Durant scored 24 points and drew a rare offensive charging foul, and the Oklahoma City Thunder routed Harden and the Houston Rockets 120-91 on Sunday night in Game 1 of their playoff series.

Durant, who’s known more for his three NBA scoring titles than for stepping in the way of oncoming opponents, got in Harden’s way on a transition drive in the third quarter in a standout defensive effort for the Thunder against the league’s second highest-scoring offense.

“It was all about giving your all every possession,” Durant said.

Hours before going head-to-head with Harden, Durant said that “we’re not looking at him as a friend right now.” But even right before tipoff, the situation didn’t seem natural.

“It felt a little awkward just looking across there during the national anthem and seeing him with another team, but we’ve got to get past that. We’re competing against his team, and he wants to win so bad,” Durant said. “We know him personally, so we know how hard he competes and he knows how hard we compete.”

After letting Houston wipe away an 11-point deficit in the first half, the Thunder regained control with a 14-1 surge just before halftime and kept pouring it on.

Just after a fan nailed a half-court shot to win $20,000 in the break after the third quarter, Durant drove for a two-handed slam while getting fouled and Oklahoma City was soon up by 30.

“We didn’t have a rhythm as a team. I felt like it was basically one on five every time,” Harden said.

Harden, playing against the team that traded him away just before the season started, had 20 points but the Rockets were held 15 points below their regular-season scoring average while shooting 36 percent. Houston, which set a franchise record for 3-pointers during the regular season, finished 8 for 36 (22 percent) from behind the arc.

“We were trying to be solid on the defensive end,” Durant said. “We knew they were a great scoring team. We just tried to pack the paint and get out to their shooters. We had to make the second and third efforts, and I think we did that.”

Game 2 is Wednesday night in Oklahoma City.

“Believe it or not, I think this was good for us,” Harden said. “Losing like this was definitely good for us. Now we know how to play.”

“We really don’t have an excuse anymore,” said Jeremy Lin, one of three Houston starters making their first career playoff apperance. “We’ve gotten it out and played terrible all the way across the board — offensively, defensively. That one’s over with.”

The Thunder were already up by 23 when Larry Hill connected on the half-court shot and went bounding toward Oklahoma City’s huddle in celebration, getting congratulated by Thabo Sefolosha before the team’s bison mascot pulled him back away.

Durant’s dunk sparked a string of seven straight points for Oklahoma City, and Harden never even came off the bench in the fourth quarter. Coach Scott Brooks called timeout and pulled Durant a few moments later, and reserves finished out the game for the Thunder.

“We wanted to take care of our home court,” Durant said. “We didn’t do anything yet.”

Russell Westbrook ended up with 19 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. Serge Ibaka chipped in 17 points and Kevin Martin, Harden’s replacement in the sixth man role, had nine of his 16 points in the fourth quarter with the game already in hand.

It was an impressive playoff opener for top-seeded Oklahoma City, which made it to the NBA Finals last season before losing to Miami in five games. The Thunder led by as much as 35 before Houston’s reserves cut into the lead in garbage time.

Harden didn’t get much help from the rest of his starting lineup, which features players with a total of three career playoff starts, all by center Omer Asik. None of the other starters scored in double figures and the unit went 17 for 50 from the field, with Harden making just six of his 19 attempts.

It was Houston’s first playoff game in four years.

“James, on this team, has to shoulder a ton of responsibilities for us and he’s been great all year long,” coach Kevin McHale said. “He’s had an all-pro type of year. … He’ll play better, just like everybody.

“We ask him to do an awful lot for us — handle the ball, score the ball, pass the ball, make plays. I think that he had it going there for a little bit, but it wasn’t James. It was us in general as a team. We never really caught a flow at all tonight.”

Oklahoma City scored the first six points of the game and opened a 13-2 lead as the Rockets failed to make a basket for the first 6 minutes of the game and started out just 1 for 13 from the field. Houston eventually settled in and charged back with a 13-2 push spanning the break between the first two quarters, with Chandler Parsons providing the final five points on a two-handed putback jam and a 3-pointer.

Patrick Beverley pulled the Rockets even at 38 with a transition 3-pointer from the right wing, but the Rockets couldn’t pull ahead before Oklahoma City’s next surge.

Sefolosha had a two-handed slam on a fast break and also assisted on Kendrick Perkins’ two-handed dunk during the burst, which extended Oklahoma City’s lead to 60-45 before Harden’s driving layup in the final second before halftime.

All but the first basket in the Thunder’s run came after Asik joined Parsons on the bench with three fouls apiece.

The Rockets never recovered.

Game Notes
The game ball got switched out in the second quarter after it went into the stands and a drink was spilled on it. … Harden scored a career-high 46 points in the Rockets’ only regular-season win against Oklahoma City, but said he didn’t gain any secrets from that performance to carry over into the playoffs. “I’m not going to lie. I was just making shots,” he said. … The Thunder improved to 18-5 in playoff games in Oklahoma City.

The post Kevin Durant scores 24 as Thunder blitz Rockets to take 1-0 lead appeared first on IdealCapper.

Miami At San Antonio
When: 7:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 31, 2013
Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sun Sports (Miami), Fox Sports Southwest (San Antonio), NBATV
PREDICTION: Heat 98, Spurs 94

Oddsmakers currently have the Spurs listed as 1½-point favorites versus the Heat, while the game’s total is sitting at 198½.

Forward LeBron James put his outside shooting on display in the victory over New Orleans, knocking down seven 3-pointers – one shy of his career high. James made six consecutive 3-pointers in the first half and finished 7-of-10 from behind the arc while scoring 36 points. “I hadn’t done that probably since high school or the early years with Cleveland,” James said afterward. “I felt good. Just tried to keep the Heat wave going.” Miami shot a season-high 60.9 percent in the contest and was 14-of-27 from 3-point range.

Last time out for Miami, they were a 108-89 winner as they battled the Hornets on the road. The Heat covered in the match as a 7.5-point favorite, while 197 combined points moved the game OVER for totals bettors.

Team record: 57-15 SU, 38-34 ATS

is 24-1 SU in its last 25 games
is 14-1 SU in its last 15 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of last 11 games when playing on the road against San Antonio

When playing on Sunday are 6-4
Before playing New York are 7-3
After playing New Orleans are 5-5
After a win are 9-1

Duncan scored a season-best 34 points against the Clippers and continues to play like someone much younger. The 36-year-old Duncan also grabbed 11 rebounds against the Clippers for his 31st double-double of the season and is averaging 17.6 points and 10 rebounds. “He’s done the work to put himself in the position to have games like this and to have the season that’s he had,” Popovich said afterward. “You couldn’t be more proud of the guy on what he did out there.” Point guard Tony Parker had 24 points against the Clippers and is averaging 21.8 points in four games since returning from an ankle injury.

San Antonio won its last outing, a 104-102 result against the Clippers on March 29. The Spurs failed to cover in that game as a 4-point favorite, while the 206 combined points took the game OVER the total.

Team record: 55-17 SU, 37-33-2 ATS
Current streak: won 2 straight games.

is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
is 12-1 SU in its last 13 games when playing at home against Miami
is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of last 11 games when playing at home against Miami

When playing on Sunday are 7-3
Before playing Memphis are 5-5
After playing LA Clippers are 8-2
After a win are 6-4

The post Miami vs. San Antonio Free Betting Pick & Matchup appeared first on IdealCapper.

James scored 26 points, including a go-ahead layup after getting past DeQuan Jones with 3.2 seconds left, and the Heat scrambled late to beat the Orlando Magic 97-96 on Wednesday night and extend their franchise-record winning streak to 16 games.

“I had no intention of shooting another jumper,” James said.

He missed a pair of 3-pointers about 90 seconds earlier, so he went for the 3-footer instead. From the right wing, James drove diagonally through the lane, then used his left hand — after all, he is left-handed — for the basket that won it for Miami. It was the first time he came up with what became a game-winning basket in the final five seconds of a game since a 3-pointer beat the Magic in the 2009 playoffs, according to STATS LLC.

“This is tough,” Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said, after his team fell to 0-2 against Miami this season — the two losses by a total of three points. “You’ve got guys who battled, who really wanted to win this game and deserved to win this game.”

Dwyane Wade scored 24 points on 10-for-16 shooting — he’s now shooting 62 percent in his last seven games — and Chris Bosh added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who blew a 20-point, second-half lead and then rallied from a five-point deficit in the final minutes.

Nik Vucevic had 25 points and 21 rebounds for the Magic, who got 16 points apiece from Jameer Nelson and Tobias Harris, 13 from Arron Afflalo and 12 from Maurice Harkless.

“They’re one of the best teams in the NBA, if not the best and we gave it our all,” Harris said. “They knew that. It’s just a matter of a couple of seconds that could have changed the game. It’s a tough loss for us but it’s the right step in the right direction.”

Vucevic now has two games of 20 rebounds or more in his career — both this season, and both against Miami. He had a 20-point, 29-rebound effort in a loss to the Heat on Dec. 31.

But he was one of three Magic players to foul out in the final minutes, as Orlando let a golden chance go awry.

The foul discrepancy in the game — 30 for the Magic, 17 by Miami — was a hot topic in the Orlando locker room afterward. The Magic went 10 for 12 from the foul line, Miami 27 of 31.

Perhaps the biggest two calls of the game came late, and both went Miami’s way, although the Heat didn’t like one of those at first.

Nelson hit a jumper with 1:36 left, giving the Magic a 96-93 lead. James missed two 3-pointers on the next Miami possession, and on the ensuing Miami trip, Harris drove from the left baseline but his basket was waved off, with Shane Battier beating him to the spot and drawing an offensive foul, Harris’ sixth of the night.

Battier said he had no hesitation about the charge.

“He is defined by winning plays,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He just continues to make them.”

Miami tried for the tie twice on the next trip, but Wade and Ray Allen missed 3-pointers. Bosh was fouled on a rebound — the sixth on Vucevic, making him the third Orlando player to reach the limit in the final minutes. Bosh made both free throws to get the Heat within one with 38 seconds remaining.

Al Harrington missed a wild 3-pointer, and James got the rebound to seal the stop Miami desperately needed. So with 12.6 seconds left, the Heat got the ball and a chance to win.

Spoelstra had told referees that if Miami got a stop, the Heat did not want a timeout. One was whistled anyway, and Spoelstra said that referees apologized for the miscommunication afterward. No matter — the play got set up, the ball went to James, and he delivered in the clutch.

Orlando had no timeouts, and only managed a 3-point try by Afflalo from near midcourt as time expired.

“It’s about getting W’s and trying to find a way not get L’s,” Wade said. “Tonight we found the way.”

The Heat came in with 44 wins, the Magic with 44 losses, and after two possessions of the second half the reigning NBA champions had a 20-point lead.

And then about one quarter later, they were losing.

Vucevic had 10 points and nine rebounds in the third quarter alone — the Heat, as a team, had four rebounds in the period — and the tide of the game totally turned in a matter of minutes. What was a 60-40 Miami lead got whittled down steadily, with the Magic getting within 15 after a jumper by Afflalo, then 10 on a hook shot by Vucevic, five on a 3-pointer by Harris and finally within 77-74 when Vucevic closed the quarter with two free throws.

Orlando didn’t stop there, either. Nelson made a contested 3-pointer to tie the game at 79-all with 10:29 left, and his three-point play about a minute later gave the Magic their first lead of the night.

Vucevic added back-to-back baskets, and suddenly, Orlando was up 86-81 with 8:29 left — meaning the Magic run, in about 14 minutes of actual playing time, was a 46-21 burst.

“Maybe it’s the way they defend,” Vucevic said. “They give me open looks and a chance to rebound a little bit more.”

Miami answered with the next six points to briefly re-take the lead, but Vucevic struck again with 5:03 remaining, getting a short shot off the glass to drop and stake the Magic to a 91-87 edge.

In the end, James was one play better.

“He took it into his own hands,” Spoelstra said.

Game notes

James was in double figures for his 200th straight regular-season game with the Heat, extending his franchise record. … Vaughn played against Miami 30 times in his career, his teams going 15-15. … The Heat have honored a military member who has returned home from a tour of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan before games in Miami for the past several seasons. Their honoree on Wednesday: Army 1st Sgt. Darrell Williams, who returned just two weeks ago from serving a tour in Afghanistan — and is the first cousin of Bosh’s wife, Adrienne Bosh.

The post LeBron James’ layup helps Heat extend win streak to 16 games appeared first on IdealCapper.

Curry scored 24 points and matched a career high with six 3-pointers in the Blue Devils’ 73-57 win over Georgia Tech on Thursday night.

Plumlee finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds after going just 2 for 12 during an awful first half, and Duke (16-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) shot 53 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes to bounce back from its only loss and snap a three-game losing streak when playing without the injured Kelly.

“The biggest thing is, we have to find a new identity because we are a different team” without Kelly, Plumlee said. “Whatever that is, we have to find it. We have to play to our strengths, and we’re not the same team that was (15-0).”

Freshman Chris Bolden’s 20 points were the most scored by a Georgia Tech player this season.

But the Yellow Jackets (10-6, 0-4) had 21 turnovers in losing their fourth straight, remaining the only team winless in ACC play and falling to 5-32 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

“They have two of the premier players not only in the league but in the country,” coach Brian Gregory said, referring to Curry and Plumlee, “and we couldn’t stop them in the second half.”

Freshman Rasheed Sulaimon broke out of a slump with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting after coming off the bench for the first time in his Duke career.

“It’s all about how you come back,” Plumlee said of Sulaimon. “I don’t know of any player who started every game ever at Duke. I mean, he sat Elton Brand and those guys. We just told him it’s part of the process.”

He was a combined 7 for 32 in his previous four games and missed all 10 of his shots in the 84-76 loss to then-No. 20 North Carolina State that knocked the Blue Devils from No. 1.

A second straight loss looked like a real possibility until Duke produced a 27-6 run that started late in the first half, ended early in the second and swung the lead its way to stay.

Curry — who has scored at least 22 points in three of his last four games — had 11 points during the burst.

He ended his team’s 5-minute field goal drought by swishing a deep 3-pointer that started the run with 2 minutes left in the half. Then, he added two more 3s shortly after halftime before his putback of a miss by Plumlee put Duke up 46-32 with just under 15 minutes to play.

That came two possessions after the signature snapshot of the night: After Plumlee got Cameron rocking with a dunk with 14 minutes left and Georgia Tech called a timeout, a fired-up coach Mike Krzyzewski charged off the bench to jump on and embrace his senior center.

“I think I’ve given emotion a lot during 33 years here at Duke, so I’m going to do whatever I think my team needs,” Krzyzewski said. “I did that in 1980 and I should do it in 2013. So I thought that’s what my team needed, and that’s what I gave.”

Tech cut the Duke lead to 10 points twice, the final time coming when Mfon Udofia’s three-point play with 6:48 left made it 57-47. Sulaimon countered with a three-point play 39 seconds later, Curry hit another 3 and Sulaimon followed with a dunk to make it 65-49 with just under 5 minutes to go.

Freshman Amile Jefferson finished with 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who played their second straight game without Kelly, a captain who’s out indefinitely with an injured right foot. He was on the bench in street clothes using crutches, his foot in a boot.

They ended a streak that dated to the 2012 postseason, having lost their previous three games without the 6-foot-11 senior whose outside touch commands opponents’ attention and respect.

“We’re used to having certain driving lanes and certain places we know we’re going to kick to with Ryan, but it’s totally different with Josh (Hairston) and Amile out there,” Curry said. “We’re still working on that, and some lanes close up quicker than others.”

With Duke still learning to play without him, Georgia Tech led for all but about a minute of the half and four times pushed its lead to seven points while clamping down on Plumlee and the Blue Devils in the opening 20 minutes.

“I thought we were hesitant to shoot,” Krzyzewski said, “and no team of mine should be that way.”

The post Seth Curry scores 24 as Duke rebounds from first loss appeared first on IdealCapper.

Russell Westbrook scored 27 points, Kevin Durant added 26 and the Thunder beat the Philadelphia 76ers 109-85 on Friday night before heading out to play 11 of their next 13 games on the road.

Oklahoma City made eight of its first 10 3-point attempts in the second half and never trailed after scoring the final five points before halftime.

The Thunder had lost 110-93 to Brooklyn on Wednesday night, but were able to avoid posting back-to-back losses at home for the first time since dropping two of the first three games of the 2010-11 season.

“We’ve got to take advantage of our fans and take advantage of home court,” Westbrook said.

Oklahoma City went 23 for 36 from the field, connecting at a sizzling 64 percent clip, while outscoring Philadelphia 63-43 in the second half.

“Our defense was really solid the whole night. The offense was a little slow, and coach told us going into the second half that we could score points so quickly, we just have to stick with our defense. That’s what we did,” Durant said.

“All we needed was to see a few shots go down.”

Serge Ibaka chipped in 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Kevin Martin had 16 points off the bench for the Thunder.

Nick Young hit five 3-pointers and led Philadelphia with 21 points. He also attempted the Sixers’ only eight free throws of the game, making six. Oklahoma City went 21 for 27.

“We’ve got to be stronger, take that ball to the basket and make them foul us,” Philly coach Doug Collins said. “For one guy to shoot a free throw tonight, I’m not saying anything that that has anything to do with the whistle. So, I don’t want that to be miscalculated at all.”

Jrue Holiday had 15 points and nine assists, Dorell Wright contributed 11 points and Thaddeus Young scored 10 for Philadelphia. Spencer Hawes pulled down 13 rebounds. The Sixers fell to 2-5 on their eight-game road trip, which started before Christmas and concludes Saturday night at San Antonio.

The schedule soon flips for both teams. Philadelphia will play 13 of 15 games at home after facing the Spurs. Oklahoma City will try to maintain one of the league’s best records while heading East, then on a pair of West Coast swings with brief stops at home in between.

“It’s a good test for us to see where we’re at. The road is always tough, no matter who you’re playing,” Durant said. “We’ve got to come out there and try to do a good job. We’re looking forward to it.”

The Thunder opened their first double-digit lead shortly after coach Scott Brooks came walking out on to the court to call timeout, screaming, “Let’s Go!” at his players after Westbrook had turned the ball over by driving into the back of teammate Kendrick Perkins shortly after halftime.

Neither player made an attempt to run to the opposite end of the court, and Jason Richardson threw down a two-handed slam off Holiday’s alley-oop.

Durant came out of the timeout and immediately drove into the lane, kicking the ball out to Thabo Sefolosha for a 3-pointer, and then drilled a 3 on the next trip down for a 56-46 advantage. Richardson answered with a 3-pointer, a layup and a runner for the Sixers before Westbrook scored six points during an 8-0 burst that pushed the lead to 69-57 for Oklahoma City with 3:50 left in the third quarter.

The Thunder salted it away with a 16-3 run late in the fourth quarter, as both teams started filtering reserves onto the court.

“They’ll hit you with a surge, and that’s what they did,” Collins said.

After a tight first half that featured 14 lead changes, Oklahoma City scored the final five points of the first half to take a 46-42 lead and stayed in front the rest of the way.

“They kept making shots,” Philadelphia’s Evan Turner said. “They tried to counter off our turnovers and they got to running. The first half, we slowed the game down and didn’t allow them to run.”

Game notes

Before the game, Collins offered his analysis of the Thunder’s offseason deal that sent Sixth Man of the Year James Harden to Houston for Martin. “I think where you’re going to see the value of James Harden is come playoff time. That’s when,” Collins said. “Because James Harden in so many instances, was their point guard and Westbrook scored and Durant. I think that’s when you’ll really see because in the playoffs, you need as many playmakers as possible. Kevin Martin can really score that ball but he plays off other guys. I think people don’t realize James Harden also last year made more free throws in the fourth quarter than anybody in the NBA.” … Country star Vince Gill watched the game from a courtside seat along the baseline. … Oklahoma City has played 20 of its first 32 games at home, going 17-3 at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

The post Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant lead Thunder past 76ers appeared first on IdealCapper.

For more news, notes and analysis of the L.A. Clippers, check out the Clippers Report. Blog

The Clippers went 16-0 in December to join the 1995-96 San Antonio Spurs and 1971-72 Lakers as the only teams to go undefeated over a month. Their franchise-record winning streak is the longest since Boston won 19 in a row four years ago.

Caron Butler led the Clippers with 29 points, making all six of his 3-pointers. Chris Paul added 19 points and nine assists to help them maintain the league’s best record at 25-6.

Al Jefferson scored 30 points to lead Utah, which fell victim for the third time during the Clippers’ streak.

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