NBA Playoffs Results
Western Conference
Los Angeles Lakers 4 – 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 2
Detroit Pistons 2 – Philadelphia 76ers 2
Orlando Magic 4 – Toronto Raptors 1
Cleveland Cavaliers 3 – Washington Wizards 1
Toronto Raptors 92 – Orlando Magic 102
Dwight Howard scored 21 points, grabbed 21 rebounds and blocked 3 shots, registering his third 20-20 game in the series, and led the Magic to advance to the second round of the NBA Playoffs for the first time in 12 years by beating the Toronto Raptors 102-92 in Game 5. Jameer Nelson scored 19 points for the Magic and Rashard Lewis had 18 points and 13 rebounds. Hedo Turkoglu contributed 12 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists, while Maurice Evans scored 12 points and Bogans added 11 points.
Raptors star Chris Bosh scored 16 points and brought in 9 rebounds, finished with a 7-of-19 shooting, and picked up a technical foul after Howard muscled past him for a layup during the third period. T.J. Ford and Carlos Delfino both scored 14 points for the Raptors, while Jason Kapono had 13 points and Jose Calderon 12 points . Delfino added 7 rebounds and Ford had 5 assists.
The Magic will play the winner of the Detroit-Philadelphia series, which is tied 2-2, in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Boston Celtics 92 – Atlanta Hawks 97
Joe Johnson scored 35 points, 20 in the final quarter, and Josh Smith added 28 points with 7 blocks for the Hawks, which surprised the Celtics again 97-92 to even the best-of-seven series at two games apiece.
Ray Allen led the Celtics, scoring 21 points, and Garnett contributed 20 points. But, after playing with so much confidence during the regular season, the Celtics must fight off the inevitable worries about a monumental playoff flop.
The Hawks had the worst record (37-45) of any playoff team, and they certainly played like it in the first two games at Boston, losing them by an average of 21 points. The Celtics, who won an NBA-leading 66 games during the regular season, came South looking to wrap it up. Now, it’s a best-of-three.
Los Angeles Lakers 107 – Denver Nuggets 101
Kobe Bryant scored 14 of his 31 points during the final 5 minutes of the game, leading the Lakers to a 107-101 victory and sweeping the Nuggets in their first-round series. Pau Gasol added 21 points who led the way in the early goings, scoring 18 first-half points. Lamar Odom contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds and Vladimir Radmanovic scored 12 points for the Lakers.
J.R. Smith was the leading scorer for the Nuggets in the game, scoring 26 points, while Allen Iverson scored 22 points and Carmelo Anthony added 21 points.
The Lakers will meet the winner of the Utah-Houston series, which the Jazz lead 3-1, in the Western Conference semifinals.
Source: ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/
