Thunder's Durant leads generational shift in talent

(Reuters) - Kevin Durant has managed to dodge the growing pains often required for success in the NBA and now the Oklahoma City Thunder forward is among a handful of players headlining a generational shift in talent in the game.

There was plenty of talk about a changing of the guard when the playoffs started in April, and with four teams left it appears 22-year-old Durant has a legitimate shot to fast-track his way to a title in only his fourth season.

"Durant is a special player, one of the best players in the NBA," Memphis forward Zach Randolph said after Durant scored 39 points in a win over the Grizzlies that advanced the Thunder to the Western Conference finals.

"The kid is a gym rat, he works hard. He's one of my favorite players. You've got to give him kudos and give him respect."

The Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs have combined to win the last four NBA championships, but each suffered unceremonious exits from the playoffs, opening the door for a new face of the NBA to grab the spotlight.

Kobe Bryant of the Lakers, Kevin Garnett of the Celtics and Tim Duncan of the Spurs all looked old and overmatched in their respective playoff series losses, prompting questions about where the franchises are headed from here.

Durant, widely considered the least pretentious big-name player in the game today, has won two scoring championships in his four seasons in the league and has shown an ability to step up his game at just the right time.

He will have to do just that in the Western Conference finals where his Thunder are tied 1-1 in their best-of-seven series against the Dallas Mavericks and head home for the next two games where Oklahoma City has gone 6-1 in the playoffs.

CHAMPIONSHIP SHOWDOWN

A series victory over the Mavericks would set up a showdown against either the Chicago Bulls, who boast 22-year-old league most valuable player Derrick Rose, or the Miami Heat, who have enjoyed a boost this year from 26-year-old LeBron James, the MVP of the prior two seasons.

Regardless of this year's NBA champion, the trio of Durant, Rose and James have already sent a message to the league that they possess the tools needed to challenge for NBA titles just as frequently as the Lakers and Celtics have in recent years.

Durant left the University of Texas after his freshman year for the NBA and was taken with the second overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, where he played for one season before the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City.

He averaged 20.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in a rookie season where he had to endure a 20-62 record with a Seattle team that finished with the second worst record in the NBA.

Durant has led his team in scoring in each season, was named MVP in leading Team USA to the FIBA World Championship last year and now is credited with taking the NBA's youngest playoff team to the conference semi-finals.

He is an emerging league MVP with a work effort that rivals any of the other top players in the league. After being held to just 11 points in Game Six versus Memphis, he returned with the best performance of his career.

"That wasn't me at all in Game Six. I was so upset with myself that I kind of let my guys down by not playing my game," Durant said after clinching the West semi-final series.

"No matter what, if I was shooting bad in Game Six, as long as I was aggressive. I wasn't aggressive at all. This game, that's what I told myself: 'Come in aggressive, start the game off aggressive.'"

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Wozniacki ready for French after winning Brussels title

(Reuters) - World number one Caroline Wozniacki warmed up for the French Open by coming back from a set down to beat China's Peng Shuai in the inaugural Brussels Open on Saturday.

Wozniacki beat the eighth-seeded Peng 2-6 6-3 6-3 on clay to earn her fourth title of the season.

"I was pleased with the way I played and fought today," the Dane said. "Now I'm looking forward to Roland Garros. I think I play on Monday but I'll be ready."

The 20-year-old Wozniacki, who has yet to win a grand slam title, will begin her attempt on the French title against Japan's Kimiko Date-Krumm.

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Thunder upset Mavs to tie series at 1-1

(Reuters) - The Oklahoma City Thunder, getting a tremendous boost from their bench, beat the Dallas Mavericks 106-100 to level the best-of-seven Western Conference Finals at 1-1 on Thursday. Kevin Durant, the NBA scoring leader the last two years, scored 24 points to lead the Thunder in scoring but was supported by a mighty effort from the reserves topped by guard James Harden's 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

"We have a lot of confidence in James," said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. "He made plays. He made big basketball plays. He's a spot up shooter, he's a penetrator, he's a playmaker. He's a tremendous player."

The Oklahoma back-ups, outscored by 31 points by Maverick reserves in Game One, manned the floor throughout the fourth quarter alongside Durant and combined to score 50 points in the game.

Harden gave Oklahoma City the lead going into the final period by producing a four-point play at the end of the third quarter when the guard drained a three-pointer and was fouled in the process. After sinking the free throw, the Thunder led 77-76.

A long jumper by Harden padded the lead to 102-92 with 3:15 left, and Oklahoma City withstood a furious fightback led by Dirk Nowitzki, who had been quieted by some heavy double-team defensive pressure following his Game One eruption for 48 points.

Nowitzki, the 7-foot German jump shooter, scored 16 fourth-quarter points to finish with 29.

"They wanted it more and came out swinging," said Nowitzki after Dallas lost their first home playoff game of this postseason.

Said Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle: "They attacked us, got us back on our heels. I don't remember a game we've won giving up 56 percent shooting. Give them credit. They played an attacking, desperate game. Their bench was dominant."

The Mavericks led by as many as 11 points in the first quarter before Durant changed the momentum with a thunderous, rim-rattling dunk over Dallas center Brendan Hayward.

Oklahoma City finished the first quarter trailing 31-26 and surged into a 59-57 at the intermission.

Durant praised the work of the reserves.

"We had a good chemistry going and the coach made a great decision to stick with it," Durant told reporters. "They really won the game tonight."

Brooks sat talented starting guard Russell Westbrook, who had scored 18 points, for the entire fourth quarter after he made a turnover at the end of the third quarter and a foul and then fumed on the bench.

Eric Maynor took over for Westbrook and finished with 13 points. "I thought Eric did a good job," said coach Brooks.

"Russell is an incredible player, our starting point guard. It was his time to come out and I stuck with Eric. He did a great job handling the decisions on the court."

The series now shifts to Oklahoma City for Game

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"Street fighter" LeBron James pushes Heat past Bulls

(Reuters) - LeBron James produced some more fourth-quarter magic to propel the Miami Heat to a scrappy 85-75 win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, evening their NBA Eastern Conference final at a game each.

Dead-locked at 73-73 late in the fourth and the Bulls on the charge, James took over, scoring nine of Miami's final 12 points to earn the Heat a split in the Windy City.

The best-of-seven series moves to South Beach for Games Three and Four on Sunday and Tuesday.

James finished with a game-high 29 points and 10 rebounds while Dwyane Wade contributed 24 points and nine boards.

Chris Bosh, the other member of the Miami's big three, chipped in with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Chicago got 21 points from Derrick Rose but the NBA's most valuable player had little help, Luol Deng the only other member of the Bulls to hit double figures with 13 points.

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Prolific Nowitzki helps Mavs silence Thunder in opener

(Reuters) - Dirk Nowitzki delivered a shooting masterclass for the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, scoring 48 points to spark a 121-112 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game One of the Western Conference finals.

The German also notched an NBA playoff record of 24-for-24 free throws as part of an incredible performance from the lanky power-forward, who continued to display the impressive form that helped sweep the Los Angeles Lakers in the previous round.

Despite getting a 40-point performance of their own from Kevin Durant, the Thunder struggled to contain Nowitzki and were punished for their persistent fouling of the 32-year-old from Wurzburg.

Often guilty of falling into mismatches pitting smaller players against the 7ft (2.13m) Nowitzki, Oklahoma City will need to improve their tactics of how to counter the German, who amassed his tally with only 15 attempted shots.

"He is so good that in efforts to prevent him, he draws a lot of fouls and then he scores 24-of-24 free throws. There are very few guys in this league that can do that, unfortunately one of them is Kevin Durant," Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters.

"They will adjust, they will have to do what they have to do, but what it will be I don't know," he added.

There were no signs of rustiness from the Mavericks, who enjoyed a nine-day break after dispatching the Lakers, with Dallas dominant from the tipoff.

GREAT PLAYER

Dallas led 55-48 at halftime with Nowitzki picking up 21 points, including 10 of his first 11 shots, but he truly dominated the third quarter by scoring 17 points as the Mavericks looked set to run away with the game.

"We have to do a better job of guarding him and we will do. He is a great player, one of the best I've ever seen at that position offensively," Thunder head coach Scott Brooks lamented.

But what had been a 16 point-lead was reduced to five in the fourth quarter as the Thunder fought back into contention.

Dallas, however, sealed the win with a three-point effort from Jason Terry and then, appropriately, two more free throws from Nowitzki.

"We have had an incredible ability to bounce back and we will do that again and work on what we have to work on," Brooks added.

Game Two is in Dallas on Thursday with the series winner going on to face either the Chicago Bulls or Miami Heat in the NBA finals. The Bulls lead the Eastern Conference finals 1-0.

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Bulls stifle Heat in easy opening win

(Reuters) - Chicago's defense stifled LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to set-up an easy 103-82 victory over the Miami Heat in the opening game of their Eastern Conference Finals series on Sunday.

Chicago's Derrick Rose, the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP), scored 28 points but it was the Bulls' defense that really stood up, limiting Wade to 18 points and James to 15.

The third member of Miami's 'Big Three', Chris Bosh, managed a playoff-high 30 points but the Heat will have to find a way to improve their offence before Game Two of their best-of-seven series in Chicago on Wednesday.

For the Bulls, their triumph was a continuation of their regular season domination over Miami when they won all three matchups.

But despite their track record and status as the top seed in the Eastern Conference, Chicago found itself viewed as the underdog against Miami heading into the series.

"There are a lot of opinions out there, but we're not getting caught in that," Bulls forward Luol Deng told reporters after finishing with 21 points and playing suffocating defense against James.

"We've won 62 games. We know we're a good team. In order to win you have to think you're the best."

Chicago were clearly at their best during a dominant second half where they outscored the Heat 55-34.

They seized momentum in the third period where they used a 10-0 spurt to turn a one-point deficit into a 67-58 advantage, then let loose in the fourth with three-pointers and vicious dunks as their home fans celebrated the rout.

After overcoming the defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics in the second round series, Miami found a much different challenge in Chicago.

The Heat were pounded inside where the Bulls tallied 31 second-chance points to just eight for Miami.

"That will wear any team down," said James, who made just five of 15 shots.

"You play defense hard, then they get an offensive rebound and kick it out for a layup or a dunk, those are demoralizing for a defense. We have to figure out a way to clean that up."

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NBA's Bulls beat Hawks to reach Eastern Final

(Reuters) - The Chicago Bulls advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1998 with a series-clinching 93-73 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday.

Displaying the kind of offensive and defensive balance that earned them the best regular-season record, the Bulls brushed past the Hawks to close out the best-of-seven series 4-2.

Chicago will now face the surging Miami Heat for a place in the NBA Finals.

League MVP Derrick Rose delivered one of his most efficient performances of the postseason, finishing with 19 points and 12 assists while taking just 14 shots -- well below his series average of more than 27 attempts per game.

Rose's team mates carried more of the load with Carlos Boozer tallying 23 points and 10 rebounds.

The Hawks were blitzed from the start, trailing by 10 after the first and second quarters, before falling behind by 17 after three.

Joe Johnson scored a team-high 19 points and Josh Smith added 18 for the Hawks.

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Nadal keeps top ranking after making Rome semis

(Reuters) - Rafa Nadal made sure of retaining his world number one status at the French Open after cruising past Croat Marin Cilic 6-1 6-3 in the quarter-finals of the Rome Masters on Friday.

Nadal showed no signs of the fever that had brought him to the brink of pulling out on Thursday in a typically clinical display, hammering the world number 23 to set up a semi-final against Richard Gasquet.

Second seed Djokovic stretched his unbeaten run for the year to 35 matches after dispatching fifth-seed Soderling 6-3 6-0. The Serb will meet Andy Murray, who became the first British player in the tournament's professional era to reach the final four after outlasting unseeded German Florian Mayer 1-6 6-1 6-1.

Champion for five of the past six years, Nadal raced into a 4-0 lead, breaking Cilic's serve with a ferocious forehand topspinner and backhand crosscourt before taking the first set.

The Croat, who had won one of his previous two meetings against Nadal, stayed with the Spaniard until the seventh game of the second set when the topseed moved up an extra gear to break twice more, bringing his overall win-loss run in Rome to 30-1.

"I started the match with intensity and played aggressively," said Nadal. "I was running faster and when you move your legs faster, the shots come more easily. I played better but if you want to win a tournament, you have to play well every day."

Nadal said his health was improving.

"I was lucky. I felt much better today," he said. "Yesterday afternoon I had fever but it improved at the end of the day. I still had a bit of fever this morning but it was fine before the match."

After losing his opening service game against Soderling, Djokovic stormed back, making the decisive break in the eighth game with a screaming crosscourt backhand to take the set.

The second set was an ordeal for the big Swede as Djokovic moved him around the court with a combination of dainty dropshots and flashing strokes to win the set to love.

Murray began his match with Mayer in ragged fashion, dropping the first set before storming to victory against the world number 27 having never got beyond the third round in six previous visits.

"It's nice to do well here but now I want to go further," said Murray.

"It will be great to play Novak. He's playing really well though I haven't seen him play this week. I won't be able to get away with playing the way I did in the first set.

"I felt I was rushing, so I had to back off which made the rallies a lot longer. I had to release some emotion. I was getting myself pumped up.

"I feel good on clay but have to make sure I practice enough before the claycourt season begins," he added. "To be number one, I need to improve on this surface to be among the Rogers, Rafas and Novaks."

Gasquet followed up his third-round defeat of Roger Federer by knocking out seventh-seed Tomas Berdych 4-6 6-2 6-4.

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James delivers fatal blow as Heat finish off Celtics

(Reuters) - An inspired LeBron James delivered the decisive blow with the last 10 points as the Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics 97-87 on Wednesday to book their place in the Eastern Conference finals.

The Celtics were expected to represent a major hurdle for the Heat but it was one they cleared with relative ease, winning the best-of-seven series 4-1.

Miami will now sit back and await the winner between Chicago and Atlanta, with the Bulls holding a 3-2 lead in the series.

In the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder pounded the Memphis Grizzlies 99-72 to seize control of their series 3-2.

After a tight opening quarter that ended 17-17, the Thunder ran away from Memphis leading 46-35 at the half and building a 19-point advantage after three quarters that the Grizzlies could not claw back.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 19 points while Daequan Cook had 18 off the bench. Marc Gasol had 15 for the Grizzlies, who will host Game Six on Friday.

Facing elimination, the Celtics battled hard from the tip-off but in the final quarter they had no answer to the Heat's 'Big Three' of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

After Bosh had tied the game at 87-87 with a thundering dunk, James put his stamp on the contest by dropping two three-pointers from the arc.

The twice NBA MVP then added a dunk on a Boston turnover and a layup that touched off wild celebrations at the American Airlines Arena.

"I want to give a lot of credit to the Boston Celtics, that coaching staff and those players, they make you fight for everything," James told reporters.

"You can never take your foot off the gas, you can never take a second off against that team so I have a lot of respect for that team."

STEP CLOSER

Wade paced the Heat with a game-high 34 points and 10 rebounds. James had 33 points added Bosh with 14 as the Big Three once again led the charge, collecting 81 of their team's 97 points.

The Celtics, who held a slim lead through much of the game, were led by 18 points from Ray Allen. Kevin Garnett had 12 points in the opening quarter but was nearly invisible the rest of the game, finishing with 15.

Rajon Rondo, who dislocated his elbow in Game Three, was back on court with a heavily padded left arm but was limited to six points.

The win moved James, Wade and Bosh a big step closer to the NBA title they targeted when they came together in Miami.

"I got the utmost respect for that team," James said.

"They (Celtics) are the reason why all three of us came together, because of what they did, that blueprint they had in '08 when they all came together.

"It's a great team win, now we get ready for our next opponent."

The Celtics got off to a flying start, Garnett dropping 12 points and pulling down five rebounds to stake Boston to a 24-16 lead.

But Wade took the spotlight in the second, finishing the half with 23 points and helping trim the deficit to 49-47 heading into the intermission.

Boston clung to their two-point lead in the third, and padded it to 81-74 early in the fourth quarter but could not hold on as the Heat finished with a 16-0 run to seal the series.

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Manny Pacquiao weighs in lighter than Shane Mosley

(Reuters) - Manny Pacquiao weighed in just two pounds lighter than American Shane Mosley after the Filipino was welcomed by deafening cheers from his supporters on the eve of Saturday's WBO welterweight title fight.

Pacquiao, 52-3-2 (38 knockouts), tipped the scales at 145 pounds in front of a boisterous crowd of about 6,500 at the MGM Grand Hotel's Garden Arena.

Mosley, 46-6-1 (39 KOs), was weighed first and was right on the 147-pound limit for the scheduled 12-round bout.

The two fighters were all smiles as they posed for the photographers for their pre-fight pictures and they embraced one another once that task was done.

"I am just so excited to be in this fight," Mosley, a 39-year-old veteran who is a three-division world champion, said on the stage. "The whole world is watching. It should be great."

Pacquiao, a 10-times world champion in a record eight weight divisions, is a 6-1 favorite to win but he has taken great pains not to underestimate his American challenger.

"I believe that Shane Mosley is a strong fighter, a good fighter," the 32-year-old Filipino said. "He has trained hard for this fight so I have to train hard and focus on this fight."

Pacquiao and Mosley are renowned for being ideal boxing ambassadors and have refused to indulge in any of the pre-bout trash-talking so common in the sport.

NO TRASH TALKING

"This is a good example for the boxing fans and for all the fighters," Pacquiao told reporters earlier this week.

"The fight will be happy and a good example for the children who are idolizing the fighters, especially Mosley and me."

The atmosphere was electric as the two fighters made their way on to a raised stage for Friday's televised weigh-in where former boxing great Roberto Duran and Britain's WBA world light welterweight champion Amir Khan were among those attending.

Shouts of "Manny, Manny" rang out before the tracksuit-clad boxers finally emerged, Pacquiao and Mosley each smiling and waving to the fans before stepping on to the scales.

There were also friendly boos for Mosley who, despite being born in nearby Pomona, California, had a much smaller number of supporters in the arena.

Pacquiao is fighting for the first time since he recorded a ruthless points victory over Mexican Antonio Margarito in November for his eighth world title in an unprecedented eight weight class.

Mosley has not competed in the ring since his draw with Sergio Mora in September.

Pacquiao, already acknowledged as one of the best offensive fighters of all time, is guaranteed $20 million from Saturday's bout while Mosley will earn a minimum $5 million.

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Blake Griffin unanimously voted NBA's top rookie

(Reuters) - Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin,whose soaring dunks became staples of nightly highlight shows, was named NBA Rookie of the Year on Wednesday May 4, 2011 as the first unanimous choice in 21 years.

Griffin, selected first overall in the 2009 NBA Draft but absent the entire 2009-10 season due to a stress fracture in his left knee, averaged 22.5 points a game, 12.1 rebounds, and registered a massive 63 double-doubles.

The high-jumping forward was the only NBA player this season to average at least 20 points, 12 rebounds and three assists, and swept 118 first-place votes cast by sportswriters and broadcasters in the United States and Canada.

Washington's John Wall finished a distant second while Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins was third in the voting.

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Japan plans expansion after quake horror

(Reuters) - Japan's professional basketball league has bold plans for expansion rather than mere damage limitation despite being plunged into chaos by the deadly earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

With the two worst-hit teams in danger of collapse, Basketball JapanLeague Commissioner Toshimitsu Kawachi told Reuters the push to increase the number of clubs from 16 to 20 would continue at full pace.

The Sendai 89ers, the team based closest to the devastating 9.0 magnitude quake, and the Saitama Broncos have had players sent out on loan after being forced to scrap their seasons.

"There is a risk (of bankruptcy) for Sendai, or that both teams will be unable to play next season," Kawachi said in an interview.

"We are doing everything we can to have them among the expanded league of 20 teams in October for 2011-12 in terms of reducing further financial burden on them from the disaster."

Tokyo Apache also halted operations as a result of the quake and giant tsunami, which triggered a nuclear crisis after smashing into a plant 150 miles north of Japan's capital.

"Our practice sites were turned into rescue shelters for the survivors," said Apache President Chris Hetherington, whose club donated $1 million to tsunami relief efforts.

"And while apparently stable, the nuclear reactor at the Fukushima power plant still presented risks. The downside risk was too great."

Unlike Sendai and Saitama, who are staring into the financial abyss, Apache have no such problems, although it remains to be seen if former NBA coach Bob Hill will return.

"It was disappointing to have to leave after all the hard work we had put in," Hill, who led San Antonio to an NBA-best 62 wins in 1994-95, told Reuters by e-mail.

"With so many folks dying ... and the quakes continuing in Tokyo, basketball seemed so unimportant."

RADIATION LEAKS

The disaster left 28,000 people dead or missing and destroyed vast areas of northeast Japan, while blackouts and fears over radiation leaks hit sporting events nationwide.

"I have no idea if I will be back again in Tokyo," added Hill, who also coached the New York Knicks, Indiana and Seattle in his NBA career.

"I have had little communication with ownership and management at this point."

Losing Hill after less than a year would be a blow to Apache, who twice finished league runners-up under Joe Bryant, father of Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe.

But former NFL fullback Hetherington had no regrets about the decision to end the team's campaign with their record at 20-14.

"This curtailed season will not hurt the Apache," he said.

"We will take this time to build a more efficient and effective business."

Apache could also rake in cash and gain extra exposure thanks to 19-year-old power forward Jeremy Tyler, who is tipped as a potential number one overall pick in June's NBA draft.

Kawachi's staff, meanwhile, continue to work tirelessly to keep Saitama and Sendai, two of the trail-blazing six teams who launched the league in 2005, afloat.

"Okinawa are the top team in the West right now and would have a player on loan from Sendai for the final four in Tokyo on May 21-22," said the commissioner.

"There will be bus loads down from Sendai! We will be collecting money from a full house of 20,000. We will take every step to keep these two teams operating.

"The disaster resulted in a big financial loss for the league too but cancelling the whole season would not have been correct.

"Sport has shown it has the power to bring hope to people in despair. It has given us all added incentive to come out of this bigger and better."

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Yao Ming's Asian comeback a mystery

(Reuters) - Yao Ming's participation at this year's Asian basketball championships remains shrouded in mystery as he battles back from his latest injury, Chinese media reported on Wednesday.

The towering NBA center, who suffered a serious ankle fracture playing for the Houston Rockets last November, has refused to speculate on his comeback.

But China's captain Liu Wei expressed cautious optimism about the appearance of the seven-foot six-inch (2.28-meter) Yao in Wuhan this September.

"Nothing is certain right now," Liu, a former team mate of Yao's at the Shanghai Sharks, told the China Daily.

"He will stay in Shanghai for a while and then go back to the States for an injury check. Nobody knows if he will be able to play until the results come out."

The September 15-25 tournament guarantees the winners a spot at next year's London Olympics.

"We must secure the title at the Asian Championship this time," said Liu, mindful of China's loss to Iran in the 2009 final at home.

"Not only paving the way to London but winning back respect in Asia."

Yao, selected first overall by Houston in the 2002 draft, has caused Chinese interest in the NBA to soar, but has been cursed by injury throughout his career in the United States.

He played just over half a season in 2005-06 because of a toe infection and a broken foot, limiting his playing time over the following two years.

Yao then suffered a hairline fracture in his foot in 2008-09 before breaking his left ankle in Houston's loss to the Washington Wizards in November.

Despite the fact the 30-year-old only took off his protective boot a month ago, China placed their prized asset on their roster for summer training this month.

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Bulls' Rose becomes NBA's youngest MVP winner

(Reuters) - Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose ended LeBron James's two-year reign as the NBA's most valuable player on Tuesday when he became the youngest winner of the sport's highest individual honor.

Rose, who led the Bulls to the best record in the NBA this season, beat out perennial contenders James of the Miami Heat, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic.

"I want to thank my team mates and the coaching staff," an emotional Rose said at a news conference where he accepted the award. "You all push me every single day making sure that I play hard and play with passion."

The 22-year-old All-Star, taken with the first overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, is the first Bulls player to capture the honor since Hall of Famer Michael Jordan claimed the last of his five MVP awards in 1998.

Rose received 1,182 points and 113 first-place votes from a panel of 120 sportswriters and broadcasters combined with fan balloting, the NBA said in a NBA statement.

Howard placed second with three first-place votes and 643 points, James was third with four first-place votes and 522 points while Bryant had one first-place vote and 428 points.

Rose averaged a career-high 25 points and 7.7 assists this season while guiding the Bulls to a 62-20 record that earned them the top seed in the NBA playoffs.

When Rose arrived at the Bulls' training camp ahead of the 2010-11 season he openly wondered why he could not be the league's MVP, even though he did not receive one vote for the award last year.

"I wasn't trying to be cocky at all," said Rose. "I knew that I put a lot of hard work in in the summer, in the offseason and I just wanted to push myself, and that was about it."

The Bulls, who lost the opening game of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-final to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, resume their series on Wednesday in Chicago.

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