Basketball

Rafer Alston blamed his dreadful second half in Game 1 on Stan Van Gundy’s decision to play All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson for the entire second quarter. In fact, Van Gundy admitted Friday that giving Nelson extended minutes for his first game in four months was a mistake, but the Orlando Magic head coach...
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When Kobe Bryant worked out for the Lakers as a high school graduate in 1996, he stunned them with his leaping ability and raw basketball talent that few 17-year-olds had ever possessed. Lakers luminary Jerry West, the team’s executive vice president at the time, said it was the greatest workout he had ever witnessed....
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Kobe Bryant led the Los Angeles Lakers back into the NBA Finals with a 119-92 rout of the Denver Nuggets in Colorado. Bryant scored 35 points and added 10 assists while team mates Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom had 20 points apiece in one of the most complete post-season outings for the Lakers, who...
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The audience at Amway Arena reached its collective peak as Hedo Turkoglu bounced the ball at midcourt before delivering it to a deserving Dwight Howard. Each dribble dwindled a coinciding timeline — the Orlando Magic’s first N.B.A. finals appearance since 1995 and LeBron James’s postseason exit. For James, it was the same long, empty...
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The Cavs started the game by focusing their offense on everybody but LeBron. Screen-and-rolls involving Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Delonte West. Mo Williams taking Rafer Alston to the hole. West, again, with a flipper and a long jumper. Snappy ball movement was the early game plan, with everybody getting touches and shots. Indeed, James didn’t...
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Superman swooped in just in time. Dwight Howard scored 10 points in overtime and the Orlando Magic, raining down 3-pointers like a Florida thunderstorm, withstood 44 points and a last-second shot by LeBron James for a 116-114 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference...
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The Cleveland Cavaliers needed a miracle. LeBron James delivered. James made a fadeaway 3-pointer over Orlando’s Hedo Turkoglu as the final horn sounded Friday night to give the Cavaliers, their season a heartbeat from major trouble, a 96-95 victory over the Orlando Magic that evened the Eastern Conference finals at one game apiece. From...
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