News from April 25.

The NBA fined Maurice Cheeks (Phi) $25,000 for verbally abusing the refs
and failing to leave the court in a timely manner following Wednesday's
Phi-Det game.

Dallas activated J.J. Barea and placed Antoine Wright on IL.

Philadelphia activated Shavlik Randolph and placed Louis Amundson on IL.

San Antonio activated Damon Stoudamire and placed Matt Bonner on IL.

Josh Carter (junior, Texas A&M, guard), Lee Cummard (junior, BYU, guard),
Ty Lawson (sophomore, UNC, guard), and Wayne Ellington (sophomore, UNC, 
guard) declared themselves eligible for the NBA draft.  The deadline for
underclassmen to declare themselves eligible for the draft is April 27.
The draft is June 26.

Grant Hill (Pho) won the NBA Sportsmanship Award award.  Hill received 
90 of a possible 344 1st place player votes.  The players were asked 
to give a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th place vote to the 6 
previously announced divisional winners.
                            Total    position votes  (344 player votes)
  Player                    Points   1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th
  Grant Hill (Pho) ........  2628     90 100  60  39  34  21
  Shane Battier (Hou) .....  2318     78  80  59  29  42  56
  Brandon Roy (Por) .......  2064     59  51  60  67  47  60
  Antonio McDyess (Det) ...  1888     44  47  55  65  69  64
  Antawn Jamison (Was) ....  1820     37  34  59  87  66  61
  Chris Bosh (Tor) ........  1666     36  32  51  57  86  82


Dal 97, NO 87  at Dal
Josh Howard (Dal) had 18 points on 5-16 FG and 8-10 FT.
Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) had 32 points including 9-10 FT, 19 rebounds, and 6
assists.
Jason Terry (Dal) had 22 points and 6 assists.
Chris Paul (NO) had 16 points including 4-18 FG and 10 assists.
Jannero Pargo (NO) had 30 points including 12-20 FG and 4-7 3-pointers.
Dal shot 28-38 FT and NO shot 13-13 FT.
NO leads the series 2-1.

SA 115, Pho 99  at Pho
Tim Duncan (SA) had 23 points including 9-15 FG and 10 rebounds.
Tony Parker (SA) had 41 points including 17-26 FG, 5 rebounds, and 12
assists.
Manu Ginobili (SA) had 20 points including 7-11 FG and 4-7 3-pointers and
5 rebounds.
Amare Stoudemire (Pho) had 28 points and 11 rebounds.
Shaquille O'Neal (Pho) had 19 points including 9-17 FG and 6 rebounds.
Leandro Barbosa (Pho) had 20 points.
SA leads the series 3-0.

Phi 95, Det 75  at Phi
Andre Iguodala (Phi) had 10 points including 2-9 FG, 6 assists, 4 steals,
and 6 turnovers.
Samuel Dalembert (Phi) had 22 points and 16 rebounds including 5
offensive.
Andre Miller (Phi) had 21 points including 9-14 FG and 6 rebounds.
Tayshaun Prince (Det) had 18 points including 8-9 FG.
Richard Hamilton (Det) had 23 points and 6 rebounds.
Phi 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 LA Lakers (2) _ __
8 Denver (0)        |_              __
                     _                |
4 Utah (2)    ______|                 |_              __
5 Houston (1)                          _                |
                                      |                 |
2 New Orleans (2) __                  |                 |
7 Dallas (1)        |_              __|                 |
                     _                                  |
3 San Antonio (3) __|                                   |
6 Phoenix (0)                                           |_ 
                                                         _ 
                                                        |
1 Boston (2)  ______                                    |
8 Atlanta (0)       |_              __                  |
                     _                |                 |
4 Cleveland (2)  ___|                 |                 |
5 Washington (1)                      |_              __|
                                       _ 
2 Detroit (1)      _                  |
7 Philadelphia (2)  |_              __|
                     _ 
3 Orlando (2) ______|
6 Toronto (1)