NBAFullCourt-Basketball Daily

A hard shot to David West's ailing back finished him for the fourth quarter of the Hornets' blowout loss at San Antonio in Game 6. Game 7 on Monday night is another matter entirely. One day of rest proved enough for the Hornets' All-Star forward to get back on the court for Saturday's practice, working on his game-changing array of mid-range jumpers, fadeaways and post-up moves.

The Utah Jazz are still not quite ready to re-conquer the West. Coach Jerry Sloan feels they're getting closer, though. Utah was knocked out of the playoffs by the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals on Friday, one round earlier than last spring but considerably ahead of where the team was just a few years ago.

The Boston Celtics can drive by the statue of Red Auerbach on their way to work Sunday, pick up some lunch at Faneuil Hall and then warm up under the 16 NBA championship banners their predecessors helped hang from the rafters. They're back home again, and that's been the surest sign of success for them so far in this year's playoffs.

Derek Fisher says the road to the NBA title goes through San Antonio since the Spurs are the defending league champions. The veteran Lakers guard also pays homage to New Orleans as an up-and-coming club that must be taken seriously. Fisher is well-schooled in diplomacy. But the Lakers, who await their opponent in the Western Conference finals that begin Wednesday night at Staples Center, could very...

Quentin Richardson hears the question all the time: How long will it take Mike D'Antoni to change the fortunes of the New York Knicks? Richardson has history on the side of his answer. He was with Phoenix for D'Antoni's first season there, the 2004-05 campaign in which the Suns went from an 29-win team to a 62-win club that reached the Western Conference finals -- one of the biggest turnarounds in...

Kobe Bryant has some time to rest his back. Not that he appears to need it. Bryant scored 34 points, 12 in the fourth quarter, and Los Angeles held off a furious rally by the Utah Jazz for a 108-105 victory Friday night in Game 6, putting the Lakers in the Western Conference finals for the first time in four years.

The Boston Celtics are going home for another Game 7. They handled the Atlanta Hawks. LeBron James may not be as easy. James scored 32 points -- 19 in the second half -- and the Cavaliers forced a decisive and fitting finale to this home-sweet-home playoff series with a 74-69 victory Friday night over the Celtics, who have gone from regular-season road kings to postseason road kill.

The last thing the New Orleans Hornets wanted was to give the defending champions the whole weekend off before Game 7. "You're playing with fire," coach Byron Scott said before the San Antonio Spurs beat the Hornets 99-80 Thursday night. Too late now. It's back to New Orleans for a winner-take-all matchup Monday night.

In some ways, Tayshaun Prince seems like the same player he was when he suddenly went from the bench to playing for the Detroit Pistons during the 2003 playoffs. Prince slows down opponents with his lanky 6-foot-9, 215-pound frame and basketball IQ. He scores on an array of runners and spin moves around the lane, and from the outside with an awkward stroke.

For nearly an hour Friday morning, Dwyane Wade was in constant motion, shooting jumper after jumper. His red tank top was dripping with sweat, his chest was heaving and fatigue was clearly starting to set in. Finally, he was down to his last shot, a 20-footer from the right side. When it swished, he whooped and shimmied.

The Phoenix Suns will interview Houston Rockets assistant Elston Turner as a replacement for former head coach Mike D'Antoni. The interview will be next week, the team said Friday. The 48-year-old Turner has been an assistant to coach Rick Adelman for 11 years with Portland, Sacramento and Houston. Turner joins Terry Porter and Mark Jackson as candidates.

Dennis Rodman was charged with domestic violence for allegedly hitting his girlfriend at a hotel last month. Los Angeles City Attorney spokesman Nick Velasquez said Rodman was charged Wednesday with spousal battery, brandishing a deadly weapon, and one count of dissuading a witness. The charges were misdemeanors.

Must-win situations are not a familiar place for the San Antonio Spurs. They survived one Thursday night, earning the chance to play in another. The defending champions beat the New Orleans Hornets, 99-80 in Game 6, staying alive and forcing a winner-take-all Game 7 on Monday in New Orleans. "That's what you want to have, an opportunity," said Spurs point guard Tony Parker.

New Orleans Hornets center Tyson Chandler and forward David West were in the starting lineup Thursday night for Game 6 of their series against the San Antonio Spurs. Chandler bruised his left foot in the Hornets' Game 5 victory, and West has been having back pain. "I think these guys are fine and they'll be ready to play," Hornets coach Byron Scott said before the game.

Houston Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo still isn't ready to retire. "I'm going to consider to keep playing basketball. The next part will be to tell my lawyer, David Falk," Mutombo said in Thursday's online edition of the Houston Chronicle. "My body and my mind is responding to the thrill of the game. The coaches and the fans and everyone are in there." Mutombo, listed at 42 years old, had considered...