Baseline to Baseline recaps: The Cavaliers almost won one. Almost.

By Kurt HelinFeb 3, 2011, 2:44 AM EST

What you missed while thinking about every move Nicolas Cage ever made…

Pacers 117, Cavaliers 112: And we are at 22 losses in a row — but it was so, so close. This game was tied at 110-110 with just over a minute left. First the Pacers’ Darren Collison knocked down a three pointer. After a timeout Christian Eyenga — who I like more and more every game — hit difficult jumper to cut that lead to one.

Then the Cavs got a stop and hand a chance. Anthony Parker drove into the paint and put up the little runner, which ran around the rim and out. A few seconds later Danny Granger was fouled, knocked down two and it was 115-112 Pacers. Ramon Session drove the lane for Cleveland, drew defenders, dropped the ball of to J.J. Hickson, who fumbled it out of bounds, and with it went the Cavs chances.

It’s only been two games, but the Pacers are running again under interim head coach Frank Vogel — 99 possessions in this one.

Sixers 106, Nets 92: Some guys just have another guy’s number. Jrue Holiday just beats Devin Harris. I have no idea why but Harris cannot keep Holiday in front of him and while Holiday only scored 11 (he has averaged 19.5 against the Nets) he also had 11 assists and 10 rebounds. He had the triple double and set up the win.

Hawks 100, Raptors 87: Atlanta shot 55.3 percent overall and hit 10 of 24 from three, with Joe Johnson dropping 37. Of course, if there is one thing the Hawks know how to do it is look good against bad teams. The Raptors have lost 13 in a row and if it wasn’t for the Cavs we’d be talking about how awful they are.

Bobcats 97, Pistons 87: The Pistons started with Tracy McGrady on Stephen Jackson, but T-Mac doesn’t have the body to keep up with him anymore. So they went to Austin Daye, not exactly the best defender ever. Or even close to that. As you might imagine, Jackson got it going. The Pistons finally put Tayshaun Prince on him but now Jackson is feeling it. He drops 39 on the Pistons and that ‘s about it.

Mavericks 113, Knicks 97: The best bench player in the league the last week has been J.J. Barea, and he dropped 22 on the Knicks in this one. That’s six wins in a row for a Mavs team getting hot again.

Grizzlies 102, Timberwolves 84: They are talking playoffs in Memphis (in between bites of barbecue) and with this win the Grizzlies are now just half a game back of Portland for the last spot in the West. The Grizzlies starting five completely outplayed the starters for the Wolves and an 18-4 third quarter run put this one away for Memphis. Kevin Love kept his double-double streak alive with 10 and 10. So barely.

Thunder 104, Hornets 93: Kevin Durant is good. How good was he in this one? Try 43 points on 19 shots good. That first month of the season really seemed to quell his MVP campaign (everyone was high on him before the season) but he has 40 in three of the Thunder’s last four and if he keeps it up (and the Thunder keep winning) the campaign could revive.

Rockets 97, Jazz 96: Kevin Martin got the old-fashioned three — hitting a lob layup in traffic while being fouled by Al Jefferson — to give the Rockets the win. The real credit for the play goes to Shane Battier, who threw the pass to Martin with the kind of accuracy Aaron Rodgers can only hope to have this Sunday evening.

Nuggets 109, Trail Blazers 90: The West Coast to Denver back-to-back is the most brutal in the NBA. This one was one of those games — this was a close game until the final couple minutes of the third quarter, when Denver went on a 7-0 run against a weary Portland team and started to pull away.

Bulls 106, Clippers 88: The Clippers actually played pretty well against a stingy Bulls defense in the first half, but they couldn’t get a stop for 48 minutes and that was the difference. The Bulls were getting points inside so the Clippers went to a 2-1-2 zone that the Bulls shot over the top of, hitting 12-26 three pointers. Blake Griffin did his dunk thing but he had 25 in the first half and just 7 in the second as the Bulls did a good job frustrating him, bringing extra bodies to clog the lane. Kurt Thomas’ crazy eyes made an appearance as well.

Suns 92, Bucks 77: The Bucks shot 31.1 percent. Against the Suns defense, ranked 29th in the league in defensive efficiency. That’s just bad.

NBA investigating if referee Eric Lewis had burner Twitter account defending himself

By Kurt HelinMay 29, 2023, 11:19 AM EDT

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

About the last place an NBA referee should want to spend time is Twitter — pictures of puppies and ice cream can draw dark and cruel reactions in that social media space. One can only imagine fans’ reactions to the people making calls against their team (the legitimacy of those calls is moot).

Yet the NBA is investigating if referee Eric Lewis had a Twitter burner account where he defended himself, something first reported by Marc Stein. The account — now deleted — had the username “Blair Cuttliff” with the handle @CuttliffBlair.

NBA ref Eric Lewis has been outed as having a burner account (@CuttliffBlair). Lmaooo this is a momentous day. The account will surely be deleted soon so for the archives, the entirety of the account’s replies. All involving… yep, Eric Lewis. 😂

(h/t @Mikey_Wyllin) thread 🧵⬇️ pic.twitter.com/6GTvURouOc

— Pablo Escobarner (blue check) (@PabloEscoburner) May 25, 2023

The NBA has a rule that referees cannot comment on officiating publicly (outside of specific, authorized moments).

There was some commentary on Twitter that Lewis’ brother, Mark, ran this account, not Eric. That will be part of the league’s investigation.

Lewis has been an NBA official for 19 seasons and is highly rated by the league, having worked an NBA Finals game along with numerous playoff games. The last game he officiated was Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Lakers and Nuggets on May 16.

This is not the first time the league investigated a Twitter burner account. In 2018, then 76ers GM Bryan Colangelo stepped down after Twitter burner accounts — linked to him and his wife — criticized 76ers players and more. Kevin Durant has admitted to having Twitter burner accounts in the past (which is not a violation for players).

Three things to watch in Game 7 between Miami Heat, Boston Celtics

By Kurt HelinMay 29, 2023, 10:24 AM EDT

After three games, the Boston Celtics looked done — not only did they get blown out in Game 3, they dropped the rope. They quit. This looked over. But Boston found their pride and won Game 4, then won Game 5 at home, and finally came the insane Derrick White Game and a Game 6 win to become only the third team ever to go down 0-3 and force a Game 7.

Miami was in control of this series, but some cold shooting nights — particularly from their stars — and a lot of turnovers opened the door for the Celtics. Miami and its vaunted culture, find itself in the exact place it was a year ago, having to win a Game 7 against these Celtics to advance to the Finals — if Jimmy Butler hit an open 3-pointer late a year ago the Heat would have advanced. Can they take that one more step now?

Game 7. The sweetest two words in sports, and we get one Monday night from the TD Garden.

Here are a couple of things worth watching, plus some betting advice from Vaughn Dalzell of NBC Sports Edge.

1) Butler/Adebayo or Tatum/Brown? Which stars show up?

The last time we saw Jayson Tatum in a Game 7 was just two weeks ago, when he dropped a record 51 points on the 76ers in that deciding game. A season ago in a Game 7 against these same Heat, Tatum scored 26 points and hit 4-of-7 from 3, while Jaylen Brown added 24 points.

This item really isn’t about them. While the Celtics’ stars have to have good games, it’s reasonable to expect them to.

This is all about Jimmy Butler, and to a lesser extent Bam Adebayo. For the first 43 minutes of Game 6 these two shot a combined 7-of-35 and were not good enough. Butler had 14 points and was a non-factor in Game 5. For the last three games he has looked tired, he’s lacked some of his explosion, and he has struggled with the Celtics length as they have packed the paint and taken away his easy shots inside for buckets.

“Like I told the guys on the bench, I told the guys in the locker room, that if I play better, we’re not even in this position, honestly speaking,” Butler said after the Game 6 loss. “And I will be better. That’s what makes me smile, because those guys follow my lead. So when I’m playing better, I think we’re playing better as a whole.”

Butler turned things around in the final minutes of Game 6 — sparking a 15-4 run — mainly by attacking and drawing fouls, although he hit a 3-pointer in there as well. That Butler needs to show up Monday night in Boston, they need his points and they need his defense (he will draw Brown or Tatum as his assignment for much of the game).

If Miami is going to win, Butler has to be the best player on the floor. It’s that simple. If he struggles again, the rest will not matter.

2) Are the Celtics hitting their 3-pointers

Among the many ways the Heat have to feel they let a great opportunity slip away in Game 6 was this: Boston shot 7-of-35 from 3. The Celtics’ offense this season has been much more dependent on the 3-pointer, and the Heat did not take advantage of a bad 3-point shooting night from the Celtics.

Boston’s shooters — particularly role players such as Grant Williams and Derrick White — tend to be more comfortable 3-point shooters at home, and if this team gets rolling and hits 15 or more 3s and is shooting 40% or better on those, it’s lights out. Especially if they are breakMiami, even on a good Butler day, will have trouble keeping up.

It’s simplistic to say it’s a make-or-miss league, but when it comes to the Celtics shooting from beyond the arc it applies

3) Vaughn Dalzell’s betting recommendation for Game 7

In the last 16 Game 7’s when the total moved at least five points lower than the previous Game 6 total, the Under is on a 14-2 winning streak (87.5%), which is in play here. The total for Game 6 opened at 213.5 and closed at 209.5. Game 7 opened at 206.5 and is down to 203.5, so the trend is in effect with a 10-point or 6.0 point-move depending on how you look at it.

(Check out more from Dalzell and the team at NBC Sports Edge.)

NBA says Horford foul on Butler correct call, as was added time

By Kurt HelinMay 29, 2023, 1:30 AM EDT

While Game 6 will be remembered as the Derrick White game, a series of controversial moments on the previous play set the stage for the winning shot.

There was the Heat’s Jimmy Butler driving left, getting bumped by Al Horford and fumbling the ball, recovering it and starting to dribble again (which appeared close to earning a double-dribble call). Then Butler drew a shooting foul on Horford initially called inside the arc with :02.1 seconds left, but after Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla challenged and it was ruled a 3-point attempt (it clearly was) at the :03 second mark. The referees added 0.9 seconds to the clock, ultimately enabling White to get the game-winning putback with O.1 left.

The referees got all that right, the NBA said in its Last Two Minute Report from Game 6. The report found just two incorrect calls in the final five minutes:

• Caleb Martin should have been called for a lane violation on Jaylen Brown‘s missed free throw with 1:01 left in the game.
• Gabe Vincent should have been called for a foul on Jayson Tatum‘s stumbling layup attempt with :31 remaining.

None of that changes the results, the Celtics escape Miami with a 104-103 win to force a Game 7 on Monday night. Even though that is a Game 7, it will be hard for that game to surpass the drama of Game 6.

Nick Nurse reportedly enticed by idea of working with Morey again with 76ers

By Kurt HelinMay 28, 2023, 8:20 PM EDT

Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

When news came out about the Milwaukee Bucks hiring Adrian Griffin to be their new coach, one part of that was a report that Nick Nurse pulled himself out of consideration for the job. That felt a little chicken and egg — did he pull out because he realized he would not get the job?

Either way, he is interested in the Philadelphia 76ers and particularly working again with Daryl Morey, reports Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inqurier. Morey was the GM of the Rockets when Nurse was the coach of their G-League team, the Rio Grand Valley Vipers.

Sources have said that reuniting with Morey is very much enticing to Nurse…

A source has confirmed that Nurse pulled out of being considered for the Milwaukee Bucks head-coaching job, leading to the team hiring his former Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin on Saturday. Nurse interviewed with the Sixers on Monday before meeting with the Suns on Thursday. The 55-year-old coach is pondering the best destination for him, according to sources. However, a source would not say if the Sixers offered him the gig.

Nurse makes intuitive sense for the 76ers or Suns, an out-of-the-box coach who won a championship four years ago to teams with title aspirations next season and beyond. His connection to Morey has had some around the league thinking that would be his ultimate destination from Day 1.

However, the stars of those teams will have a say, as Giannis Antetokounmpo did in the Bucks hiring Griffin (a former player, something Antetokounmpo reportedly prioritized). How does Joel Embiid feel about Nurse? What about Kevin Durant and Devin Booker? Marc Stein reported that Booker endorsed Suns assistant Kevin Young for that job.

Both teams are reportedly getting close to deciding on their next head coach, but for contending teams that need to get this hire right they do not want to be rushed.

Here is more on the Lakers

1) Butler/Adebayo or Tatum/Brown? Which stars show up?

2) Are the Celtics hitting their 3-pointers

3) Vaughn Dalzell’s betting recommendation for Game 7

Here is more in the Celtics

Here is more on the Celtics

Here's more on the 76ers