Lakers and Bulls upset foes

Kobe Bryant posted 2 huge buzzer-beating shots in regulation and overtime to lead the Lakers over the Suns 99-98. Lamar Odom led the Lakers with 25 points, and Bryant added 24. The Lakers surprisingly are ahead in the series, 3-1.
The Bulls took advantage of another bad game from Shaquille O'Neal to post another upset over the Heat, 93-87, tying the series even 2-2. O'Neal had foul trouble throughout the game, and Antoine Walker's 21 and Dwayne Wade's 20 weren't enough to compensate for O'Neal's subpar game. Andres Nocioni had 24 and Ben Gordon added 23 to lead the Bulls

Cavaliers, Kings, Lakers escape with wins

Lebron James made a 4-foot bank shot with 5.7 seconds left to lead Cleveland over Washington 97-96. James exploded for a franchise playoff-record 41 points and made 16 of 28 shots, and now put the Cavaliers up 2-1. Gilbert Arenas tried to compete with James- making 17 of his 34 points in the final period, but it wasn't enough as he missed the potential game winning three in the final seconds.

The Kings continued their inspired play from Game two and Kevin Martin took the biggest shot of his career as the Kings were able to steal Game 3 from the Spurs, 94-93. Martin's twisting layup shot bounced three times before falling into the rim, similar to Brent Barry's regulation game-tying 3-pointer. The Kings were not able to stop Duncan from dominating the game with 29 points on 12-of-20 shooting and 12 boards, but were still able to carve out the win with Mike Bibby putting out 25 points and Ron Artest adding 22 points and 12 rebounds.

The Lakers tried a different formula, and it worked, as all its starters reached double-digits in the team effort 99-92 win over the Suns. Kobe Bryant had just 17 points, but Lamar Odom, Kwame Brown, and Luke Walton all had huge double-double nights, with 15 points and 17 rebounds, 13 points and 11 rebounds, 17 points and 10 rebounds respectively. Steve Nash led the Suns with 17 points and 11 assists, but were totally outrebounded by the Lakers 53-34.

Pacers and Bulls defend home

Jermaine O'Neal dominated for 37 points and 15 rebounds, probably spurred by the $15,000 fine he incurred from blasting the officials, to lead the Pacers 107-95 over the Nets. Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter both had 25 boths for the Nets, who shot a dismal 24 percent in the second half.
Shaquille O'Neal had one of his worst games in playoff history with just 8 points and 7 turnovers, as the Bulls were able to take a game away from the Heat, 109-90. O'Neal was foul plagued throughout the game, picking up his third foul early in the second quarter. Ben Gordon led the Bulls with 24 points, and Kirk Hinrich added 22. Miami's James

Lakers win over Suns

The Lakers shot a blistering 50.7% from the field to win 99-93 over the Phoenix Suns, tying the series 1-1. Kobe Bryant led the way with 29 points and 10 rebounds, while Lamar Odom added 21 points no 9 of 12 shooting with 3-of-5 3-pointers. Steven Nash had 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting but Shawn Marion was held to just 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting.

Pistons and Mavericks take 2-0 leads

Tayshaun Prince had 22 points while Chauncey Billups added 20 as the Pistons rolled to a 109-98 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. After a 12-0 run in the second quarter, the Pistons never looked back and controlled the rest of the game. Dirk Nowitzki dropped 31 points on the Grizzlies and the Mavericks took an easy 94-79 victory. After scoring 31 points in the first quarter to close the Mavericks' lead to 1, the Grizzlies failed to produce the next three quarters and never really threatened the Mavericks. Both teams now take 2-0 leads.

Spurs escape with OT win over the Kings

Sacramento came back strong in the second game of the series after taking a beating in the first game, but it wasn't just enough to beat San Antonio who won 128=119 in overtime. The Spurs were down 3 points a few seconds left in regulation, but Brent Barry's crazy 3 pointer tied the game and forced overtime. Manu Ginobili, who led the Spurs with 32 points, made a baseline pass to Barry, who then took a three that bounced of the rim twice, then off the backboard before falling through the net. The Kings surprised the Spurs with a tough game even without team leader Ron Artest, who was out due to suspension for his blow to Ginobili in the first game. The Spurs now lead the series 2-0

Nets and Wizards even series

Vince Carter bounced back and poured in 33 points on 12-of-20 shooting to lead the Nets over the Pacers 90-75. He had plenty of help from Richard Jefferson with 21 points, Nenad Krystic with 20 points and 10 boards, and Jason Kidd with 13 assists and 11 boards. The Pacers never got it going as Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson were both slapped with 2 fouls each in the first quarter, while Peja Stojakovic was sidelined with a sore right knee. The Wizards clamped down on Lebron James, and Gilbert Arenas put up 30 points as the Wizards edged out an 89-84 . Lebron was held to just 26 points on a mere 7-of-25 shooting and was forced to 10 turnovers- tying his career high.

Heat and Clippers up 2-0

Jason Williams and Shaquille O'Neal both had 22 points while Dwayne Wade added 21 as the heavily-favored Heat took a 2-0 lead over the Bulls with a 115-108 win. The Clippers seem to be well matched with the Nuggets as what was expected to be a very even matchup is turning out to be easy for them. Cutino Mobley led six players in double figuers with 21 points as the Clippers controlled most of the game for a 98-87 win.

Nadal still got Federer's number

Well looks like Rafael Nadal proved the naysayers(me included) wrong. He continued his dominance over top-seeded Roger Federer with a 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (5) victory. Nadal now leads 4-1 in career meetings versus Federer, which very few men can boast. Nadal seems almost unbeatable in clay, he's won 42 straight matches! Federer's Masters Series winning streak however stopped at 29.

Suns contains Kobe, Pacers upset Nets

In a surprisingly defensive game, Phoenix limited Bryant to just 22 points to hold on to a 107-102 win over the Lakers. Tim Thomas played a superb game with 22 points and 15 rebounds to outshine the Sun's star players. The Suns started hot with 39 points in the first quarter but slowed down as the game continued. The Pacers became the first road team to win in the playoffs by beating the Nets 90-88. Anthony Johnson made two free throws with 0.9 seconds left in the game to put the Pacers ahead for the win. The Nets' big three weren't totally in form as Kid had only 5 points on 2 for 11 shooting while Carter despite having 31 points and 13 rebounds shot only 12 for 33. Hope that the Nets can come back from this as Carter has a history of not making it very far in the playoffs.

Federer and Nadal in Monte Carlo final

No surprises, No. 1 seed Roger Federer and No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal meets in the final for the Monte Carlo Masters Series. Federer swept by Fernando Gonzalez 6-2, 6-4. Nadal had a harder time and beat Gaston Gaudio 5-7, 6-1, 6-1. I'm expecting Federer to win but Nadal making an upset isn't totally a surprise as he's also pretty good in clay.

Lebron with 3D in debut playoff win, Spurs dominant

A better debut playoff game couldn't have been expected with Lebron James in leading the Cavaliers over the Wizards 97-86. Lebron had 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to have a triple double in his first game in the playoffs. The Spurs ads expected dominated the Kings 122-88- although I hadn't expected it to be such a big blowout. Tim Duncan didn't even have to work for them to get the win, as Tony Parker exploded for 25 points in the 2nd quarter to lead the Spurs to a whopping 73-39 half time lead. In the other games Miami beat Chicago 111-106 while the Clippers edged the Nuggets 89-87. I'm looking forward to tomorrow as the games are more exciting.

Enqvist and Martinez retiring

Veteran Swede Thomas Enqvist Former Wimbledon champ Conchita Martinez announced their retirements this week. Enqvist said he couldn't handle the physical strain of playing anymore. His career was reaching the 1999 Australian Open final losing to Yevgeny Kefelnikov. He reached his highest ATP ranking that year as No. 4. Martinez's main reason for retiring is her left heel injury. Besides winning Wimbledon, she also was a runner-up at the 1998 Australian and the 2000 French Open. Enqvist was actually one of my favorite players so it's a bit sad to see him retire.

Federer in Monte Carlo Semifinal

You might say that, hey- it's Federer, no surprise. But this is actually the first time he reached the semis in Monte Carlo Masters Series event. He managed to breeze by Ferrer 6-1, 6-3 and extend his current streak in Masters Series events to 28 wins! Meanwhile No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal crushed sixth seed Guillermo Coria 6-2, 6-1 to move into the semis against 7th seed Gaston Gaudio.

NBA Playoffs 2006 is starting!

Now that we have all the no-bearing season games over with, the wait is over! Playoffs are starting tomorrow. Here are the playoff matchups:

EAST:
Pistons (1) vs. Bucks (8)
Heat (2) vs. Bulls (7)
Nets (3) vs. Pacers (6)
Cavaliers (4) vs. Wizards (5)

WEST:
Spurs (1) vs. Kings (8)
Suns (2) vs. Lakers (7)
Nuggets (3) vs. Clippers (6)
Mavericks (4) vs. Grizzlies (5)

Hope my team the Nets make a run for it :)

Welcome to Hoops and Rackets

Thanks for taking a peek at my first ever blog. I'll try to update you on the lastest updates on tennis and basketball.