News from June 8. The NBA Board of Governors approved the sale of the Washington Wizards to Ted Leonsis. New Orleans named Monty Williams as head coach. Chicago named Tom Thibodeau as head coach. He was signed to a 3 year, $6.5 million contract. Thibodeau, who is currently an assistant coach with Boston, will assume his new duties with Chicago once the Finals end. Grant Hill (Pho) elected not to opt-out of his contract and, thus, remains signed through 10-11. LAL 91, Bos 84 at Bos Pau Gasol (LAL) had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Derek Fisher (LAL) had 16 points. Kobe Bryant (LAL) had 29 points including 10-29 FG and 1-7 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Lamar Odom (LAL) had 12 points on a perfect 5-5 FG, 1-1 3-pointers, and 1-1 FT and 5 rebounds. Paul Pierce (Bos) had 15 points including 3-4 3-pointers. Kevin Garnett (Bos) had 25 points including 11-16 FG and 6 rebounds. Rajon Rondo (Bos) had 11 points and 8 assists. LAL leads the series 2-1. Playoff Standings 1st Round 2nd Round 3rd Round Finals (Best of 7) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) 1 LAL (4) ______ 8 OKC (2) |_ 1 LA Lakers (4) ___ _ 5 Utah (0) | 4 Den (2) ______| |_ 1 LA Lakers (4) _ 5 Uta (4) _ 3 Phoenix (2) | | | 2 Dal (2) ______ | | 7 SA (4) |_ 7 San Antonio (0) _| | _ 3 Phoenix (4) | 3 Pho (4) _____| | 6 Por (2) |_ 1 LA Lakers (2) _ 4 Boston (1) | 1 Cle (4) ______ | 8 Chi (1) |_ 1 Cleveland (2) | _ 4 Boston (4) ______ | 4 Bos (4) ______| | | 5 Mia (1) |_ 4 Boston (4) ___| _ 2 Orlando (2) 2 Orl (4) ______ | 7 Cha (0) |_ 2 Orlando (4) _____| _ 3 Atlanta (0) 3 Atl (4) ______| 6 Mil (3) Finals (all time Central) *if necessary Thursday, June 10 Game 4 LA Lakers at Boston 8:00 pm ABC Sunday, June 13 Game 5 LA Lakers at Boston 7:00 pm ABC Tuesday, June 15 *Game 6 Boston at LA Lakers 8:00 pm ABC Thursday, June 17 *Game 7 Boston at LA Lakers 8:00 pm ABC ---- Patricia Bender pbender@eskimo.com For NBA stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/index.html For Mavs stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs.html