Leading Off: Pictures of the Week

Leading Off: Pictures of the Week

Heinz Kluetmeier/SI

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade becomes one with the basket before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. That tactic seemed to work as Wade went on to score 38 points in the Heat's 99-90 victory over the Celtics.

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Unlikely major league home run leader Alfonso Soriano (11 home runs) breaks his stick as he bats against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 30. The Cubs would go on to win 5-3.

Javier Soriano/AFP/Getty Images

Ducati's Valentino Rossi leans into a turn during the MotoGP free practice session of the Portugal Grand Prix on April 29. Rossi went on to finish fifth.

Petr Josek/Reuters

French netminder Fabrice L'Henry keeps a close eye on the puck during the preliminary round of the ice hockey world championships in Kosice, Slovakia. A booking error sent the French team to Poland instead of Slovakia, but L'Henry remained sharp.

Tomas Bravo/Reuters

Canadian Mark Phillips performs an Indian Air during the X Pilots world freestyle motocross show on April 29.

Greg Nelson/SI

Memphis Grizzlies forward Shane Battier (left) gets physical with Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook during the Grizzlies' 114-101 victory over the Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. Westbrook turned the ball over seven times against only six assists.

Scott Wensley/Reuters

Both drivers walked away from the crash safely, but there were some breathless moments at Barbagallo Raceway after Karl Reindler's car burst into flames as he collided with Steve Owen. Reindler was later taken to the hospital for burns on his hands.

Greg Fiume/Getty Images

Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford tries in vain to steal an Adam Jones home run in the fourth inning of the Orioles' 5-4 victory over the Red Sox on April 27.

Fred Vuich/SI

Fabian Gomez's revolutionary no-club strategy didn't play too well at the 2011 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, as Gomez finished tied for 46th.

Rob Carr/Getty Images

Giants center fielder Aaron Rowand (right) redefined the word stealing when he filched teammate Cody Ross' glove during the Giants' 3-0 loss to the Nationals on April 29.

Geoff Burke/Getty Images

Denny Hamlin takes the checkered flag at his namesake event (the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown) at Richmond International Raceway on April 28.

Denis Sinyakov/Reuters

Italian pair Stefania Berton (left) and Ondrej Hotarek perform during the pairs short program competition at the ISU world figure skating championships in Moscow on April 27. The pair finished ninth.

Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters

Switzerland's Ramona Elsener and Florian Roost put their game faces on during the ice dance short program at the ISU world figure skating championships in Moscow on April 29.

Heinz Kluetmeier/SI

Sports Illustrated photographer Heinz Kluetmeier used a strip camera to create the elongated body of Jamaica's Keneil Grant at the Penn Relays. Grant is seen participating in the boys' high school long jump championships at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pa.

Greg Nelson/SI

Grizzlies forward Darrell Arthur battles for a rebound against Thunder guard James Harden (left) and forward Serge Ibaka (top) during the Grizzlies' 114-101 victory over the Thunder.

Nam Y. Huh/AP

Filling in for an injured Kirk Hinrich, Jeff Teague (center) played 45 minutes and scored 10 points as the Hawks defeated the Bulls 103-95 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images

Memphis forward Zach Randolph (right) goes up against Spurs forward Tim Duncan during the Grizzlies' 99-91 upset victory over the Spurs in Game 6 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.