NBA Playoffs Results
Western Conference
Los Angeles Lakers 3 – Denver Nuggets 0
New Orleans Hornets 3 – Dallas Mavericks 1
San Antonio Spurs 3 – Phoenix Suns 1
Utah Jazz 3 – Houston Rockets 1
Eastern Conference
Boston Celtics 2 – Atlanta Hawks 1
Detroit Pistons 2 – Philadelphia 76ers 2
Orlando Magic 3 – Toronto Raptors 1
Cleveland Cavaliers 3 – Washington Wizards 1
Cleveland Cavaliers 100 – Washington Wizards 97
LeBron James scored 34 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, lead the Cavaliers to a 100-97 victory and a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series. James got help from more than just Delonte West, who scored a career playoff-high 21 points including five 3-points baskets. Daniel Gibson made four three-pointers, and Ben Wallace had 12 rebounds — part of a remarkable 51-31 edge on the boards for Cleveland.
Antawn Jamison led Washington with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Caron Butler added 19 points. Gilbert Arenas’ first points didn’t come until a reverse layup in the third quarter, and he finished with 10 in a series-high 32 minutes.
San Antonio Spurs 86 – Phoenix Suns 105
Boris Diaw, started in the game in place of an injured Grant Hill, scored 20 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 8 assists in one of the best playoff performances of his career, led the Suns on a victory against the Spurs, 105-86, to avoid a series sweep. No one was more aggressive than Raja Bell, who scored 21 of his 27 points in a dominant first half for the Suns. The Suns leading scorer, Amare Stoudemire, scored just 7 points and Steve Nash added 15 points and had only 4 assists. Leandro Barbosa scored 15 points while Shaquille O’Neal had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Sun.
Tony Parker scored 18 points, shooting 7-of-17 and committing five turnovers, Tim Duncan scored 14 points and Manu Ginobili added 10 points for the Spurs. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich threw in the towel by benching his three stars late in the third quarter.
Detroit Pistons 93 – Philadelphia 76ers 84
Tayshaun Prince scored 23 points and made all but one shot from the field, and the Pistons played with a purpose and dominated the second half to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 93-84, tying the best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series at 2-2. Rasheed Wallace finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Richard Hamilton bounced back from a 1-for-10 first half to finish with 18 points. Chauncey Billups also scored 18 points and Antonio McDyess did not start but scored 10 points a day after he had surgery to repair a broken nose.
Andre Iguodala showed early promise and made his first three shots, then collapsed again and finished with only 12 points. Samuel Dalembert scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, Andre Miller and Willie Green each scored 13 points for the Sixers.
New Orleans Hornets 97 – Dallas Mavericks 84
David West bounced back, scoring 10 points in an early second half rally that sent the Hornets surging past the Mavericks 97-84, giving them a 3-1 lead in the first-round best-of-seven series. West had 24 points and 9 rebounds, Chris Paul added 16 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds, Peja Stojakovic scored 19 points and Julian Wright added 11 points, Jannero Pargo also scored 11 points and Morris Peterson had 10 points for the Hornets.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Jason Terry scored 20 points, but they didn’t get much help. Josh Howard was 3-for-16 and Jason Kidd had only 3 points, 3 assists and 4 rebounds before getting ejected with 7:16 left for a flagrant foul on Pargo. The exodus in the aisles came soon after, even before Hornets coach Byron Scott pulled his starters.
The Hornets ended an 0-for-14 drought in Dallas that dated to January 1998. Now they’re headed to New Orleans, hoping to win Game 5 and avoid coming back to Big D until next season. The Mavericks are on the brink of a second straight first-round exit.
Source: ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/
