James Harden is a cake now (Ball Don't Lie)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 07:30:31 PDT)
Over the past couple of years, lots of people have drawn comparisons between star San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili and Oklahoma City Thunder swingman James Harden. Both are smooth lefties with deceptive quickness and a great shooting touch, both have won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award and both provide game-changing offensive options for their teams off the bench. The similarities are really uncanny ... and now, they are delicious. Because, like  Ginobili before him , Harden has been made into a cake. But unlike Manu, whose confectionary form was really just limited to his likeness being designed on top of a sheet cake, Harden's head is this whole cake , as we can see in the photo shared by GiANT Impact CEO Jeremie Kubicek and spread around these Internet streets Tuesday night by CNBC's Darren Rovell .

Heat Keep Rolling Towards Conference Finals After All: A Fan's Take (Yahoo! Contributor Network)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 05:41:00 PDT)
The Philadelphia 76ers once thought they could both reach the Eastern Conference finals and avoid the Miami Heat when they got there. But Sixers fans like myself may have only one more night to dream of a conference finals berth, with the Boston Celtics poised to move on after Game 6 on May 23. Yet even if the Sixers keep their dreams of reaching the third round alive, they then might have to start worrying about the Heat after all.

Thunder face West's best in climb toward top (The Associated Press)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 16:03:44 PDT)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) The Oklahoma City Thunder haven't found any shortcuts as they try to climb to the top of the Western Conference.

The 10-man rotation, starring Bob Cousy (Ball Don't Lie)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 15:05:34 PDT)
A look around the league and the web that covers it. It's also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren't always listed in order of importance. That's for you, dear reader, to figure out. C : Hardwood Paroxysm . 'Waiting For the Train with Bob Cousy and Chuck Cooper.' PF : The Classical . Danny Chau takes on the Russell Westbrook phenomenon. SF : SB Nation . Tom Ziller reflects on the ill-starred 2007 NBA draft. SG : Grantland . Who else is giddy at the thought of Wilt Chamberlain vs. Elgin Baylor, first to 21? PG : The Basketball Jones . Many laughs from Trey Kerby as he profiles OKC Thunder fans.

Irving unanimous pick to NBA All-Rookie team (The Associated Press)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 12:48:19 PDT)
NEW YORK (AP) Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving of Cleveland is the lone unanimous choice to the NBA's All-Rookie team.

Behind the Box Score, where a special Oklahoma City Thunder team is moving on (Ball Don't Lie)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 02:50:48 PDT)
Oklahoma City Thunder 106, Los Angeles Lakers 90 (Thunder win series, 4-1) We'll delve into the future of those ridiculous, marvelous, enervating, invigorating, fantastic, maddening, frustrating and ultimately obsession-worthy Los Angeles Lakers deeper on Tuesday. For now, the spotlight deservedly shines on the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have taken down two of the NBA's most respected teams in 23 days, working at an 8-1 clip along that span. We're completely and utterly correct as we fawn over the San Antonio Spurs, but that undefeated group hasn't had to deal with nearly the level of competition that Scott Brooks' crew has. Any batch of Thunder-related praise has to begin with Russell Westbrook. Not only did he give his team a feature that the Lakers could not handle — the guy with the ability to frighten and shift defensive schemes just off of broken plays or transition work — but he ended the second round with a fascinating statistic to his credit. Westbrook played just under 180 minutes in this series, and turned the ball over four times. That's 36 minutes a night, full of active play that put Los Angeles on its heels , and he turned it over four times in five contests. Astonishing work.

Russell Westbrook hit an impossible and-one shot to beat the Lakers (VIDEO) (Ball Don't Lie)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 02:30:27 PDT)
Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook has been criticized often over the past few years for his score-first approach and tendency to look away from teammate Kevin Durant in crunch time. All Westbrook has done during that time is refine his game and become one of the most explosive guards in the league, the 1A-level superstar to Durant's top dog. When the Thunder dispatched the Lakers in five games on Monday night, Westbrook played a huge role, scoring 28 points on 12-of-25 shooting and generally terrorizing the L.A. backcourt as he had for most of the series. The clear highlight of the night was the play above, available for your viewing pleasure courtesy of our friends at the Yahoo! Sports Minute . With just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter and the score tied 70-70, Westbrook stole a pass from Ramon Sessions and jetted in the other direction. Sessions caught up with him for a foul 15 feet from the basket, but Westbrook's underhand desperation shot attempt banked off the backboard and through the basket. The three-point play started a 23-7 run for OKC that essentially decided the game and series. Westbrook seemed to recognize the importance at the time, too, as he followed up the shot with a ridiculously intense celebration ( GIF available here via SB Nation ).

Oklahoma City advances to Western Conference finals (The SportsXchange)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 02:01:16 PDT)
Oklahoma City is back in the Western Conference finals after outlasting another team that ended its playoff run in recent seasons. The Thunder took care of the Los Angeles Lakers in five games with Monday night's 106-90 romp at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Thunder sinks Lakers, prepares to battle Spurs in West finals (The SportsXchange)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 23:21:11 PDT)
OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma City Thunder hopes to make more noise in the Western Conference finals that it did last year.

Spurs flirting with history on 18-game streak (The Associated Press)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 23:19:06 PDT)
SAN ANTONIO (AP) Eighteen wins in a row, and eight more victories to go.

Thunder surge past Lakers 106-90 to win West semis (The Associated Press)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 22:43:41 PDT)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) With the Oklahoma City Thunder just starting to come to life, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant didn't need to take a break.

Thunder close out Lakers, Sixers on brink
(Mon, 21 May 2012 22:04:14 PDT)
(Reuters) - Oklahoma City plunged the final dagger into the Los Angeles Lakers with a 106-90 rout that sent them to their second consecutive NBA Western Conference finals. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook propelled the rising Thunder while leaving the storied Lakers franchise in a state of uncertainty after completing the 4-1 best-of-seven series win. Durant and Westbrook combined for 53 points and the home team withstood 42 from Kobe Bryant to set up a West final against the top-seed San Antonio Spurs. "It's a step in the right direction. ...

Thunder 106, Lakers 90 (The SportsXchange)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 21:41:14 PDT)
OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma City Thunder are moving on to the Western Conference Finals for the second consecutive season.

NBA roundup: Orlando fires coach Van Gundy, GM Smith (The SportsXchange)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 15:30:20 PDT)
The Orlando Magic said so long to coach Stan Van Gundy and general manager Otis Smith on Monday.

Chris Paul goes off the top of the backboard for one last Clipper highlight before losing to Spurs (VIDEO) (Ball Don't Lie)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 06:35:10 PDT)
Chris Paul had a fairly nightmarish three-game stretch to open the Western Conference semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs. He scored just 9.3 points per game on a paltry 30.8 percent shooting, earned just seven trips to the line (and, stunningly, made just two of his tries), and gave up a turnover for every 1.63 assists he dished, a cough-up rate more than 60 percent worse than the stellar 4.38-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio he managed during the regular season. Having a tough time with the Spurs isn't necessarily remarkable in and of itself; most players have had problems with the Spurs this year, which is they're 58-16 since the ball went up on Christmas Day. But Chris Paul isn't most players, a fact of which he reminded us late in the fourth quarter Sunday, when he entered the lane, encountered three San Antonio defenders, absorbed the contact and flipped up some nonsense ... that took a couple of gentle bounces on the very top of the backboard (which is still in play) before bouncing back down through the hoop. It's a shot the most practiced H-O-R-S-E wizard wouldn't bet a nickel on, and it's something Chris Paul made to tie an elimination playoff game with 2 1/2 minutes left, before hitting the and-one freebie to give the Clips the lead. Of course, it was an elimination game that the Clippers went on to lose . After scoring L.A.'s final seven points, Paul couldn't bring the Clips across the finish line by himself against a Spurs side that seems Marianas deep. The 102-99 loss sends San Antonio on to the Western Conference finals and Paul and his mates home after two rounds. Luckily for us, though, Game 4 also sent NBA fans off with a couple of other things.

Spurs close out Clippers to sweep series 4-0 (The Associated Press)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 01:01:09 PDT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) The San Antonio Spurs are on to the Western Conference finals, along with their 18-game winning streak and 8-0 mark in the playoffs.

Spurs sweep Clippers to extend NBA win streak
(Mon, 21 May 2012 00:31:19 PDT)
San Antonio continue to run roughshod across the NBA, completing their second-straight four-game series sweep in the postseason by beating the Los Angeles Clippers 102-99 in game four.

Spurs finish off Clippers with 102-99 victory (The SportsXchange)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 00:10:16 PDT)
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Clippers said before Sunday's Game 4 against the San Antonio Spurs that they'd need to play desperately in order to pull off the upset and extend the series to a fifth game in San Antonio.

Paul can't rescue Clippers in final minute (The SportsXchange)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 00:10:16 PDT)
Perhaps no words signaled the change in expectations for the Los Angeles Clippers this season better than Chris Paul's statement after the San Antonio Spurs swept the Clippers out of the playoffs Sunday night at Staples Center.