SCOREBOARD
Tuesday, June 12
San Antonio at Cleveland (9 p.m. EDT). The Cavaliers, down two games to none to the Spurs, host their first-ever NBA Finals contest.
STAYING PUT
The Detroit Pistons have no plans to fire coach Flip Saunders despite disappointing endings the past two seasons. “Just because we haven’t gotten to the finals, it doesn’t mean Flip has done a bad job,” Joe Dumars, president of basketball operations, said Monday. With four of the same starters, the Pistons have lost in the Eastern Conference finals as the top-seeded team the past two years after winning a title in 2004 and falling just short of repeating the following year.
WHACKED
Game 2 of the NBA finals took a hit in the TV ratings, and the series finale of “The Sopranos” was the prime suspect. The San Antonio Spurs’ 103-92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night drew a 6.9 overnight rating on ABC, down 24 percent from last year’s 9.1 for Game 2 between the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat.
REFUNDS
The Orlando Magic are offering refunds to fans who bought season tickets just after Billy Donovan’s hiring. More than 200 packages sold within 24 hours of the announcement of Donovan’s hire. Donovan changed his mind a day after his May 31 introduction, deciding to return to the Gators. The Magic said they were contacting individual fans who bought tickets within 48 hours of the Donovan announcement. So far some have decided to keep the tickets, the team said without specifying an amount.
DEJA VU?
With a 2-0 lead the San Antonio Spurs are halfway to a fourth NBA title. However in the 2005 finals, San Antonio destroyed Detroit in the first two games, winning by a combined 46 points, but when the series shifted to Auburn Hills, Mich., the Pistons won by 17 points in Game 3 and 31 in Game 4.
SPEAKING
“I’m concerned about every game. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the first game or the seventh game. So there’s no less concern for one game over another one. Coaches are paranoid that way. They worry about everything.” – Spurs coach Gregg Popovich after San Antonio’s 103-92 Game 2 victory over Cleveland on Sunday. The Spurs lead the Cavs 2-0 and head to Cleveland where the Cavaliers are 7-1 in the playoffs.