Bullets Squeak Back Into Playoffs
Around the NBA
Chris Webber and Juwan Howard met at halfcourt with no regrets this time.
The former star-crossed members of Michigan’s Fab Five fell into a long, emotional embrace after ending the Washington Bullets’ long playoff drought - and easing a few bad memories of their own.
Led by Webber and Howard, the Bullets advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 1988 with an 85-81 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.
“For three years, I’ve had to sit on losing, and that’s not easy to do,” said Webber, who had 23 points and 17 rebounds to advance to the playoffs for the first time since his rookie year with Golden State.
“Just being here with Juwan - we criticized ourselves so much for not making it the first two years - I can’t explain it. I feel great.”
The Bullets, who will play the Chicago Bulls in the first round beginning Friday night, snapped the NBA’s longest drought between playoff appearances. They also overcame the firing of coach Jim Lynam, going 22-13 after Bernie Bickerstaff took over Feb. 10.
76ers clean house
The Philadelphia 76ers fired general manager Brad Greenberg and head coach Johnny Davis, one day after finishing the season with the third-worst mark in franchise history.
Team president and part-owner Pat Croce said he made the decision because he “lost confidence in the management of the basketball operation.”
Croce would not take questions about possible successors.
Denver Nuggets head coach Dick Motta will be fired this week, The Denver Post reported.
Assistant coaches Gene Littles, Jim Brovelli and Kip Motta will also be let go by vice president of basketball operations Allan Bristow, sources said.
The firings have long been expected since Bristow was hired in February to replace Bernie Bickerstaff, who left Denver to coach the Washington Bullets.
Lakers fall short
There will be no Pacific Division title for the Los Angeles Lakers. Instead, they face a first-round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers, who beat them Sunday and have given them fits all season.
Shaquille O’Neal’s free throw shooting erased any chance for the Lakers to win their first division crown since 1990. He missed two - the second one on purpose - with 1.2 seconds to go and his team trailing by two points.
Grant Hill scored nine of his 38 points in overtime as the Detroit Pistons ruined what was rumored to be Larry Brown’s last game as Indiana’s head coach with a 124-120 victory over the Pacers.
After the game, Brown denied that any decision had been made about his future.
Reggie Miller sent the game into overtime with a running 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Houston Rockets locked up home-court advantage through the first two rounds of the playoffs with a 103-99 victory over San Antonio that ended the Spurs’ worst season as an NBA franchise.
Hakeem Olajuwon scored 27 points and Charles Barkley added 24 for Houston, which never trailed in the second half but could not pull away.
The Boston Celtics ended the worst season in their storied history, losing 125-94 to the Toronto Raptors, matching their most lopsided defeat of the year.
Boston finished at 15-67, far worse than the previous team mark for futility of 22-46 in 1949-50. It also is the seventh worst record in NBA history.