back-to-back if you want to add everything into it. Craziest game."

Reggie Jackson had 25 points and 12 rebounds and Serge Ibaka scored 13 as the Thunder won their fourth straight and finished off a 3-0 road trip that also included wins at +Chicago Bulls and +Cleveland Cavaliers.

The +Oklahoma City Thunder are 12-2 on the road against Eastern Conference opponents.

DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points for Toronto and Amir Johnson had 25 points and 12 rebounds in his 500th career game. Kyle Lowry scored 25 and Greivis Vasquez fouled out after scoring 21.

Johnson said trying to defend Durant was a constant challenge.

"It's tough," the 6-foot-9 Johnson said. "He's my height and he can shoot from half court. There isn't too much you can do but double team him."

Toronto led 118-110 after a pair of free throws by Lowry with 49 seconds left, but Durant banked in a 3 and Derek Fisher also connected from long range.

Toronto's John Salmons missed a pair from the line with 9.7 seconds left, setting up Durant for his winning shot.

"We couldn't go another overtime," Durant said.

DeRozan had one final chance for Toronto, but his turnaround jumper came up well short.

"A lot of plays went our way," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "Everything had to go right and some things had to go wrong for them."

Durant has scored 25 or more in 34 straight games, the league's longest streak since Michael Jordan did it in 40 consecutive games in 1986-87. Durant connected on 15 of 32 attempts, including 7 of 12 from 3-point range, and went 14 for 19 at the free throw line. He also had seven assists.

"Kevin did a phenomenal job of making shots," Brooks said.

Westbrook scored 15 points before leaving at 7:37 of the third after injuring his knee in a collision with Lowry. Westbrook will be evaluated Saturday.

Westbrook, who sat out Thursday's win at Cleveland to rest the knee that was surgically repaired for the third time earlier this season, was injured when Lowry collided with him on a pump-fake near the sideline. Westbrook immediately turned and called timeout, bending over in pain. He hobbled along the sideline for a few steps and was tended to briefly by the trainer before walking off with help from center Hasheem Thabeet.

Westbrook had an ice pack on his knee after the game, but said he was "pain-free."

"I don't expect to miss any time," Westbrook said. "We'll just see how it goes."

Westbrook's knee problems began in April 2013, when he tore his meniscus in the second game of the Western Conference playoffs, sidelining him for the remainder of the postseason and all but ending Oklahoma City's chances of reaching the +NBA Finals.

He had a second arthroscopic surgery as the Thunder were preparing for training camp after developing inflammation in the knee, but missed only two regular-season games before returning.

The three-time All-Star had surgery for a third time in late December and has been on a minutes restriction since returning Feb. 20 after a 27-game absence. He came in averaging 21.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 36 games this season.

"We're confident and we've just got to believe that everything is going to be all right," Durant said of Westbrook. "He's walking around. It seems like everything is all right."

Durant hit a tiebreaking 3 with 57 seconds left in the fourth quarter, putting the Thunder up 96-93, but Toronto tied it again when DeRozan made one of two from the line and Johnson scored a layup after grabbing the rebound on Lowry's missed jumper with 17 seconds left.

Oklahoma City inbounded the ball and let the clock run down to five seconds before getting the ball to Durant near midcourt. He passed to Fisher, but the veteran guard couldn't get a clean shot before the buzzer.

Lowry tied it at 107-107 on a 3 with seven seconds left in overtime. Jeremy Lamb missed a 3 with three seconds left and Durant came up short on a buzzer-beating jumper, sending it to a second overtime.

The Thunder are off Saturday and will practice Sunday before hosting +Denver Nuggets on Monday night.

"It's a well-deserved, earned day off tomorrow," Brooks said. "I probably won't need to even work out myself. There were a lot of calories burned. I can have some cookies tonight on the plane."

Durant started 1 for 6 against the Cavaliers on Thursday and was slow off the mark again in Toronto, missing six of his first seven field goal attempts. But he finished the first with a flourish, hitting a buzzer-beating jumper to give the Thunder a 22-20 lead after one.

The entire Thunder team went cold to start the second, missing eight straight shots as Toronto took the lead with a 10-0 run. Jackson stopped the drought with a pull-up jumper at 7:59.

Oklahoma City hit six of 25 attempts in the second, with Durant going 1 for 4. DeRozan scored seven for Toronto while Lowry and Johnson had six each, but a 3 by Westbrook with one second left cut Toronto's halftime lead to 46-42.

Durant scored 14 points in the third as the Thunder overcame Westbrook's departure to take a narrow 72-71 lead into the fourth.

NOTES: Toronto is 1-6 in overtime and has lost an NBA-record 10 straight OT games at home. Their last home win in overtime was March 29, 2009, against Chicago. ... Durant was called for a technical with 27 seconds left in the second after tangling with Toronto's Jonas Valanciunas on a free throw. It was Durant's 15th of the season, leaving him one away from a suspension. ... Valanciunas returned to Toronto's starting lineup after sitting out Wednesday's win at +New Orleans Pelicans with a sore lower back. He finished with 13 rebounds. ... The Raptors were seeking to sweep a season series against a sixth Western Conference opponent. Toronto won both ends against Dallas, Memphis, Minnesota, New Orleans and Utah. ... Canadian Olympic figure skater Patrick Chan attended the game.