NBA Playoffs Results
Western Conference
Los Angeles Lakers 1 – Utah Jazz 0
San Antonio Spurs 0 -New Orleans Hornets 2
Eastern Conference
Boston Celtics 1 – Cleveland Cavaliers 0
Orlando Magic 0 – Detroit Pistons 2
Orlando Magic 93 – Detroit Pistons 100
Chauncey Billups made the 3-pointer in question at the end of the third quarter and Detroit went on to beat Orlando 100-93, taking a 2-0 lead in their second-round series.
Billups posted 28 points, Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince scored 17 points apiece, and Prince added 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Jason Maxiell was a threat as a shooter for the second straight game, adding 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting. Richard Hamilton contributed 14 points.
Dwight Howard scored 22 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and had 2 blocks, Jameer Nelson scored 22 points, making five 3-pointers, Rashard Lewis added 20 points, Maurice Evans had 13 points and Hedo Turkoglu added 12, putting each of the Magic’s starters in double figures.
San Antonio Spurs 84 – Charlotte Hornets 102
Chris Paul’s surgical drive past the Spurs defense ended with a high, razzle-dazzle dribble and a soft, floating shot off the glass as a packed crowd broke into a thunderous frenzy.
Paul scored 30 points and dished out 12 assists, leading the Hornets to a 102-84 victory and a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven, second-round series. Peja Stojakovic made five 3-pointers and scored 25 points for the Hornets. David West was held to only 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting but West remained active under the basket with 10 rebounds. Tyson Chandler had 11 rebounds and all of his five points was scored during a key stretch midway through the fourth quarter when the Hornets prevented the Spurs from getting within single digits. Morris Peterson also contributed 12 points for the Hornets.
Tim Duncan led San Antonio with 18 points and eight rebounds, far better than his miserable Game 1, when he tied a career playoff low with five points and three rebounds. But by the final minutes, Duncan was on the bench, resting his cheek on his hand with a dejected 100-yard stare. Manu Ginobili had 13 points for the Spurs and Tony Parker, guarded mostly by Paul, was limited to 11 and had 2 shots blocked by Chandler. Brent Barry added 14 points, some of it when the game was out of reach in the fourth quarter.
The Hornets won both games by wide margins and became the first team to put San Antonio in an 0-2 playoff hole since 2001, when the Spurs were swept by the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals.
Cleveland Cavaliers 72 – Boston Celtics 76
LeBron James drove to the basket, the lane surprisingly clear. He reached out toward the rim, rolled the ball off his fingertips… And missed… Again and again, James’ shots went awry in the final minute, completing one of the worst nights of his career and giving the Boston Celtics a 76-72 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Kevin Garnett, scored 28 points to make up for an off night for the rest of Boston’s Big Three. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen of the Celtics weren’t doing any bragging, either. Pierce scored 4 points on 2-for-14 shooting, and Allen was 0-for-4 from the field for his first scoreless performance in his last 852 games since 1997. Rajon Rondo had all of his 15 points in the first half.
James was held to only 12 points on 2-for-18 shooting, Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers.
Source: ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/index
