NBA Playoffs Results
Western Conference
Los Angeles Lakers 3 – Utah Jazz 2
San Antonio Spurs 3 -New Orleans Hornets 3
Eastern Conference
Boston Celtics 3 – Cleveland Cavaliers 2
Orlando Magic 1 – Detroit Pistons 4
Cleveland Cavaliers 89 – Boston Celtics 96
Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 16 rebounds, and Rajon Rondo added 20 points and 13 assists as the Celtics beat the Cavaliers 96-89 to move within a win of the Eastern Conference finals. Paul Pierce scored 29 points and helped shut LeBron James down for much of the second half.
LeBron James scored 23 of his 35 points in the first 20 minutes of the game and then went cold again. Delonte West had 21 points for the Cavaliers, which missed 10 free throws in the second half. Zydrunas Ilgauskas was held to playoff-low 6 points.
The Celtics are undefeated at home but they have yet to win on the road, a streak that allowed the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks to go the distance in the first round and let the Cavaliers back in this series after the Celtics won the first two games. The Celtics, which had an NBA-best 66-16 record in the regular season, has the home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. But no team has ever won a title without winning an away game. In fact, the Celtics could be the first team to advance through the second round without a road win.
Utah Jazz 104 – Los Angeles Lakers 111
Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 7 assists, despite not attempting a field goal in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers extended the stunning home success by NBA teams in the second round of the playoffs by beating the Utah Jazz 111-104 night to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. Lamar Odom had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Pau Gasol added 21 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists, Vladimir Radmanovic scored 15 points and Derek Fisher added 14 points for the Lakers, who were 17-1 during the regular season when all five starters scored in double figures.
All five Jazz starters also scored in double figures led by Deron Williams, who had 27 points and 10 assists. Carlos Boozer added 18 points and 12 rebounds, Ronnie Brewer scored a career playoff-high 16 points, Mehmet Okur had 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Andrei Kirilenko scored 12 for the Jazz.
New Orleans Hornets 80 – San Antonio Spurs 99
The defending champions, San Antonio Spurs, beat New Orleans Hornets, 99-80 in Game 6, staying alive and forcing a winner-take-all Game 7 in New Orleans.
Manu Ginobili scored 25 points, Tim Duncan had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Tony Parker added 15 points to tie the Western Conference semifinals. Ime Udoka scored 13 off the bench for the Spurs.
Chris Paul led the Hornets with 21 points and 8 assists, and Tyson Chandler scored 14 points. David West had 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting before leaving the game early in the fourth quarter after aggravating a back injury. Peja Stojakovic, who struggled in San Antonio in Games 3 and 4, scored 13 points for the Hornets.
The Hornets are the No. 2 seed and the Spurs the third. The teams had the same regular-season record, were tied in their head-to-head matchup and had the same division record. The Hornets won the Southwest Division and got the higher seed because they had the better conference record.
Source: ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/index
