NBA Playoffs Results
Western Conference
Los Angeles Lakers 4 – Denver Nuggets 0
New Orleans Hornets 4 – Dallas Mavericks 1
San Antonio Spurs 4 – Phoenix Suns 1
Utah Jazz 3 – Houston Rockets 2
Eastern Conference
Boston Celtics 2 – Atlanta Hawks 2
Detroit Pistons 3 – Philadelphia 76ers 2
Orlando Magic 4 – Toronto Raptors 1
Cleveland Cavaliers 3 – Washington Wizards 1
Philadelphia 76ers 81 – Detroit Pistons 98
Chauncey Billups scored 21 points and dished out 12 assists, Richard Hamilton added 20 and Rasheed Wallace chipped in 19 points and swatted 6 shots to lift the Pistons to a 98-81 victory over the Sixers and a 3-2 lead in the first-round best-of-seven series. Jason Maxiell had a career playoff-high 11 rebounds, who replaced Antonio McDyess, who palyed with a broken nose, in the starting line-up. Tayshaun Prince finished with 17 points, giving the balanced team a fourth option offensively.
Andre Iguodala posted a career playoff-high, scoring 21 points, finally putting showing the Iguodala that played for the Sixers during the regular season. Andre Miller finished with 13 points and reserve Louis Williams scored 16 points.
The game was essentially over at that point. Detroit led 54-42 at halftime and 79-59 after three quarters. Orlando Magic awaits the winner of the series in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Dallas Mavericks 94 – New Orleans Hornets 99
Chris Paul scored 24 points, dished out 15 assists and grabbed 11 rebounds, as the Hornets held on for a 99-94 victory over the Dallas Mavericks to win their first-round best-of-seven series in five games. David West scored 25 points for the Hornets and Jannero Pargo added 17, while Tyson Chandler had 10 points and 14 rebounds. Peja Stojakovic, who finished with 11 points, hit a pair of free throws to seal it with 5.7 seconds left.
Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavs, scoring 22 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, and Devean George added 11 points in the fourth quarter as Dallas nearly pulled off an improbable comeback. Jason Kidd finished with 14 points and 9 assists, Jason Terry had 13 points, Josh Howard 12 points and Jerry Stackhouse had 11 points for the Mavericks.
Phoenix Suns 87 – San Antonio Spurs 92
The Spurs eliminated the Suns with a 92-87 Game 5 victory in what has become almost a postseason ritual for the defending champions. Tim Duncan scored 29 points and had 17 rebounds and Tony Parker scored 31 points for the Spurs.
Boris Diaw led the Suns with 22 points, Amare Stoudemire had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Shaquille O’Neal added 13 points. Steve Nash finished 4-of-16 from the field for 11 points.
The Suns go home again, falling to their postseason nemesis for the second straight year and the fourth time in five playoff appearances. The Hornets finished off their series with the Dallas Mavericks, also in five games.
Utah Jazz 69 – Houston Rockets 95
Tracy McGrady scored 29 points, and the Rockets survived the brink of elimination by defeating the Jazz 95-69 in Game 5 of their first-round best-of-seven series. Luis Scola added 18 points and 12 rebounds, Rafer Alston scored 14 points and Dikembe Mutombo grabbed 10 rebounds as the Rockets cut their series deficit to 3-2 and forced Game 6 in Utah. The Rockets stayed alive by doing everything that they hadn’t done for most of the series. They shot well, hit their free throws and got valuable production off the bench.
Carlos Boozer led the Jazz scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Deron Williams added 13 points and had 6 assists. The Jazz couldn’t make a serious threat in the final quarter as they continued to miss easy shots and bobble away turnovers.
Source: ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/
