News from April 23. The NBA fined Rajon Rondo (Chi) $25,000 for attempting to trip Jae Crowder (Bos) during Friday's Bos-Chi game while Rondo was on the bench. The NBA fined Patrick Beverley (Hou) $25,000 for confronting a fan after Friday's Hou-OKC game. Chicago activated Isaiah Canaan and placed Cameron Payne on IL. The LA Clippers activated Diamond Stone and placed Blake Griffin (injured right big toe) on IL. Utah activated Rudy Gobert and placed Jeff Withey on IL. Former longtime NBA ref Jess Kersey died at age 76. Cle 106, Ind 102 at Ind LeBron James (Cle) had 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 steals. Kyrie Irving (Cle) had 28 points including 1-7 3-pointers and 3 blocks. Kevin Love (Cle) had 5 points including 2-13 FG and 16 rebounds including 5 offensive. Myles Turner (Ind) 20 points including 8-10 FG and 9 rebounds. Lance Stepheson (Ind) had 22 points on 9-15 FG and 4-9 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. Cleveland sweeps the series 4-0 and advances to the 2nd round where they will face the winner of the Tor-Mil series. Hou 113, OKC 109 at OKC Eric Gordon (Hou) had 18 points including 4-7 3-pointers and 8 rebounds. Louis Williams (Hou) had 18 points and 7 rebounds. Nene (Hou) had 28 points including 12-12 FG and 10 rebounds. Russell Westbrook (OKC) had 35 points on 10-28 FG and 12-13 FT, 14 rebounds, 14 assists, 3 steals, and 5 turnovers. Steven Adams (OKC) had 18 points including 8-10 FG, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Sam Dekker (Hou, fractured left hand) did not play. Hou leads the series 3-1. Bos 104, Chi 95 at Chi Gerald Green (Bos) had 18 points including 4-9 3-pointers and 7 rebounds. Al Horford (Bos) had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Isaiah Thomas (Bos) had 33 points including 1-9 3-pointers and 12-13 FT, 7 assists, and 5 turnovers. Jimmy Butler (Chi) had 33 points including 19-23 FT, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists. Nikola Mirotic (Chi) had 13 points including 4-11 FG and 7 rebounds. The series is tied 2-2. Uta 105, LAC 98 at Uta Rudy Gobert (Uta) had 15 points including 66 FG and 13 rebounds. Joe Johnson (Uta) had 28 points including 12-17 FG, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Derrick Favors (Uta) had 17 points including 7-10 FG and 6 rebounds. Jamal Crawford (LAC) had 25 points including 9-13 FG and 5-7 3-pointers. Chris Paul (LAC) had 27 points including 1-6 3-pointers, 9 rebounds, and 12 assists. Uta shot 54.1% (40-74) FG and LAC shot 44% (33-75) FG. The series is tied 2-2. Playoff Standings [all rounds best of 7] 1st Round 2nd Round 3rd Round Finals 1 Golden State (3) _ 8 Portland (0) |_ __ _ | 4 LA Clippers (2) __| |_ __ 5 Utah (2) _ | | | 2 San Antonio (2) __ | | 7 Memphis (2) |_ __| | _ | 3 Houston (3) _| | 6 Oklahoma City (1) |_ _ | 1 Boston (2) ______ | 8 Chicago (2) |_ __ | _ | | 4 Washington (2) ___| | | 5 Atlanta (1) |_ __| _ 2 Cleveland (4) ____ | 7 Indiana (0) |_ 2 Cleveland (0) _| _ 3 Toronto (2) ____| 6 Milwaukee (2) First Round (Central times) *if necessary Monday, April 24 Game 4: Washington at Atlanta 7:00 pm TNT Game 4: Golden State at Portland 9:30 pm TNT Game 5: Milwaukee at Toronto 6:00 pm NBATV Tuesday, April 25 Game 5: Oklahoma City at Houston 7:00 pm TNT Game 5: Memphis at San Antonio 8:00 pm NBATV Game 5: Utah at LA Clippers 9:30 pm TNT Wednesday, April 26 Game 5: Chicago at Boston TBD Game 5: Atlanta at Washington TBD *Game 5: Portland at Golden State TBD Thursday, April 27 Game 6: Toronto at Milwaukee TBD Game 6: San Antonio at Memphis TBD *Game 6: Houston at Oklahoma City TBD Friday, April 28 Game 6: Boston at Chicago TBD *Game 6: Washington at Atlanta TBD *Game 6: Golden State at Portland TBD Game 6: LA Clippers at Utah TBD Saturday, April 29 *Game 7: Milwaukee at Toronto TBD *Game 7: Memphis at San Antonio TBD *Game 7: Oklahoma City at Houston TBD Sunday, April 30 *Game 7: Chicago at Boston TBD *Game 7: Atlanta at Washington TBD *Game 7: Portland at Golden State TBD *Game 7: Utah at LA Clippers TBD ---- 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