NBA stars emerge over persistent Smart Gilas

Too much skill,too much power.

The visiting NBA stars led by Kobe Bryant flattened the Smart Gilas National Team 98-89 to get a 2-0 record in their stint here after they also defeated the PBA selection in the "NBA Ultimate Weekend in front of the awed fans at the Araneta Coliseum.

Fresh from their demolishing of the PBA Selection, the NBA stars got off to a hot start capped by numerous highlight plays by Javale McGee and the steady showing by Kobe Bryant with 7 straight points in the first period to get a 28-16 lead.

The domination of the NBA stars continued in the second quarter but Gilas tried to fight back with Dondon Hontiveros hitting back to back threes and Marcio Lassitier drained his own trifecta to cut the lead to a sizable 38-31 before McGee and the rest of the NBA Squad let off a 7-0 bomb to get away again, getting a 55-37 halftime lead.

The lead went up as much as 22 points in the 3rd quarter as the NBA stars stepped it up a notch, utilizing their very evident height advantage with Bryant and Kevin Durant posting up their smaller defenders at the post.

Gilas mounted a last ditch effort led by JV Casio who scored 11 points in the fourth quarter and the national team got to within 10 points after a put back slam by Marcus Douthit with 4 and a half minutes remaining but their effort was put to waste by the NBA stars as their supremacy in the game showed again as they answered by monster dunks to end the game.

Bryant said he is looking forward to playing here again. "It's been a pleasure to play in front of the Filipino fans."

Mavs win Game 3 on the road against Thunder.

They survived a furious comeback.

The Dallas Mavericks held on to a 93-87 victory against the home team OKC Thunder to seize 2-1 series lead last night after surviving a late game surge and once again gain series homecourt advantage.

The Mavs literally cuffed the younger Thunder in the first quarter only allowing 12 points for the period to lead by 15 points 27-12. The struggle went on for OKC until the halfway mark of the second quarter.

OKC 's performance towards the end second quarter improved but the lead was too big to overhaul and the first half ended with the Mavericks still in the driver seat 52-36 with Kevin Durant having evident offensive struggles.

Things started to turn physical in the third quarter as Russell Westbrook and Dirk Nowitzki exchanged shoves resulting in a double technical foul off a loose ball scuffle. Tyson Chandler elbowed James Harden in the face and by the end of the third quarter, Mavs lead 70-56.

Thunder make their run in the fourth, led by Westbrook,Durant and Harden to cut the lead to just four points but poor shot selection from OKC allowed Dallas to hold on and foil their end game rally.

Game 4 will be in OKC where the Thunder will try to tie it while the mavs try to take the commanding 3-1 lead

Thunder steals Game 2 to even series

The shock troopers came up big.

The explosive bench of Oklahoma City Thunder gave a huge lift in the home stretch to catapult their team over the Dallas Mavericks to tie the series at 2 apiece with a six point victory106-100 last night in Dallas Texas.

James Harden led the bench with 23 points including a 4 point play to put the Thunder ahead by one by the end of the 4th quarter. Kevin Durant scored 24 markers and they manage to keep in check the offense of Dallas especially down the stretch.

Dirk Nowitzki led all scorers with 29 but he was not as effective as compared to the opener where he scored 48 points and his freethrow attempts were limited to 10 and his only miss from the stripe is a big one, it could have pulled the Mavs within 3 with 36 seconds left.

Serge Ibaka put up energetic defense against Nowitzki and his hustle rubbed off his teammates.

Russell Westbrook was not part of OKC's finishing unit as he lost his cool and can't seem to put his acts together.

Game 3 will be in Oklahoma City in front of the loudest crowds in the league today as they support their young and athletic team try to take the pivotal Game 3 win.

Dallas defeats Thunder on a shootout to get Game 1

Rusty who?

The Dallas Mavericks won the opener of the West Finals spearheaded by an awesome performance from Dirk Nowitzki last night at Dallas Texas 121-112 to move one step closer to the elusive slot to the NBA Finals.

Nowitzki dropped an incredible 48 point performance with 12-15 shooting from the field and a perfect 24-24 from the free throw line to set the record for most FT's made without a miss and overshadow the 40 point output of Kevin Durant of the Thunder.

It was the Dirk show right from the start and it was his unstoppable rampage that kept OKC at bay despite of the pretty even battle throughout the statsheet.

Jason Terry and JJ Barea provided huge help in scoring with 24 and 21 points respectively while Durant's partner Russell Westbrook struggled badly shooting 3-15 from the field.

Despite the performance of Dirk, this game wasn't near perfect for the Mavs as they allowed the Thunder 43 attempts from the stripe and they managed to win the rebound battle by two, a statement that OKC is very much in fighting form after a tough 7 game series with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Dallas really benefited from the 1 week break they earned by making short work of the back to back champs L.A. Lakers which they sent home with a sweep and they will try to continue the rampage on Game 2 also to be played in Dallas.

Grizzlies force Game 7 on OKC Thunder

Not going down without a fight.

The surprising playoff run by the Memphis Grizzlies continues as they rallied back to force a rubber match against the OKC Thunder back at Oklahoma in a game that will decide who faces the well rested Dallas Mavericks in the West Finals after their 95-83 victory last night in front of the rowdy Memphis crowd.

Zach Randolph erupted for 30 points and 13 rebounds after struggling badly the previous games due to the smothering defense by the Thunder. The Grizzlies' game plan of starting OJ Mayo worked wonders for them as the spacing improved in the offensive end.

The leading scorer in the NBA Kevin Durant, was held to just 11 points, his lowest output since scoring six points in 8 minutes back in February 27 2009.

Russell Westbrook led OKC with 27 points but they relinquished a 54-41 lead just before halftime and got outscored 51-29 in the second half leading to this blown opportunity to close out the series.

Game 7 in Oklahoma will be the first Game 7 in the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs.

Thunder halt Grizzlies to even the series

Too much explosiveness.

The Oklahoma City Thunder clamped down on the Grizzlies' frontcourt and recieved a major lift from the bench to take a 111-102 victory to avenge their loss in the opener and tie the series at 1-1 Tuesday night in their homecourt at Oklahoma City.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 26 points and their bench tripled their Game 1 production led by James Harden with 21 to lead by as much as 21 points in the final quarter and hold off a late comeback attempt by the Grizzlies.

Game One hero Zach Randolph was limited to 15 points in a poor 2-13 shooting clip as he was bother all game long by the Thunder's double teaming defense. His performance in this game was a far cry from his 34 points in the opener.

Mike Conley scored 24 points and was a catalyst for the Grizzlies' late comeback aspiration, cutting a 21 point fourth quarter lead to just six in the final minute but the lead was just too big and they came up short.

Russell Westbrook also had a huge game for the Thunder as he scored 24 points and back-up point guard Eric Maynor added 15 markers. Power forward Serge Ibaka limped off the court with 2 minutes left in the game due to a leg injury and this could play a crucial factor as he is the main defender on Zach Randolph.

Despite the loss, the Grizz will head into Game 3 with the home court advantage after stealing the opening game on the road as both teams try to take the pivotal victory that would give the winner a 2-1 series lead.