News from May 8. The NBA fined Matt Barnes (LAC) $50,000 for using inappropriate language with James Harden's (Hou) mother during Wednesday's LAC-Hou game. The NBA fined Joakim Noah (Chi) $25,000 for pushing a fan while walking into the locker room during Wednesday's Chi-Cle game. The LA Clippers activated Chris Paul and placed Jordan Hamilton on IL. Chi 99, Cle 96 at Chi Mike Dunleavy (Chi) had 16 points and 6 rebounds. Jimmy Butler (Chi) had 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals. Derrick Rose (Chi) had 30 points on 10-26 FG, 9-10 FT, and the game winning banked 3-pointer at the buzzer, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Nikola Mirotic (Chi) had 12 points and 8 rebounds. LeBron James (Cle) had 27 points on 8-25 FG, 1-7 3-pointers, and 10-11 FT, 8 rebounds, 14 assists, and 7 turnovers. Tristan Thompson (Cle) had 10 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks. J.R. Smith (Cle) had 14 points including 4-8 3-pointers. Chi leads the series 2-1. LAC 124, Hou 99 at LAC Blake Griffin (LAC) had 22 points, 14 rebounds including 6 offensive, and 7 turnovers. DeAndre Jordan (LAC) had 6 points and 15 rebounds including 5 offensive. J.J. Redick (LAC) had 31 points including 11-14 FG and 5-6 3-pointers. Austin Rivers (LAC) had 25 points including 10-13 FG and 6 rebounds. Dwight Howard (Hou) had 14 points including 4-11 FT and 14 rebounds including 5 offensive. James Harden (Hou) had 25 points including 4-7 3-pointers, 11 assists, and 5 turnovers. Jason Terry (Hou) had 13 points. LAC out-scored Hou 35-19 in the 3rd quarter. LAC shot 55.4% (46-83) FG and Hou shot 39.8% (35-88) FG. LAC 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 Golden State (4) _ 8 New Orleans (0) |_ 1 Golden State (1) __ _ 5 Memphis (1) | 4 Portland (1) _____| |_ __ 5 Memphis (4) _ | | | 2 Houston (4) ______ | | 7 Dallas (1) |_ 2 Houston (1) ___| | _ 3 LA Clippers (2) | 3 LA Clippers (4) __| | 6 San Antonio (3) |_ _ | 1 Atlanta (4) _____ | 8 Brooklyn (2) |_ 1 Atlanta (1) ____ | _ 5 Washington (1) | | 4 Toronto (0) ___| | | 5 Washington (4) |_ __| _ 2 Cleveland (4) ____ | 7 Boston (0) |_ 2 Cleveland (1) _____| _ 3 Chicago (2) 3 Chicago (4) ____| 6 Milwaukee (2) Second Round (Central times) *if necessary Saturday, May 9 Game 3 Atlanta at Washington 4:00 pm ESPN Game 3 Golden State at Memphis 7:00 pm ABC Sunday, May 10 Game 4 Cleveland at Chicago 2:30 pm ABC Game 4 Houston at LA Clippers 7:30 pm TNT Monday, May 11 Game 4 Atlanta at Washington 6:00 pm TNT Game 4 Golden State at Memphis 8:30 pm TNT Tuesday, May 12 Game 5 Chicago at Cleveland 6:00 pm TNT Game 5 LA Clippers at Houston 8:30 pm TNT Wednesday, May 13 Game 5 Washington at Atlanta 7:00 pm TNT Game 5 Memphis at Golden State 9:30 pm TNT Thursday, May 14 *Game 6 Cleveland at Chicago TBA *Game 6 Houston at LA Clippers TBA Friday, May 15 *Game 6 Atlanta at Washington TBA *Game 6 Golden State at Memphis TBA Saturday, May 16 *Game 7 LA Clippers at Houston TBA Sunday, May 17 *Game 7 Chicago at Cleveland TBA *Game 7 Memphis at Golden State TBA Monday, May 18 *Game 7 Washington at Atlanta TBA ---- Patricia Bender pbender@eskimo.com For Trianglons puzzles: http://www.trianglons.com For NBA stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/index.html For Mavs stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs.html