NBA playoffs news stories on Newser

8 Shot After Oklahoma City Thunder Game

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 22 May 2012 08:10:08 CDT

Minutes after the Oklahoma City Thunder won last night's NBA playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers, skirmishes broke out in the city's Bricktown entertainment district and eight people were shot when a gunman fired on the crowd. Two suffered life-threatening injuries, but the other six are expected to survive,...

Khloe Kardashian Meets Obama

M. Morris — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:49:48 CST

You work hard your whole life, you become a professional basketball player, you win the NBA championship, you attend a White House ceremony honoring that feat—and the headlines say, "Khloe Kardashian meets President Obama." That's the fate of Kardashian's husband, Lamar Odom, and his Los Angeles Lakers teammates, who...

LA Flocks to Lakers Parade

Ambreen Ali — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:21:59 CDT

An estimated 150,000 clogged streets in downtown Los Angeles today as the NBA-champion Lakers took a victory lap around downtown, the Times reports. Some 80,000 more jammed the Coliseum for a rally at parade’s end. Police, hoping to avoid the looting and chaos that followed Sunday’s clinching victory...

MVP Kobe Leads Lakers to Title No. 15

M. Morris — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:57:36 CDT

The Lakers captured their 15th NBA title tonight in Orlando, polishing off the Magic with a 99-86 victory that gave coach Phil Jackson his record 10th title, the Los Angeles Times reports. Last season's runners-up, the Lakers saw five players score in double figures, led by Finals MVP Kobe Bryant...

Lakers Crack Nuggets 119-92, Return to Finals

Fri, 29 May 2009 23:01:21 CDT

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers are heading back to the NBA finals after dispatching the pesky Denver Nuggets with a 119-92 victory in Game 6 tonight. Bryant got plenty of scoring help from Trevor Ariza, Pau Gasol, and Lamar Odom as the Lakers shot 57.3% from the...

Lakers' Whining Won Game 5

Kevin Spak — Thu, 28 May 2009 12:15:01 CDT

The NBA fined Lakers coach Phil Jackson $50,000 for complaining about the officiating in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals, but the frustrated Nuggets think it was money well spent. They got whistled 30 times in last night's Game 5, and they’re angry, reports Mark Kiszla of the...

Lakers Rout Rockets, Make West Finals

Sun, 17 May 2009 17:08:00 CDT

Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and the Los Angeles Lakers emphatically silenced the doubters and the Houston Rockets, winning Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals 89-70 today to advance to the Western finals against the Denver Nuggets. With Gasol scoring 21 points and grabbing 18 rebounds, the Lakers looked like...

Full-Court Press Won't Fix NBA's Image Woes

Katherine Thompson — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:38:04 CDT

It seems unlikely NBA commissioner David Stern would ever have arranged outcomes of important games, as disgraced former referee Tim Donaghy has claimed. But whether or not the accusations are true, the league has a Shaq-sized image issue on its hands, and strategies for dealing with the tarnish aren't in...

Ousted Ref: NBA Fixed 2002 Series

Rob Quinn — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 02:48:54 CDT

A disgraced former NBA referee claims that league officials conspired with referees to stretch the 2002 Lakers-Kings playoff series to a money-making seventh game, the Los Angeles Time s reports. The allegation from Tim Donaghy came in a letter to the FBI that made broad claims of misconduct and match-fixing...