NBAFullCourt - Basketball Daily

Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers remembers being in a couple of fights in his playing days, so he understands what was going through Kevin Garnett's mind when he pushed off from a referee who was trying to make peace. "Right afterward, I felt like a dunce," Rivers said. "At the time, though, there was nothing in me that didn't feel like it was the right thing to do." The rough-and-tumble playoff...

Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers remembers being in a couple of fights in his playing days, so he understands what was going through Kevin Garnett's mind when he pushed off from a referee who was trying to make peace. "Right afterward, I felt like a dunce," Rivers said. "At the time, though, there was nothing in me that didn't feel like it was the right thing to do." The rough-and-tumble playoff...

LeBron James whistled an unrecognizable tune -- no, it wasn't one of Jay-Z's -- as he practiced free throws. He seemed blissfully serene. Staying that way will be tough. He's got to go at least one more round with the Washington Wizards. A target of taunts and physical abuse almost since the opening tip in Game 1, James and the Cavaliers can eliminate the Wizards from the playoffs for the third...

Erik Spoelstra's tenure with the Miami Heat nearly ended after just a few months when Pat Riley arrived in 1995. Spoelstra was settling in as Miami's new video coordinator in 1995 when the Heat hired Riley as coach and president. Riley had final say over everything, including staff, and wanted someone he already knew to manage that part of the team's operation.

Larry Brown wanted to resurrect his vagabond, Hall of Fame coaching career. Michael Jordan needed a veteran teacher and a big hire to rescue his sinking reputation as an NBA executive. The two former North Carolina players teamed up Tuesday when Jordan introduced Brown as coach of the Charlotte Bobcats -- his ninth NBA coaching job.

This time, Pat Riley insists he won't come back. The Hall of Fame coach stepped down from the Miami Heat sideline on Monday, although he'll remain team president. His first act as Miami's former coach was to choose its new one, and he hired Erik Spoelstra, a 37-year-old who started in the Heat video room in 1995 and now becomes the NBA's youngest coach.

The Denver Nuggets finally gave the Los Angeles Lakers a good fight. No surrender on this night. No frustration fouls filling up the fourth quarter of another blowout. No matter. The Lakers dispatched the tempestuous Nuggets anyway. Kobe Bryant scored 14 of his 31 points over the final 5 1/2 minutes Monday night, leading the Lakers to a 107-101 victory and a sweep of their first-round series.

The Boston Celtics were supposed to be resting up by now, getting ready for the next round of the playoffs. Instead, they're headed back to Beantown all tied up with the lowly Atlanta Hawks, who are starting to believe -- really believe -- they can shock the world. Joe Johnson scored 35 points, 20 in the fourth quarter, and Josh Smith added 28 points and seven blocks for Atlanta, which surprised...

Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy saw something different about Dwight Howard heading into the playoffs. The 22-year-old All-Star, usually the team's biggest jokester, suddenly got serious. So did his already-impressive numbers. Howard had 21 points, 21 rebounds and three blocks -- his third 20-20 game in the series -- and the Magic advanced to second round for the first time in 12 years by beating...

NBA commissioner David Stern will not be ordered to testify in a case brought by the city of Seattle to try to keep the SuperSonics from moving, though a federal judge may consider ordering the testimony in the future. U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska rejected most of the requests of the lawyers for the city of Seattle, saying she didn't think some of the information they were seeking from the...

Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce and Washington Wizards guard DeShawn Stevenson were fined $25,000 each by the NBA on Monday for making "menacing gestures" in playoff games, another attempt by the league to crack down on bad behavior. Pierce was sanctioned for flashing a hand gesture toward Atlanta's Al Horford and attempting to stare him down in the fourth quarter of the Celtics' 102-93 loss to...

Jannero Pargo's reaction to Jason Kidd's flagrant foul summed up the growth of the Hornets' confidence as they took a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series with the Dallas Mavericks. "We didn't want him to get suspended," Pargo said after practice Monday. "We want them to be at full strength and have their best team out there on the floor, so that way, if we get the win, it won't be tainted...

Overrated hasn't worked. Now one of the Washington Wizards is calling LeBron James another name: Crybaby. Following Cleveland's 100-97 win in Game 4 on Sunday, James, who has absorbed two flagrant fouls in this rough-and-tumble playoff series and has been banged around by the Wizards, was asked about Washington's tough-guy tactics.

Hedo Turkoglu, whose 19 points, five rebounds and five assists per game helped the Orlando Magic win their first division title in 12 years, was selected as the NBA's most improved player Monday. Turkoglu's numbers marked career highs in each category, and dramatic improvements from 13 points, four rebounds and three assists last season.

Will Robinson, the first black basketball coach at a Division I school and a Detroit Pistons scout who discovered Joe Dumars and Dennis Rodman, died Monday. He was 96. Robinson died at a Detroit hospital, Pistons spokesman Matt Dobek said. Robinson had been sick for 15 months and in a nursing home for more than a year, Dobek added.