[Playoffs!] A New Age! || GAME 1 OF THE FINALS | Hiatus

[Martti.]

Beal steals spotlight as team Chuck beat Shaq with late rally.

Bradley Beal scored 40 points, 6 shy of Kevin Durant's record, including 8 three-pointers, 2 of which came in the last 90 seconds to help lead Team Chuck over team Shaq.

Beal's 40 is the 2nd best scoring output in the game's history behind Durant and his 8 threes are tied for end with his backcourt mate in this game, Kyrie Irving, who made nine while taking MVP honors last year.

Irving scored just 5 points in the first half, playing limited minutes as his main focus will be on playing in the big game on Sunday. He was also pretty passive for the first part of the second half, in which team Shaq came back from an 8-point deficit to tie the game.

But with 9 minutes left, Irving scored 9 straight points and 14 in the whole half, keying a 10-0 run. Bradley Beal made 6 threes in the second half and had 21 points to take MVP honors.

The two got a big boost from Kenneth Faried, who had 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Harrison Barnes led Team Shaq with 33 points, Jonas Valanciunas had a big double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Thomas Robinson and Ricky Rubio also had double-doubles.

Box Score

SHAQ | 57 | 54 || 111 ||
CHUCK | 63 | 59 || 122 ||

Player of the Game : Bradley Beal

| 40 PTS | 4 REBS | 4 ASTS | 0 STLS | 1 BLKS | 16-27 FG | 8-10 3 PT FG | 0-0 FT



Kenneth Faried : 21 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, 10-14 FG
Kyrie Irving : 20 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 9-18 FG, 2-3 3PT
Kawhi Leonard : 11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Damian Lillard : 10 points, 4-6 FG
Anthony Davis : 8 points, 12 rebounds, 4-7 FG



Harrison Barnes : 33 points, 14-26 FG, 5-9 3PT
Jonas Valanciunas : 24 points, 12 rebounds, 12-14 FG
Iman Shumpert : 16 points, 7-10 FG, 2-2 3PT
Thomas Robinson : 14 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 7-15 FG
Ricky Rubio : 13 points, 14 assists, 6-8 FG

[Martti.]

Harden takes MVP honors as West hit 26 threes in high-scoring ASG

James Harden shattered the All-Star game record for made threes, making 12, twice as many as the previous record holders LeBron James and Mark Price, and along the way broke Wilt Chamberlain's single game scoring record, which stood for 41 years. Most importantly, he took the MVP honors and led the West to victory in a 170-165 thriller.

Harden piled up 44 points behind 12 three-pointers, as much as the East made as a team. Three-point shooting was the difference in the game, as the East made 14 fewer threes. The East were better in other areas, like points in the paint, steals, blocks and even field goal percentage, but couldn't keep up with the West's scorching hot shooting from distance (26-42, 61%).

"We had the same feeling as a team as I had as part of team USA in the Olympics against Nigeria." Team USA made 29 threes that night, out of 46, with Carmelo Anthony making 10. "Everybody was making threes, it wasn't just me. Kevin, both of em, Kobe, Russell, Chris, Nic, even Blake made one. We all had the hot hand," said Harden when accepting his MVP award.

"To have this kind of game in my first All Star Game is indescribable. It has been an honor, a great opportunity and I'm glad I did it here, in Houston."

The West out-scored the East by 17 points in the fourth quarter to win by 5. Harden had 15 points in the quarter and his former teammate Kevin Durant had 12 in the quarter. LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony combined for 21 points in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough.

LeBron finished with 33 points while Carmelo had 25. Derrick Rose had 13 assists.

Box Score

EAST | 43 | 44 | 43 | 35 || 165 ||
WEST | 42 | 45 | 31 | 52 || 170 ||

Player of the Game : James Harden

| 44 PTS | 6 REBS | 3 ASTS | 2 STLS | 0 BLKS | 15-22 FG | 12-17 3 PT FG | 2-2 FT



LeBron James : 33 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 16-23 FG
Carmelo Anthony : 25 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 11-15 FG, 3-3 3PT
Derrick Rose : 19 points, 13 assists, 2 steals, 9-13 FG
Kyrie Irving : 16 points, 6-8 FG, 4-6 3PT
Monta Ellis : 16 points, 3 assists, 7-11 FG, 2-3 3PT
Josh Smith : 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, 6-11 FG
John Wall : 10 points, 3 assists, 3 steals, 5-8 FG
Danny Granger : 10 points, 5-7 FG
Andrew Bynum : 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 5-6 FG



Kevin Durant : 30 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 14-22 FG, 2-4 3PT
Kevin Love : 18 points, 3 rebounds, 7-12 FG, 2-5 3PT
Blake Griffin : 17 points, 7 rebounds, 8-10 FG, 1-2 3PT
Kobe Bryant : 17 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 7-12 FG, 3-5 3PT
Russell Westbrook : 14 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, 5-8 FG, 1-2 3PT
Stephen Curry : 9 points, 4 assists, 3-5 3PT
Dwight Howard : 8 points, 9 rebounds
Chris Paul : 8 points, 10 assists
Nicolas Batum : 3 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1-1 3PT

[Durant35]

What a high scoring, thrilling game.

[Axel The Great]

Nice to see Harden take MVP honors, and break a couple of records while he was at it. 26 threes, wow, that definitely defines an All-Star game.

[Fresh8]

Great job getting your star player the all-star MVP

[Martti.]

It was real fun to play, played the first and third quarters as East and 2nd/4th as West to make more sense with minutes, as CPU would play the starters 30+ minutes.

[antho]

Started reading this the other day and you have a great association going on, good job.

That's a solid game from Harden, especially in his first ASG.. but the big wow factor for me was the points scored, 335 total points.. wow!

[Martti.]

Rockets acquire Matt Carroll, set sights on FA market



Rockets GM Daryl Morey announced the team has acquired veteran SG Matt Carroll from the Hornets in exchange for Scott Machado and Donatas Motiejunas with the option to swap first round picks in 2013.

"We want to thank Scott and Donatas what they have done for us this season, we wish them all the best."

Motiejunas had 2 years left on his rookie-scale contract and Machado had three years left. Carroll's 3.5 million contract expires after this season.

The Hornets are currently 12th in the West and while a high draft pick can add about 3-4 million in annual salary, shedding Machado and Motiejunas balances it out. The Rockets are expected to be active during draft night. Nerlens Noel, Cody Zeller and Shabazz Muhammad are expected to be the first 3 prospects selected.

The Rockets are big players in FA with enough cap space to sign a max-salary player. Dwight Howard is high on their list, who has shown being indecisive in the past and while he and the Lakers are currently 2nd in the West, Howard continues to say he will consider all options during free agency. Rockets, Lakers, Hawks and Mavericks all hope to lure the All-Star center.

Chris Paul, Andre Iguodala and Monta Ellis can all hit the FA market.

Other trade deadline deals :

Pacers trade George Hill to the 76ers for Spencer Hawes
Knicks trade Marcus Camby, '13 2nd round pick to the Timberwolves for JJ Barea
Grizzlies trade Mike Conley, Josh Selby to the Jazz for Mo Williams, Raja Bell
Magic trade Al Harrington, E'Twaun Moore to the Nuggets for Andre Miller, Corey Brewer
Grizzlies trade Jerryd Bayless, '13 2nd round pick to the Knicks for Raymond Felton
Celtics trade Courtney Lee to the Hawks for Johan Petro, '13 2nd round pick

[hova-]

I like the Knicks' pickup of Barea and I don't understand what the Grizzlies are doing at all. Good job getting Harden the ASG MVP

[Valor]

Nice ASW coverage, too bad Harden got the MVP

[Martti.]

Player Awards :



MVP - Kevin Durant (OKC)
24.6 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.2 SPG, 1.4 BPG, 46.9 FG%, 39.6 3PT%, 87.8 FT%



ROY - Damian Lillard (POR)
16.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 6.9 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.0 BPG, 46.3 FG%, 33.5 3PT%, 87.5 FT%



6th - J.R. Smith (NYK)
11.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG, 43.3 FG%, 37.9 3PT%, 73.6 FT%



DPOY - Dwight Howard (LAL)
23.5 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 0.8 APG, 1.5 SPG, 2.1 BPG, 59.0 FG%, 100.0 3PT%, 48.3 FT%



MIP - Goran Dragic (PHX)
16.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 10.0 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG, 45.4 FG%, 39.3 3PT%, 84.6 FT%



COY - Scott Brooks (OKC)
60-22, Div - 1, Conf - 1

[Martti.]

Team Awards :

All-NBA 1st Team



C - Dwight Howard (LAL)
F - LeBron James (MIA)
F - Kevin Durant (OKC)
G - Derrick Rose (CHI)
G - John Wall (WAS)

All-NBA 2nd Team



C - DeMarcus Cousins (SAC)
F - Kevin Love (MIN)
F - Carmelo Anthony (NYK)
G - Kyrie Irving (CLE)
G - Deron Williams (BRO)

All-NBA 3rd Team



C - Andrew Bynum (PHI)
F - Amar'e Stoudemire (NYK)
F - Blake Griffin (LAC)
G - Stephen Curry (GSW)
G - Russell Westbrook (OKC)

All-Defensive 1st Team



C - Dwight Howard (LAL)
F - Tyrus Thomas (CHA)
F - Josh Smith (ATL)
G - Paul George (IND)
G - Andre Iguodala (DEN)

All-Defensive 2nd Team



C - Joakim Noah (CHI)
F - Serge Ibaka (OKC)
F - Luol Deng (CHI)
G - Dwyane Wade (MIA)
G - Tony Allen (MEM)

All-Rookie 1st Team



G - Damian Lillard (POR)
C - Anthony Davis (NO)
F - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (CHA)
G - Bradley Beal (WAS)
C - Jonas Valanciunas (TOR)

All-Rookie 1st Team



G - Dion Waiters (CLE)
C - Thomas Robinson (HOU)
F - Harrison Barnes (GSW)
G - Andrew Nicholson (ORL)
C - Joel Freeland (POR)

[hova-]

So you simmed through it? Starting with the real rosters after offseason?

[Martti.]

I simmed til the Playoffs, will play the games. Wanted to get to the off-season quicker. Won't blow up my team as much as the real Rockets, will try to go after Dwight though.

[Valor]

All-NBA 1st Team
G - John Wall (WAS)

All-NBA 2nd Team
C - DeMarcus Cousins (SAC)

All-NBA 3rd Team
F - Blake Griffin (LAC)

All-Defensive 1st Team
F - Tyrus Thomas (CHA)
G - Paul George (IND)

GL in the playoffs, I'm tempted to fast forward too with the RL season finished...

[Martti.]

Some teams are messed up for sure. Actually forgot to take a screenshot of the All-Defensive 2nd team, later went to check and it was all blank so made that team up myself based on real life. Should have made that for the first team too, as Thomas made it.

I'd have put Harden on one of the All-NBA teams too, finished 2nd in scoring and had like 4+ rebounds and 4+ rebounds as well.

[Lamrock]

Go Rockets! Hopefully James Harden can prove the media wrong for not naming him to the All-NBA teams in the post-season.

[Martti.]

Rockets win seesaw game #1 in blow-out fashion

In a very up-and-down uneven contest, where every quarter was decided by 11 or more points, the Houston Rockets drew first blood against the San Antonio Spurs to take a 1-0 lead.

The Rockets were clicking on all cylinders in the first half, shooting 61% from the field and allowing the Spurs to shoot just 35%. Jeremy Lin and Chandler Parsons led the way with Lin having 1o points and 6 assists in the first half and Parsons leading all scorers with 16.

The third quarter was a very different story. The Rockets couldn't make a shot to save their lives and the Spurs put together a 20-4 run in the first 4 minutes of the quarter to turn a 23-point deficit to just a 7-point deficit. The Rockets got some timely buckets from Shaun Livingston, Marcus Morris and Larry Sanders to stop the run, but the big lead had vanished to just 6 points.

The fourth quarter was the James Harden show. Relatively quiet so far, having taken just 8 shots (making 7 of them) with Parsons and Lin stealing most of the highlights, Harden had 17 points though three quarters.

He doubled that scoring number by the end of the game, which saw the Rockets blowing out the Spurs. Harden hit three straight 3-pointers during one stretch and a 6-point lead had grown to 15 in just minutes. Jeremy Lin fouled out, but the Spurs had emptied their tank and the Rockets could let reserves finish out the game for the final 4 minutes.

Box Score

(3) HOU (1-0) | 29 | 31 | 22 | 33 || 115 ||
(6) SAS (0-1) | 18 | 19 | 39 | 17 || 93 ||

Player of the Game : Chandler Parsons

| 23 PTS | 9 REBS | 4 ASTS | 2 STLS | 1 BLKS | 9-15 FG | 0-3 3 PT FG | 5-7 FT



James Harden : 34 points, 4 rebounds, 15-21 FG, 5-7 3PT
Jeremey Lin : 16 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals, 7-14 FG, 2-4 3PT, 6 fouls
Thomas Robinson : 9 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks,
Larry Sanders : 8 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks
Shaun Livingston : 7 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3-3 FG, 11 minutes



Tony Parker : 24 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 9-20 FG, 6-7 FT
Manu Ginobili : 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 7-13 FG, 2-3 3PT
Kawhi Leonard :14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 6-7 FG, 1-1 3PT, 1-1 FT
Tim Duncan : 11 points, 5 rebounds
Tiago Splitter : 6 points, 7 rebounds
Dejuan Blair : 4 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals

------------------------

Other results :

(1) Oklahoma City - 1
(8) Minnesota - 0

Thunder win 107-73
POTG : Kevin Durant (27 points, 18 rebounds, 5 assists)

(4) Memphis - 1
(5) Denver - 0

Grizzlies win 113-98
POTG : Mo Williams (29 points, 4 assists, 5-11 3PT)

(2) LA Lakers - 0
(7) LA Clippers - 1

Clippers win 99-79
POTG : Chris Paul (12 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 7 steals)

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(1) Chicago - 1
(8) New York - 0

Bulls win 96-84
POTG : Luol Deng (23 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 9-12 FG)

(4) Boston - 1
(5) Indiana - 0

Celtics win 111-101
POTG : Paul Pierce (29 points, 4 rebounds)

(3) Miami - 1
(6) Philadelphia - 0

Heat win 112-88
POTG : LeBron James (25 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists)

(2) Brooklyn - 1
(7) Atlanta - 0

Nets win 99-98
POTG : Joe Johnson (27 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists)

[Axel The Great]

Nice emphatic win against the Spurs, with Harden being highly efficient. Should be an interesting series.

On a side note, you might want to correct the headline.

[Martti.]

Cheers for the heads up.

[Valor]

Great win over the Spurs to take game 1, as long as you hold home court advantage you will be fine

[Martti.]

Delfino hits 6 threes to help balanced attack in game #2 blow-out

Carlos Delfino hit 6 threes, 5 of which came in the second quarter when the Rockets out-scored the Spurs 35-18 and the Rockets held on to the lead to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.

The Rockets played a great game offensively, their main strength throughout the year. They shot 53% from the field, 40% from three and had 70 points in the paint. They also had 37 fast break points and scored 16 points off San Antonio's 13 turnovers.

9 players scored at least 6 points for the Rockets.

The Spurs led by as much 7 in the first quarter as Tony Parker got off to a hot start, scoring the first 8 points for the Spurs and the Spurs had a 10-3 lead. And even though Chandler Parsons struggled, Jeremy Lin, Thomas Robinson chipped in 19 each and Harden was scoring as his accustomed to.

The Rockets seem very comfortable playing the Spurs and look to advance as quickly as possible. "A sweep would be great, gives us more time to prepare for the second round. But we're not focusing on that right now, right now our focus is 100% on game #3 in San Antonio. The Spurs are Champions, they will put up a fight," said Jeremy Lin after game #3.

Box Score

(3) HOU (2-0) | 27 | 35 | 34 | 25 || 121 ||
(6) SAS (0-2) | 26 | 18 | 26 | 25 || 95 ||

Player of the Game : James Harden

| 27 PTS | 2 REBS | 6 ASTS | 0 STLS | 0 BLKS | 11-17 FG | 0-4 3 PT FG | 5-5 FT



Thomas Robinson : 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, 7-10 FG
Jeremey Lin : 19 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 8-11 FG, 2-2 3PT
Carlos Delfino : 18 points, 6-8 3PT
Omer Asik : 10 points, 10 rebounds, 4-6 FG
Marcus Morris : 8 points, 5 rebounds
Chandler Parsons : 6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2-13 FG
Shaun Livingston : 0 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists



Manu Ginobili : 19 points, 2 rebounds, 6-11 FG, 2-4 3PT, 5-5 FT
Tony Parker : 18 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 8-17 FG
Patty Mills : 11 points
Tim Duncan : 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
Tiago Splitter : 9 points, 8 rebounds
Dejuan Blair : 9 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals

------------------------

Other results :

(1) Oklahoma City - 2
(8) Minnesota - 0

Thunder win 104-91
POTG : Kevin Durant (22 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists)

(4) Memphis - 2
(5) Denver - 0

Grizzlies win 84-82
POTG : Zach Randolph (18 points, 8 rebounds)

(2) LA Lakers - 1
(7) LA Clippers - 1

Clippers win 131-87
POTG : Kobe Bryant (39 points, 6 assists, 2 steals, 13-22 FG, 10-10 FT)

------------------

(1) Chicago - 2
(8) New York - 0

Bulls win 110-78
POTG : Derrick Rose (17 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists)

(4) Boston - 2
(5) Indiana - 0

Celtics win 138-78
POTG : Rajon Rondo (15 points, 10 rebounds, 14 assists)

(3) Miami - 2
(6) Philadelphia - 0

Heat win 112-87
POTG : Dwyane Wade (33 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 15-18 FG, 2-2 3PT)

(2) Brooklyn - 2
(7) Atlanta - 0

Nets win 113-88
POTG : Deron Williams (25 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists)

[Axel The Great]

Good shooting from Delfino. I was disappointed the Rockets had to let him go in real life, he was definitely a big part of the offense last season.

I think you're in great shape to win the series, it should be hard for them to recover from two consecutive blowouts.

[Martti.]

Yeah, I definitely hope to keep Delfino. I've been surprised how bad the Spurs have been, Parker is ball-hogging, Duncan doesn't even get 10 shots in a game, Leonard is irrelevant and Danny Green isn't a beast as my rosters are pretty old.

[Martti.]

Harden scores 39 as Rockets one win away from advancing

James Harden scored 39 points, 18 of which came in the fourth quarter, when the Rockets out-scored the Spurs 36-26 to push the Spurs to the brink of elimination.

The Spurs had fallen two previous game in blow-out fashions, but with the support of their home crowd, they competed well. Tony Parker was playing MVP-type basketball and they got contributions from Leonard and Blair, who had been modest so far in the series. Blair had 7 offensive rebounds and Leonard shut down Parsons for the 2nd straight game.

They also kept James Harden in check for the first three quarters.

But Jeremy Lin, Thomas Robinson and key buckets from reserves kept the Rockets #1 offense going as they still scored 59 points in the first half.

Harden went scored just 1 point in the third quarter and the Spurs looked like they were headed to win the game with a 4-point lead though three quarters and a 6-0 start to the fourth.

But you can only contain Harden for so long. Harden started going off in the fourth with 8 straight points at one point, including two triples and the Rockets re-took the lead with 4 minutes left. He scored 6 points in the final 2 minutes to hold off the Spurs, who couldn't execute late and fell 114-108 in game #3.

The Rockets look to sweep the Spurs in game #4 and advance to the end round for the first time since 2009.

Box Score

(3) HOU (3-0) | 30 | 29 | 19 | 36 || 114 ||
(6) SAS (0-3) | 27 | 29 | 26 | 26 || 108 ||

Player of the Game : James Harden

| 39 PTS | 6 REBS | 5 ASTS | 1 STLS | 1 BLKS | 15-23 FG | 5-9 3 PT FG | 4-4 FT



Jeremey Lin : 21 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steals, 7-17 FG
Thomas Robinson : 14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, 6-6 FG, 2-2 FT
Omer Asik : 10 points, 6 rebounds
Shaun Livingston : 9 points, 2 assists, 4-4 FG, 7 minutes



Tony Parker : 34 points, 6 assists, 4 steals, 12-28 FG, 6-6 FT
Manu Ginobili : 16 points
Dejuan Blair : 13 points, 12 rebounds, 6-10 FG
Tim Duncan : 11 points, 7 rebounds
Kawhi Leonard : 11 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals

------------------------

Other results :

(1) Oklahoma City - 3
(8) Minnesota - 0

Thunder win 120-116 (OT)
POTG : Kevin Martin (33 points, 4 assists, 10-19 FG, 5-9 3PT, 8-9 FT)

(4) Memphis - 2
(5) Denver - 1

Nuggets win 102-89
POTG : Andre Iguodala (22 points, 9 assists)

(2) LA Lakers - 1
(7) LA Clippers - 2

Clippers win 133-115
POTG : Blake Griffin (32 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks, 14-24 FG)

------------------

(1) Chicago - 2
(8) New York - 1

Knicks win 107-103
POTG : Carmelo Anthony (29 points, 8 rebounds)

(4) Boston - 2
(5) Indiana - 1

Pacers win 99-73
POTG : Danny Granger (28 points, 10 rebounds, 10-18 FG)

(3) Miami - 3
(6) Philadelphia - 0

Heat win 97-96
POTG :LeBron James (32 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals)

(2) Brooklyn - 2
(7) Atlanta - 0

Hawks win 110-100
POTG : Josh Smith (25 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks)