News from May 23. The NBA fined Joakim Noah (Chi) $50,000 for making a homosexual slur against a fan during Sunday's Chi-Mia game. Portland fired GM Rich Cho and named Chad Buchanan as acting GM. Dal 112, OKC 105 OT at OKC Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) had 40 points on 12-20 FG and 14-15 FT and 5 rebounds. Jason Kidd (Dal) had 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists. Jason Terry (Dal) had 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals. Kevin Durant (OKC) had 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 9 turnovers. Serge Ibaka (OKC) had 18 points, 10 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 5 blocks. Russell Westbrook (OKC) had 19 points including 7-22 FG, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, and 6 turnovers. Dal leads the series 3-1. Playoff Standings 1st Round 2nd Round 3rd Round Finals (Best of 7) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) 1 San Antonio (2) ___ 8 Memphis (4) |_ 8 Memphis (3) _ _ 4 Oklahoma City (4) | 4 Oklahoma City (4) _| |_ 4 Oklahoma City (1) _ 5 Denver (1) _ 3 Dallas (3) | | | 2 LA Lakers (4) ___ | | 7 New Orleans (2) |_ 2 LA Lakers (0) _____| | _ 3 Dallas (4) | 3 Dallas (4) ______| | 6 Portland (2) |_ _ | 1 Chicago (4) _______ | 8 Indiana (1) |_ 1 Chicago (4) _______ | _ 5 Atlanta (2) | | 4 Orlando (2) _______| | | 5 Atlanta (4) |_ 1 Chicago (1) _______| _ 2 Miami (2) 2 Miami (4) __ | 7 Philadelphia (1) |_ 2 Miami (4) ________| _ 3 Boston (1) 3 Boston (4) ______| 6 New York (0) Conference Finals (all time Central) *if necessary Tuesday, May 24 Game 4 Chicago at Miami 7:30 pm TNT Wednesday, May 25 Game 5 Oklahoma City at Dallas 8:00 pm ESPN Thursday, May 26 Game 5 Miami at Chicago 7:30 pm TNT Friday, May 27 *Game 6 Dallas at Oklahoma City 8:00 pm ESPN Saturday, May 28 *Game 6 Chicago at Miami 7:30 pm TNT Sunday, May 29 *Game 7 Oklahoma City at Dallas 8:00 pm ESPN Monday, May 30 *Game 7 Miami at Chicago 7:30 pm TNT ---- Patricia Bender pbender@eskimo.com For Trianglons puzzles: http://www.trianglons.com For NBA stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/index.html For Mavs stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs.html