Zach Randolph had 15 points, 18 rebounds, a steal and two blocks on 6-of-18 shooting in Tuesday's Game 2 OT 93-89 loss to the Spurs.
The Grizz now trail 2-0 in the series, which will be a tough hole to climb out of. Tony Allen's flop in crunch time drew a flagrant foul call that resulted in a four-point comeback that sent the game to OT. Allen may be hearing from the league for his acting job. Mike Conley had 18 points, four assists, two 3-pointers and a full stat line, Marc Gasol double-doubled with 12 points, 14 boards and two blocks, and Jerryd Bayless added 18 points, three assists and a 3-pointer, but missed a game-tying (and ill-advised) 3-pointer late in OT. The Grizzlies made a courageous 18-point comeback, but it wasn't enough in the end.
Tony Parker hit just 6-of-20 shots, one 3-pointer and 2-of-4 free throws, but finished with 15 points, five rebounds, a career-high 18 assists, three steals and just two turnovers as the Spurs held off the Grizzlies 93-89 in overtime to take Game 2 and a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals.
Parker hit 1-of-2 free throws with 14.6 seconds left in OT to put the Grizzlies up by three, followed by a bad Jerryd Bayless miss from downtown. Parker was sensational all night, but the Spurs gave up an 18-point lead before winning in OT. Tim Duncan came through with a huge block, boards and bucket in OT to finish with 17 points, nine boards, two steals and four blocks after sitting out much of the fourth quarter with foul trouble, while Danny Green (11 points, three 3-pointers), Tiago Splitter (14 points, two blocks), and Kawhi Leonard (12 points, nine boards) all played well as every Spurs' starter scored in double figures. Game 3 is in Memphis on Saturday.
The Cavaliers got some luck in the NBA lottery and will have the No. 1 pick in this year's Draft.
The Magic, who had the best odds at landing No. 1, fell to No. 2, with the Wizards moving all the way up to the No. 3 pick despite having the eighth best odds of doing so. The rest of the lottery is as follows: 4. Charlotte, 5. Phoenix, 6. New Orleans Pelicans, 7. Sacramento, 8. Detroit, 9. Minnesota, 10. Portland, 11. Philadelphia, 12. Oklahoma City (via Toronto), 13. Dallas, 14. Utah. Big man Nerlens Noel is a favorite to be the No. 1 pick and would fit in with the Cavaliers, while Kansas SG Ben McLemore is also a possibility to be taken with the No. 1 pick. It also would not be surprising to see the Cavs move the pick if they can get what they want for it. The latest Rotoworld NBA Mock Draft will be updated early on Wednesday.
Michael Jordan announced at a press conference on Tuesday that the Bobcats have filed the necessary paper work to become the Hornets starting with the 2014-15 NBA season.
Jordan is catching some heat for not "dressing up" for the press conference, as well as for a lack of former Hornets in attendance. But the good news is that Charlotte is getting its original name back, which is what the fans wanted. That was made possible by the fact the New Orleans Hornets will now be known as the Pelicans, and Jordan can only hope that the name change will bring the Charlotte franchise some much needed mojo going forward.
Bradley Beal is scheduled for another X-ray on his right fibula next week.
He's still not cleared for physical activity and it's taking him much longer to recover from the stress fracture in his right leg than was anticipated. We should have an update next week, after the X-rays are taken.
The Clippers have let the contract of head coach Vinny Del Negro expire, meaning he's no longer the coach of the team, according to Yahoo! Sports.
The details have yet to emerge, but there have been rumblings that Del Negro's days were numbered for some time. The latest rumor making waves is that Chris Paul and Dwight Howard will emerge in Atlanta together next season, but that's far from having any substance at this point. The Clippers failed to advance far enough in the playoffs for anyone's liking and "Paul coaches the Clippers" jokes were all the rage this season. Paul will likely have some say in who the next coach will be, while names like Byron Scott, Alvin Gentry, Mike Malone, Stan Van Gundy and Mike Budenholzer are already being listed as possible replacements for Del Negro.
Jeff Pendergraph (new baby) missed Tuesday's practice.
Pendergraph also missed Monday's practice, and he remains in the hospital with his wife. The Pacers are "hopeful" he'll re-join the team on Wednesday in advance of Game 1 vs. Miami, but he's considered questionable at the moment.
A source told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that Eric Gordon trade rumors have "no merit."
Gordon is expected to be shopped by the Pelicans as the team looks to get out from under his contract, but right now it appears the team is committed to keeping him. We'd expect that to change as we enter the offseason and more teams begin to get active in shaping their plans for next season, but he'll remain with the Pelicans for now.