James accepts third MVP award

LeBron James accepted his third MVP award Saturday, making him the eighth player to win that many. The others - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Moses Malone - all won NBA titles. On Sunday, James and the Miami Heat resume that quest, against the Pacers. James received 85 of a possible 121 first-place votes and 1,074 points, topping Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant (889 points, 24 first-place votes).

The Memphis Grizzlies are confident, yet realistic. They've got their series with the Los Angeles Clippers back to even with a winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday.

At least this decisive game will be played in Memphis.

The Grizzlies lost in the Western Conference semifinals last spring with the seventh game in Oklahoma City, and they feel the hostile road environment played a part. The Grizzlies will have a sellout crowd on hand as they try to finish a rare rally from a 3-1 series deficit against the Clippers, who blew their second chance to advance with a 90-88 loss Friday night.

Derrick Rose had surgery on a torn knee ligament, and the Chicago Bulls said they will give an update early next week on the recovery of their star point guard. Rose tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee late during a playoff-opening win over the 76ers on April 28.

The Lakers issued a statement publicly backing Mike Brown on Saturday after Magic Johnson declared the first-year head coach would be fired if Los Angeles lost Game 7 of its first-round playoff series with Denver.

The club issued its statement a few hours before the third-seeded Lakers hosted the Nuggets in the series finale. Johnson spoke Friday night on ESPN, where he serves as an analyst. The Hall of Famer sold his minority ownership stake in the Lakers, but is still a club vice president and a close friend of the Buss family, which owns the team.

Johnson also said 7-footers Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol will be "run ... out of town" if the 16-time champion Lakers are eliminated by Denver.

The NBA has fined Atlanta Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. $35,000 for calling Celtics forward Kevin Garnett "the dirtiest guy in the league" on Wednesday and criticizing officiating in the Celtics-Hawks series, won by the Celtics in six games.

Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel will have to pay a $15,000 fine for calling Miami the "biggest flopping team in the NBA" and telling reporters that it would be "interesting" to see how much flopping the officials reward.

- Associated Press