Celtics stuck on a number they can't ignore

Not by any of those unfortunate enough to meet a Phil Jackson team in the postseason. Certainly not by the Boston Celtics.

They'll be reminded about it every time someone puts a microphone in their face over the next few days. They'll think about it as they ride to the Staples Center on Sunday for a Game 2 that suddenly doesn't seem nearly so interesting anymore.

Wolves' Jefferson pleads on DWI charge

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Al Jefferson will serve two years probation as part of his sentence for driving drunk.

Jefferson pleaded guilty Thursday to fourth-degree driving while impaired. He was arrested Feb. 28 near downtown Minneapolis a few hours after a home loss to Portland.

Magic look to put pressure on Celtics in Game 5

The Philadelphia Flyers cap Celtics forward Rasheed Wallace has been wearing to support his hometown team might not be something Boston fans want to see.

Especially now.

More than a week after the Bruins blew an 0-3 series lead to the Flyers, the Celtics are getting an unwanted trip back to Orlando. They'll try to close out the Magic again Wednesday night or put a city that knows all too well about such comebacks halfway to their latest installment.

Stoudemire responds, leads Suns past Lakers

Amare Stoudemire had been criticized for just about everything: his defense, his rebounding, even his desire.

The Phoenix forward listened calmly all week, then responded with a monster game.

Stoudemire scorches Lakers as Suns win Game Three

The Phoenix Suns turned up the heat in the Western Conference finals by beating the Los Angeles Lakers 118-109 in Game Three on Sunday.

Outgunned in the first two games of the series, the Phoenix defense stepped up while Amare Stoudemire delivered 42 points and 11 rebounds to help the Suns close the gap in the best-of-seven series to 2-1.

Point guard Steve Nash put up 17 points and 15 assists, despite sustaining what could be a broken nose, but it was the dogged Phoenix zone defense that did most to snap the Lakers' eight-game playoff winning streak.

"The nose is the least of my concerns," Nash, who collided with Derek Fisher late in the game, told reporters.

"We are happy to get ourselves back in a position to tie this thing on Tuesday night."

Revoked scholarships surprise college athletes

After scoring just 22 points all season in mop-up duty, Missouri freshman forward Tyler Stone has no illusions of bolting college for the NBA after a single year.

Instead, the 6-foot-7 Memphis native is a different sort of one-and-done: a college athlete leaving a school sooner than his family expected as a prized recruit takes over his scholarship.

"I can't see how a school can love him to death one year and the next year cut him loose," said his mother, Sharon Stone. "They had to get rid of somebody."

The Dragon enters Singapore combat cage

Fired up and furious, 'The Dragon' prowled the dressing room as the seconds ticked down toward his turn to fight in the cage.

Fists, feet, elbows and knees thudded into the coach's training pads as Mitch Chilson worked up his fight sweat.

His coaches and cornermen, eyes narrowed searching for flaws, looked on quietly, proudly, anxiously. They had invested much in Chilson. Walking away without the Martial Combat Superfight title was not an option.

In a former life Chilson had been a male model. But standing here, shorn of his smile and stripped down to bare bone, muscle and heart, it was clear he belonged to the fight world.

Howard frustrated by Celtics in Game 1 loss

Dwight Howard knew what the Boston Celtics had planned. Whenever he got the ball in the post, someone was going to hit him, bump him, push him, do whatever it took to keep him from getting into rhythm.

It wasn't a new approach.

The Celtics simply do it better than just about everyone else.

Howard made only 3 of his 10 shots from the floor Sunday, continuing what's been a yearlong offensive struggle against the Celtics, and his Orlando Magic lost Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals to Boston 92-88.