Basketball

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – The aging and erratic Los  Angeles Lakers faced an uncertain future yesterday after the  NBA champions were embarrassingly swept out of the second round  of the playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks.

DALLAS, (Reuters) – Phil Jackson, the most successful  coach in NBA history, walked gingerly off the court for what is  likely to be the final time following the Los Angeles Lakers’  season-ending loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

CHICAGO, (Reuters) – Chicago’s Derrick Rose was in MVP  mode on Friday scoring a career-high 44 points to lead the Bulls  to a 99-82 win over the Atlanta Hawks as Dallas beat the Los  Angeles Lakers to leave the two-time defending champions on the  ropes.

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – The Sacramento Kings will remain in the California capital for at least one more season after  dropping plans to relocate to Anaheim, the NBA team confirmed yesterday.

MIAMI, (Reuters) – Dwyane Wade played a key role in  creating Miami’s ‘Big Three’, urging LeBron James and Chris  Bosh to join him at the Heat, and on Sunday he repaid them with  a stellar 38-point display as they beat the Celtics 99-90 in  their second round playoff opener.

OKLAHOMA CITY, (Reuters) – The Memphis Grizzlies  continued their magical playoff run by mauling the Oklahoma  City Thunder 114-101 on Sunday to draw first blood in their  best-of-seven Western Conference semi-final series.

The girl’s Basketball Developmental Programme hosted by the Youth Basketball Guyana (YGB) continued yesterday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall from 12:30hrs.

NEW ORLEANS, (Reuters) – Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol  exploded for 23 of Los Angeles’ 29 points in the third quarter  to propel the two-time defending NBA champions to a 98-80  victory over Western Conference rivals the New Orleans Hornets  on Thursday, sending them into the next round of the playoffs.

NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – The Bahamas will host the men’s and women’s editions of the Caribbean Championships this year.

The Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) Organization will be staging the YBG Girls Basketball Development Jamboree today and tomorrow from 12:30hrs at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

MIAMI,  (Reuters) – The Miami supporting cast helped  the Heat survive one final run from the Philadelphia 76ers to  hold on for a 97-91 victory on Wednesday that advanced them to  the next round of the NBA’s playoffs.

CHICAGO, (Reuters) – Derrick Rose showed no effects  of his injured left ankle as the Chicago Bulls pushed their way  past the Indiana Pacers with a 116-89 first round playoff series-ending rout on Tuesday.

MEMPHIS, (Reuters) – Western Conference top seeds San Antonio were pushed to the brink of elimination from the first round of the NBA playoffs after the Memphis Grizzlies took a 3-1 series lead with a 104-86 win over the Spurs on Monday.

The Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) and the Guyana Basketball Officials Council (GBOC), four-day International Basketball Federation (FIBA), pre-certification clinic concluded yesterday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

ORLANDO, (Reuters) – The Atlanta Hawks exploded  offensively in the middle two quarters to beat the Orlando Magic  103-93 in their NBA playoff series opener on Saturday.

TORONTO, (Reuters) – After a sluggish start to the  season, the Miami Heat’s All-Star trio of LeBron James, Dwyane  Wade and Chris Bosh have silenced their critics and head into  the playoffs among the favourites to win an NBA title.

Old basketball foes will collide tomorrow night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall when  Courts Pacesetters and Ravens basketball clubs clash in the finals of the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) National Club Championships.

TORONTO, (Reuters) – The Miami Heat completed their  regular season with a confident 97-79 win over the Toronto  Raptors on Wednesday, the star-studded lineup now able to shift  their focus to a tilt at the NBA championship.

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – The Los Angeles Lakers  snapped a five-game losing streak with a 102-93 victory over the  San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, but the win was marred by a knee  injury to starting center Andrew Bynum.

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – Los Angeles Lakers guard  Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 by the NBA yesterday for  comments directed at a referee during a recent game that have  been strongly criticised by leading gay rights groups.