News from June 23. SA 81, Det 74 at SA Tim Duncan (SA) had 25 points including 10-27 FG, 11 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 5 turnovers. Manu Ginobili (SA) had 23 points and 5 rebounds. Robert Horry (SA) had 15 points and 5 rebounds. Ben Wallace (Det) had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Chauncey Billups (Det) had 13 points and 8 assists. Richard Hamilton (Det) had 15 points including 6-18 FG and 8 rebounds. SA shot 7-11 3-pointers and Det shot 2-14 3-pointers. San Antonio takes the series 4-3 to win the 2005 NBA Championship! Tim Duncan (SA) was named as the MVP of the NBA Finals. Playoff Standings 1st Round 2nd Round 3rd Round Finals (Best of 7) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) 1 Pho (4) ___ 8 Mem (0) |_ 1 Phoenix (4) _____ _ 4 Dallas (2) | 4 Dal (4) ___| |_ 1 Phoenix (1) _ 5 Hou (3) _ 2 San Antonio (4) | | | 2 SA (4) ____ | | 7 Den (1) |_ 2 San Antonio (4) _| | _ 3 Seattle (2) | 3 Sea (4) ___| | 6 Sac (1) |_ 2 San Antonio (4) _ 2 Detroit (3) | 1 Mia (4) ___ | 8 NJ (0) |_ 1 Miami (4) __ | _ 5 Washington (0) | | 4 Chi (2) ___| | | 5 Was (4) |_ 1 Miami (3) _____| _ 2 Detroit (4) 2 Det (4) ___ | 7 Phi (1) |_ 2 Detroit (4) _____| _ 6 Indiana (2) 3 Bos (3) ___| 6 Ind (4) Thus ends the 2004-05 season. The NBA draft is June 28. Teams may start negotiating with free agents starting July 1. Teams may start signing or re-signing free agents July 22 or when ever the new CBA is signed (which ever is later). Training camp for 2005-06 will start October 4 for most teams. ---- Admin note: With the end of the season, these NBA dailys will become not quite daily and will occur only when news occurs. I do have a couple of long vacations planned and I will catch up on news that occurs while I'm gone when I return. Have a great summer! patricia