NBA Playoffs Results
Western Conference
Los Angeles Lakers 3 – Denver Nuggets 0
New Orleans Hornets 2 – Dallas Mavericks 1
San Antonio Spurs 3 – Phoenix Suns 0
Utah Jazz 3 – Houston Rockets 1
Eastern Conference
Boston Celtics 2 – Atlanta Hawks 1
Detroit Pistons 1 – Philadelphia 76ers 2
Orlando Magic 3 – Toronto Raptors 1
Cleveland Cavaliers 2 – Washington Wizards 1
Orlando Magic 106 – Toronto Raptors 94
Jameer Nelson scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, with a highlight of 10 straight points, as the Magic beat the Raptors 106-94 to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round best-of-seven playoff series. Rashard Lewis contributed 27 points and had 13 rebounds, and Dwight Howard added 19 points, 16 boards and 8 blocks for the third-seeded Magic. Hedo Turkoglu added 18 points and 9 rebounds while Keith Bogans scored 12 points for the Magic.
Chris Bosh had a career playoff-high, scoring 39 points and grabbing 15 rebounds, finishing 16-for-26 from the field, for the Raptors, while T.J. Ford added 12 points and 13 assists. Jason Kapono and Anthony Parker each contributed 12 points for the Raptors, who were just 2-for-15 from 3-point range.
The Raptors must win Game 5 to stop the Magic from advancing beyond the first-round for the first time since 1996.
Los Angeles Lakers 102 – Denver Nuggets 84
Kobe Bryant led a balanced offense, scoring 22 points for the Los Angeles Lakers, who took a 3-0 lead in their first-round best-of-seven series, defeating the Nuggets 102-84. Luke Walton scored 15 points off the bench for the Lakers, and Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher each contributed 14 points.
Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson shot a combined 10-for-38 and finished with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Linas Kleiza’s started despite a hyper-extended elbow and finished with 15 points and 9 boards. Marcus Camby was held scoreless in a playoff game for the first time since 2000
Boston Celtics 93 – Atlanta Hawks 102
High-flying Josh Smith scored 27 points and the Hawks earned their first playoff victory since 1999, beating the Celtics 102-93 to cut Boston’s lead in the series to 2-1. Joe Johnson added 23 points for the Hawks. Mike Bibby bounced back from two dismal games by dishing out 8 assists, and showing much better ball movement and a willingness to run with the Celtics, the Hawks improved from 10 assists in Game 2 to 28. Rookie Al Horford was a force on the inside, scoring 17 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, handing out 6 assists and showed he wasn’t afraid of the mighty Celtics.
Kevin Garnett led the Celtics, scoring 32 points, but the NBA’s youngest playoff team had him kneeling over, looking totally exhausted, by the end of the game. Paul Pierce managed to score 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Ray Allen was 5-of-14 and was held to 13 points, leaving Garnett to carry the Big Three who also had 10 rebounds.
Houston Rockets 82 – Utah Jazz 86
Deron Williams scored eight of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, Mehmet Okur grabbed 18 rebounds, Carlos Boozer added 14 boards and the Jazz made up for some dismal outside shooting by controlling the lane. The Jazz didn’t make a 3-pointer — going 0-for-14 from beyond the arc. Andrei Kirilenko scored 11 points and Ronnie Brewer had 12 points and 2 blocks as all five Utah starters scored in double figures.
Tracy McGrady, who is 0-6 in playoff series, scored 23 points to lead the Rockets, but was only able to score 4 points in another quiet fourth quarter, he also led the team with 8 assists and 10 rebounds. Rafer Alston finished with 15 points, Shane Battier scored 10 and Carl Landry added 13 points for the Rockets.
Source: ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/
