Bulls wilt with Rose out of lineup
NBA: Jrue Holiday scored 26 points, Lou Williams added 20 and the visiting Philadelphia 76ers beat Chicago 109-92 on Tuesday night to even their first-round series in the Bulls’ first game since Derrick Rose’s season-ending knee injury.
The superstar point guard received a standing ovation and waved to the crowd as he limped onto the court to present the game ball, then watched from a suite as the 76ers simply blitzed the Bulls in the third quarter.
They outscored Chicago 36-14 in the period, turning an eight-point deficit into an 83-69 lead, and pulled even with the league’s top-seeded team. Game 3 is Friday in Philadelphia.
Holiday was 11 of 15 from the field, and the Sixers shot 59 percent overall. Williams came up big, going 8 of 13 after hitting just 1 of 6 shots in the opener, and Chicago product Evan Turner chipped in with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Philadelphia.
• Bryant hits 38 for Lakers: Kobe Bryant scored 38 points, Andrew Bynum followed up his playoff-opening triple-double with 27 points and nine rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers weathered visiting Denver’s late rally for a 104-100 victory over the Nuggets, taking a 2-0 series lead.
Pau Gasol had 13 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the third-seeded Lakers, who still haven’t trailed in this series despite nearly crumbling against a much-improved effort by the Nuggets and Ty Lawson, who scored 25 points and led the fourth-quarter charge.
Los Angeles’ 19-point lead in the third quarter dwindled to four with 3 minutes to play, but Ramon Sessions scored four key points in the final 1:14 before Bryant’s icing free throws with 9.4 seconds left.
Game 3 is Friday in Denver.
• Celtics rally past Hawks: Paul Pierce battled through another tough shooting night to score 36 points and the visiting Boston Celtics wiped out Atlanta’s 11-point lead in the second half even without Rajon Rondo, stunning the Hawks 87-80 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The series is tied 1-1. Game 3 is Friday night in Boston, and Rondo will be back for the Celtics in that one, his shorthanded team having claimed the home-court edge. The stellar point guard sat out a one-game suspension for bumping an official in the opener.
• Knicks’ Stoudemire out: Amare Stoudemire had a small muscle repaired and will not play for the New York Knicks in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat.
The Knicks announced that Stoudemire met with a hand specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, a day after he cut his left hand when he punched the case surrounding a fire extinguisher after the Knicks’ 104-94 loss in Miami.
The Knicks are listing Stoudemire as doubtful for Game 4 on Sunday.
“We all have done things out of anger that we regret,” Stoudemire wrote on his Twitter page. “That makes us human. Bad timing on my part. Sorry guys. This (too) shall pass.”
• Skiles back for Bucks: Scott Skiles will return to coach the Milwaukee Bucks next season.
Skiles told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he would be back as the team’s coach.
Skiles is 146-166 in four seasons with the Bucks. He led Milwaukee to a 46-win season and made the playoffs in 2009-2010, where the Bucks lost to the Atlanta Hawks. They have missed the postseason two straight seasons since then.
• Popovich honored: Gregg Popovich was selected as the NBA’s Coach of the Year after leading the San Antonio Spurs to 50 victories and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference in the 66-game lockout-shortened season.
New Jersey ties series with Flyers
NHL: Adam Larsson and David Clarkson scored their first goals of the postseason, and the visiting New Jersey Devils posted a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, evening this Eastern Conference semifinals series at 1-1.
Larsson and Clarkson scored consecutive goals in the third period to rally the Devils past the Flyers and make up for the absence of Ilya Kovalchuk. The Devils played without their regular-season leading scorer because of a lower body injury.
Travis Zajac added a late goal to make it 3-1, and Bryce Salvador scored a late empty-netter for the Devils.
Game 3 is Thursday in New Jersey.
• Predators suspend top forwards: The Nashville Predators already faced a tough challenge returning home, down 0-2 to the Phoenix Coyotes in their Western Conference semifinal.
Now, they either have something to rally around with forwards Alexander Radulov and Andrei Kostitsyn suspended for Game 3 tonight or wind up with yet another excuse in this series.
General manager David Poile refused to specify what Radulov and Kostitsyn did, saying any hint would give away what they did. He called their behavior unfortunate and selfish.
Kostitsyn is tied for the team lead this postseason with two goals, and he has scored in each of the losses in Phoenix. Nashville picked him up at the trade deadline from Montreal, reuniting him with his younger brother, Sergei. Radulov has a team-high seven playoff games and set a franchise record with an assist in four straight postseason games in the first series.
Both men spoke with their teammates. Kostitsyn did not talk with reporters after practice in Nashville. Radulov did, and said he will support his teammates tonight. He hinted the rule violation may have been curfew.
“I didn’t come back that late like they were saying, but like I said before, I don’t want to talk about it,” Radulov said. “They did what they had to. I am disappointed, and I understand what is my mistake.”
WAC commissioner confident of survival
Colleges: Western Athletic Conference officials expressed confidence that the league would remain viable despite rumored defections.
Utah State and San Jose State both acknowledged this week they are in discussions with the Mountain West Conference over realignment for 2013.
Conference USA already is set to bring aboard Texas-San Antonio just months before the school was to begin its first season in the WAC.
WAC interim commissioner Jeff Hurd subsequently issued a statement saying he was aware of the changing landscape in Division I athletics. He said the conference is evaluating membership options but would not speculate on what those might be.
Hurd further said he had confidence the WAC would maintain its more than 50-year history as a “preeminent Division I conference.”