None Wiretap

Rockets Take 3-2 Lead Over Jazz

Tracy McGrady had 26 points and a career-high 16 assists, and the Rockets beat the Jazz 96-92 on Monday night to take a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven series.

Yao Ming scored 21 points, sealing the victory with two free throws with 11 seconds left. Yao also grabbed 15 rebounds, the last one in the closing seconds after Deron Williams missed a desperation 3-pointer.

Back home after two lethargic losses in Utah, the Rockets rediscovered their shooting touch, going 35-for-75 from the field (47 percent) and 12-for-24 from 3-point range. They also outrebounded Utah 42-39.

The Rockets can clinch their first postseason series victory since 1997 in Game 6 on Thursday in Utah. Utah dominated the first two games there and hasn't lost to Houston at home since March 2005.

Via Yahoo!


Nesterovic: Raptors Not Mentally Prepared For Playoff Basketball

After two lopsided losses in New Jersey in which Toronto looked nervous and overwhelmed, Raptor center Rasho Nesterovic, who won a championship with the Spurs, said his team might not have been mentally prepared for the challenge of playoff basketball.

"We just didn't play like we should," Nesterovic said at practice Monday. "If you're not ready, teams are going to jump on you early. That's what they did from the beginning.

"We were kind of thinking that we were ready, but we probably weren't."

Via Globe And Sports


Stern Thinking About NBA Sponsored League In China

NBA commissioner David Stern sees more of a need for new pro basketball teams in China than in North America.

"I think 30 teams is a nice, round number, and I would not be recommending to the NBA owners to expand," Stern said on Monday.

"We will see in the next couple of years, coming out of the Beijing Olympics, the possibility of some joint venture between the NBA and someone in China about an NBA-sponsored and-branded league in China."

Stern added that "an NBA of China" is closer to happening than what he called a 20-year plan for having five franchises in Europe, and that, "domestically, we have enough teams."

Via Rocky Mountain News


Apr 2007 Archive