Associated Press
The NBA notebook …
DALLAS ó Take a sweep of the Lakers, a nine-day layoff and a dominant outing by Dirk Nowitzki in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, and it’s understandable why the Dallas Mavericks may have started thinking too highly of themselves.
Losing Game 2 at home to a team that played four subs nearly the entire fourth quarter should be a strong dose of humility.
“I’m not going to say a loss is ever good, because I don’t ever like to lose. It doesn’t do well for my sleep pattern,” Dallas center Tyson Chandler said Friday. “But sometimes you need to get hit on the chin and get woke up. Last night, they hit us on the chin. Hopefully, that woke us up.”
Game 3 in Oklahoma City is tonight.
UPBEAT BULLS
CHICAGO ó By the numbers, the Chicago Bulls easily could have been blown out by Miami in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.
They weren’t, though.
Even though MVP Derrick Rose struggled, even though they got outshot and outrebounded, and even though LeBron James and Dwyane Wade played more like superstars, the Bulls were in it until the end.
So maybe that’s one positive they can take from their 85-75 loss on Wednesday.
Game 3 is Sunday.
“We’re going to have to make corrections, learn from it, and do a whole lot better down there,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Defensively we have to do a lot better. We have to clean a lot of things up.”
COMBINE
CHICAGO ó Potential NBA rookies know they could be locked out. They just don’t know yet exactly what they’ll do if that happens.
Florida State forward Chris Singleton said he’ll train privately during a hiatus and resume classes.
“I’m 21 hours short and I intend to go back to school,” Singleton said. “School is very important to me, my mom always preached it and I know I’ve got to do it for her because I’m the first in my family to go to college.”
Singleton is among 54 potential draftees participating in two days of pre-draft evaluations in Chicago.
YAO UPDATE
HOUSTON ó Yao Ming says his surgically repaired left ankle is healing properly and he would like to remain with the Houston Rockets.
Yao said that he won’t know until later this summer if he’ll be able to play next season. He becomes a restricted free agent July 1. A stress fracture in the ankle kept Yao out of all but five games last season. He had surgery in January.
Yao spoke during a visit to an elementary school.
WEST TO WARRIORS
OAKLAND, Calif. óThe Golden State Warriors hired Jerry West on Friday to work with the front-office team in an advisory role and be a member of the executive board.