NBA

Hill suffered his concussion during Game 5 on Thursday, but he cleared the NBA's rigorous post-concussion protocol very quickly. He shot just 2-of-10 from the field, but as usual he made his free throws (7-of-7), played strong defense, and committed just one turnover -- he boasted a 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio this season, ahead of Deron Williams and just behind Rajon Rondo and Greivis Vasquez.

Stephenson didn't turn the ball over once in 34 minutes and he knocked down 9-of-13 FGs and 7-of-8 FTs in what was easily the biggest and best game of his NBA career. He has blossomed in heavy minutes with Danny Granger (knee) out of the picture, making his $930k team option for next season a no-brainer, but for now he's focusing on Dwyane Wade, the Heat, and a possible trip to the NBA Finals.

Melo came in shooting 41.3 percent in the series. He finished tonight's game 15-of-29 from the field and 8-of-8 from the FT line, but he couldn't win the game by himself. The reigning scoring champ is likely to have a familiar supporting cast next season -- mid-season pickup Kenyon Martin is New York's biggest unrestricted free agent, while J.R. Smith has a $2.9 million player option, Chris Copeland will likely be a restricted free agent, and Pablo Prigioni has an affordable qualifying offer.

Smith came in shooting 29.6 percent in the series but that didn't prevent him from launching nine 3-pointers, only two of which found their mark. His lousy playoffs may dim his value as a free agent this summer, but it is considered "very, very likely" that the 2013 Sixth-Man of the Year will decline his $2.9 million player option and test free agency this summer.

This isn't exactly a surprise. Once the Hornets changed their names to Pelicans, there were multiple reports the Bobcats were at least exploring the idea of returning to the name of the franchise that played in Charlotte from 1988 to 2002. According to Brinson, there's no timeline for the change but commissioner-in-waiting Adam Silver said in April that such a process can at least 18 months.

He remained symptom-free the whole way following the NBA's Return-to Participation Exertion Protocol and team physicians cleared him to play tonight. The Pacers were a different team with Hill out in Game 5, shooting 36.2 percent from the field while not taking care of the ball with 19 turnovers. D.J. Augustin will move back to the to the bench.

The mutual interest between Jackson and Chris Hansen, who headed the group trying to move the Kings, had become one of the league's worst-kept secrets. However, the NBA rejected the move and the Kings were sold to a group that will keep them in Sacramento, which Jackson said doesn't interest him. It also seems unlikely Jackson will be joining the Raptors front office, which had been one of the rumored landing spots for the former Lakers and Bulls coach. One thing that is clear is Jackson is very much interested in returning to the NBA in one form or another. Stay tuned.