NBA roundup: Bulls eke by Pacers

CHICAGO -- Derrick Rose scored 36 points, Carlos Boozer added 17 points and 16 rebounds, and the top-seeded Chicago Bulls pulled out another dramatic victory over Indiana, beating the Pacers, 96-90, on Monday night in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Rose scored eight points over the final 4 minutes. Kyle Korver nailed another big three-pointer to make it 90-85 with just over a minute left after hitting the tiebreaker in the opener.
A.J. Price hit three free throws with 23.4 seconds left after being fouled by Rose to cut the lead to 90-88. Luol Deng quickly answered with two of his own to make it a four-point game. Ronnie Brewer added two more after a missed 3 by Mike Dunleavy, and Chicago, which made their last 16 free throws, hung on to go up 2-0.
Miami 94, Philadelphia 73: LeBron James scored 29 points, Chris Bosh had his second straight double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds, and the Heat never trailed in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series. Showing no signs of the migraine that he battled Sunday, Dwyane Wade scored 14 points for Miami, which leads the best-of-seven series 2-0. Thaddeus Young scored 18 points and Evan Turner added 15 for the 76ers, whose starters were outscored 76-29 by the Heat's first-string.
Houston: Rick Adelman is out as coach of the Rockets. The team announced that the Rockets and Adelman "have mutually agreed to part ways." Adelman's contract expires on June 30. General manager Daryl Morey said in a statement that the decision came after "numerous discussions and careful consideration." The 64-year-old Adelman went 193-135 in four seasons with the Rockets. The .588 winning percentage was the highest among the 11 full-time coaches the franchise has had. Adelman led the Rockets to their only playoff series victory since 1997. His career record is 945-616 and ranks eighth in all-time wins.
Notebook: New Orleans center Aaron Gray isn't sure whether he'll be able to play in the Hornets' next postseason game on his sprained right ankle. Gray scored a season-high 12 points in the Hornets' 109-100 upset victory over the L.A. Lakers on Sunday, but had to be helped off the court with 1:07 to play after Pau Gasol accidentally stepped on his foot. Gray later said his ankle felt better, but he doesn't know if he'll play in Game 2 on Wednesday night. His foot was in a bulky black boot.

Star finally shines for Red Bulls

Pride can be a hell of a motivator, and on a rainy and miserably night at Red Bull Arena, it was enough to motivate an international star with an incredible resume to dig deeper and remind us of just what he can do.

The dirt was already starting to hit the casket of Henry's career after he limped through the first month of the MLS season, but on Saturday he moved with purpose, created countless chances and served as the driving force in New York's emphatic 3-0 win against San Jose.

Yes, he missed his share of good chances, but the Frenchman was all over the field, working to set up a goal and ending his own goal drought with a thundering header to close out the scoring.

Henry had been booed by New York fans at times for his earlier misses, a product of his struggles this season, which might have explained his angry celebration following his goal, which consisted of him telling some of his own fans to be quiet before slamming his chest and pointing adamantly at the name on the back of his jersey.

The message was clear. In case you forgot, he's still Thierry Henry, and he can still play.

The passion and the quality of play Henry showed was a far cry from the lethargic and ineffective performances of the first month of the season, and if he is truly ready to be the sort of impact player he was brought to New York to be, then the Red Bulls have to once again be considered Real Salt Lake's stiffest competition for the league title.

As impressive as Henry's breakout game was, the star striker had to share the headlines with English forward Luke Rodgers, who scored two goals and set up Henry's finish. Red Bulls head coach Hans Backe made the curious decision to bench U.S. national team striker Juan Agudelo and start Rodgers, who had looked underwhelming to that point in the season, but Rodgers responded in impressive fashion, earning MLS Player of the Week honors in the process.

Rodgers' performance, coupled with Henry's, will make Backe's lineup decisions that much tougher. He isn't likely to complain though, not with many of his starters expected to miss matches this summer during the Gold Cup. If Henry can keep playing with passion and purpose, those weeks in June won't seem as daunting, and Henry won't have to keep reminding people who he is.

Davies does it again

Charlie Davies earned his first start for D.C. United against Toronto FC and responded with a dynamic performance that produced one goal and helped D.C. post a vital 3-0 road win against Toronto FC.

Davies notched his league-leading fifth goal from the run of play rather than the penalty spot like three of his previous goals, and his mobility was clearly a factor in unsettling a vulnerable Toronto defense.

D.C. head coach Ben Olsen had to be happy with Davies' performance, but may have been even happier to see midfielder Chris Pontius score two goals. Coming off a year plagued by injuries, Pontius has really started to come on strong and has played well enough to keep Designated Player Branco Boskovic on the bench.

Galaxy wins without stars

Playing without Landon Donovan, David Beckham and Juninho, the Los Angeles Galaxy figured to struggle in the final game of a long road trip, but instead delivered one of its best games of the season in a 2-1 win against Chicago.

The Galaxy's midfield depth was on full display, with the trio of Miguel Lopez, Paolo Cardozo and Michael Stephens working well in place of LA's missing stars. It shouldn't come as a surprise that a Bruce Arena side could adapt without its top players. The Galaxy has actually done well when missing its best, as evidenced by last season's strong run without Beckham (then on loan with AC Milan before being injured) and Landon Donovan (away at the World Cup).

Los Angeles will gladly welcome Donovan, Beckham and Juninho back, though. All three will be key to the Galaxy closing the gap that already exists between LA and first-place Real Salt Lake.

MLS Player of the Week

Portland winger Kalif Alhassan was a terror in both of the Portland Timbers' victories last week, including a pair of nifty assists in the Timbers' 3-2 win against FC Dallas. The quick and shifty Ghanaian midfielder has formed a good tandem with right winger Jeremy Hall to give the Timbers dynamic flank options, creating space for forwards Kenny Cooper and Jorge Perlaza.

MLS Rookie of the Week

New England didn't win either of its games last week, but rookie A.J. Soares continues to impress as a starting centerback for the Revolution. The first senior taken in the draft, Soares has played well enough to force veteran Ryan Cochrane to the bench, and he was steady in the back yet again vs. Houston, which manage one goal on a fluke play.

MLS Team of the Week

Portland Timbers. Riding a tangible home-field advantage, the Timbers opened Jeld-Wen Field with a pair of high-scoring victories last week. Beating a struggling Chicago side for its first win was good, but the real convincing result was beating a strong FC Dallas team, 3-2. Surrendering multiple goals in each win was a bit troubling

Boston guard Ray Allen in full playoff hero form for win over New York

BOSTON – There has been frustration. There have been some quiet complaints and some lengthy explanations about the lack of movement in the offense. There was even the time in late March when Ray Allen, upset over having played 36 minutes in a loss to the Pacers and getting just eight field-goal attempts, walked out of the locker room without speaking to reporters after the game—a rare brush-off from one of pro sports’ most professional participants.
After a night like the one Allen had on Sunday here at TD Garden, though, it’s easy to push all that tumult and tension aside. That’s because Allen was in full playoff-hero form in Game 1 against the Knicks, scoring 24 points on 9-for-15 shooting and knocking down the game-winning 3-pointer with 11.6 seconds to play, helping the Celtics avoid an upset with an 87-85 win.
“I wasn’t worried about it, offensively,” Allen said. “We have so many great weapons out there on the floor. Here in the playoffs, I knew what my matchup was, defensively, I knew what I had to do to keep Carmelo (Anthony) from having a big night and (Amare) Stoudemire, too. Offensively, early, I had a couple of layups, a couple of shots at the hoop. But for the most part, I wasn’t worried about shooting the ball.”
That’s not to say that Allen hasn’t been worried about shooting—or not shooting, as it were—over the past month or so. He’s been a muffled marksman of late, an awkward position for the game’s all-time leading 3-point shooter. Game 1 marked Allen’s first 20-point outing since March 19, a span of 12 games. That’s the longest run of sub-20-point games he has had since 1999. Allen averaged 12.3 points over this stretch, and simply wasn’t getting many looks at the basket, averaging just 9.7 shots per game.
Allen has linked his struggles to the Celtics’ overall struggles, especially their sudden inability to move the ball. That was a problem again in Game 1, but Boston was able to fight through it.
“You guys have been asking me for a couple of weeks about shooting the ball,” Allen said. “But it’s rhythm. It’s all about rhythm, and [taking] your time. Here if I have a shot, Paul is out there, Kevin is out there, I try not to focus on that. There are plays to be made. Offensively, we are our own worst enemy when we don’t move the ball around. I am not going to fall into that hole of thinking I have got to shoot the ball. We have a lot of great scorers.”

But there’s no question that as the Celtics fell into a late-season swoon, especially on the offensive end, Allen’s inability to get his scoring going was the most glaring weakness. Boston was 18-4 in the regular season when Allen topped 20 points. Finding a way to get him back on track is a necessity for this team’s postseason success — especially when there is a big shot that needs making, as with Allen’s clinching 3-pointer.
“No, I wasn’t surprised at all,” Celtics big man Glen Davis said. “I’ve seen it a million times.”
The Celtics—and Allen—would not mind seeing it a million more.