Pro Basketball

Eastern Conference semifinals No. 2 Knicks vs. No. 3 Pacers Season series: Tied, 2-2. Key stat: Indiana held Atlanta to 89.3 points per game in the first round, limiting the Hawks to 33% shooting in the final two games. Outlook: It may seem like old times with these teams rekindling a playoff rivalry that saw them go head to head six times from 1993 to 2000, but about the only reminder of the Pacers of Reggie Miller and the Knicks of Patrick Ewing could be Spike Lee watching the action at Madison Square Garden.

Kobe Bryant is locked in a court battle with his mother because she is trying to auction off his old Lakers and high school memorabilia. Pamela Bryant was given $450,000 up front by Goldin Auctions, a New Jersey auction house, so it could sell mementos from Kobe's days at Lower Merion High in Ardmore, Pa., and in his early seasons with the Lakers. She planned to use the advance to help purchase a home in Nevada. Goldin Auctions announced plans Tuesday for an auction in June of what its website calls "the bryant collection.

Though the primary focus for the Clippers will be on re-signing Chris Paul and on whether the team keeps or releases Coach Vinny Del Negro, L.A. has other roster decisions to make as well. The players came in Saturday for their exit interviews with the front office a day after the Clippers were eliminated by the Memphis Grizzlies in a Western Conference first-round series. It was a Clippers team still coming to grips with having won the franchise's first-ever Pacific Division and finished with a team-best 56-26 record.

Win or go home. It's the slogan for the NBA during the playoffs and it now applies to the Clippers. The reeling Clippers must beat the surging Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night, on the road, in Game 6 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series or L.A.'s season is over. If the Clippers find a way to win - something they haven't done in the last three games after winning the first two in this best-of-seven series - Game 7 would be Sunday at Staples Center.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Chris Paul sat in a chair wearing a red jacket, his night done early after he was ejected from the game with 2:29 left after getting his second technical foul. Matt Barnes sat in his chair with a towel over his head. Blake Griffin sat in his chair with both hands on his head, his sprained right ankle in a bucket of ice. The Clippers' locker room was mostly quiet after a 118-105 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 6 that eliminated L.A. from the Western Conference first-round playoffs.

MEMPHIS, Tenn.  -- Matt Barnes was not going down without a fight. Barnes scored a playoff career-high 30 points in Game 6 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series against Memphis on Friday night. He played small forward and power forward, often having to defend Memphis star Zach Randolph. Barnes made his first seven shots, including his first five three-point tries. Overall, he made 11 of 14 from the field, six of seven beyond the arc. He also had a team-high 10 rebounds in almost 37 minutes, but the Clippers were eliminated by the Grizzlies.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Bring on the next bunch of disappointing, underachieving, gagging local athletes. And so it goes with our Trojans, Lakers, Clippers and even the Bruins losing their last three. So much promise, raised expectations and then a quick goodbye to all. The Kings? The who? Oh yeah, I hear they're down already, 2-0. Thank heavens for the grandchildren. They are waiting at home, in for a visit from Arizona, and they don't give a lick about the power trip referee Joe Crawford is on, disturbed fans in Memphis or a visit with the Choking Dogs on Monday night.

The task the Clippers face in trying to deal with a tough Memphis Grizzlies team has become even more daunting. There is Blake Griffin's sprained right ankle that limited the All-Star forward to about 20 minutes in the Clippers' Game 5 loss Tuesday in the Western Conference playoffs. His X-rays were negative and an MRI showed no structural damage Wednesday. But the Clippers, who trail the Grizzlies, 3-2, have listed Griffin as a game-time decision for their win-or-go-home Game 6 at Memphis on Friday.

Goodbye, David Kahn. Hello, Flip Saunders. Again. The Minnesota Timberwolves announced Thursday that owner Glen Taylor will not pick up the option for next season on Kahn's contract as president of basketball operations. Three people with knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press that Taylor has agreed on a deal to hire Saunders as Kahn's replacement. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that Saunders will be a part-owner of the team. Saunders coached the Timberwolves from 1995 to 2005, and his reputation in the Twin Cities only grew when the team cratered after his exit.