News from May 8. Minnesota assistant Rick Brunson resigned. Utah placed Dante Exum (strained left hamstring) on IL. Hou 112, Uta 102 at Hou P.J. Tucker (Hou) had 19 points on 7-9 FG and 5-7 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks. James Harden (Hou) had 18 points including 7-22 FG and 1-7 3-pointers. Chris Paul (Hou) had 41 points including 13-22 FG and 8-10 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists. Royce O'Neal (Uta) had 17 points. Donovan Mitchell (Uta) had 24 points and 9 assists. Alec Burks (Uta) had 22 points and 5 assists. Hou out-scored Uta 37-24 in the 4th quarter. Houston takes the series and advances to the conference finals where they will face Golden State. GS 113, NO 104 at GS Kevin Durant (GS) had 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. Draymond Green (GS) had 19 points, 14 rebounds including 5 offensive, 9 assists, and 3 steals. Klay Thompson (GS) had 23 points and 6 rebounds. Stephen Curry (GS) had 28 points including 10-16 FG, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. Nikola Mirotic (NO) had 12 points and 7 rebounds. Anthony Davis (NO) had 34 points, 19 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Jrue Holiday (NO) had 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. GS out-scored NO 39-19 in the 3rd quarter. Frank Jackson (NO, fractured right foot) did not play. Golden State takes the series 4-1 and advances to the conference finals where they will face Houston. Playoff Standings 1st Round 2nd Round 3rd Round Finals (Best of 7) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) 1 Houston (4) ______ 8 Minnesota (1) |_ 1 Houston (4) ______ _ 5 Utah (1) | 4 Oklahoma City (2) _| |_ 1 Houston (0) _ 5 Utah (4) _ 2 Golden State (0) | | | 2 Golden State (4) __ | | 7 San Antonio (1) |_ 2 Golden State (4) _| | _ 6 New Orleans (1) | 3 Portland (0) ___| | 6 New Orleans (4) |_ _______ _ _______ | 1 Toronto (4) ____ | 8 Washington (2) |_ 1 Toronto (0) ____ | _ 4 Cleveland (4) | | 4 Cleveland (4) _____| | | 5 Indiana (3) |_ 4 Cleveland (0) ___| _ _____________ 2 Boston (4) _____ | 7 Milwaukee (3) |_ 2 Boston (3) _| _ 3 Philadelphia (1) 3 Philadelphia (4) __| 6 Miami (1) Second Round (all time Central) *if necessary Wednesday, May 9 Game 5: Philadelphia at Boston 7:00 pm TNT Friday, May 11 *Game 6: Boston at Philadelphia TBD ESPN Sunday, May 13 *Game 7: Philadelphia at Boston TBD Conference Finals (all time Central) *if necessary Monday, May 14 Game 1: Houston at Golden State 8:00 pm TNT ---- 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