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 3 – Atlanta Hawks 2
Detroit Pistons 3 – Philadelphia 76ers 2
Orlando Magic 4 – Toronto Raptors 1
Cleveland Cavaliers 3 – Washington Wizards 2
Washington Wizards 88 – Cleveland Cavaliers 87
Caron Butler made a layup with 3.9 seconds left and the Wizards held their breath as LeBron James missed a potential series- and season-ending layup at the horn, giving Washington an 88-87 victory and adding at least one more game to this overheated NBA playoff series.
Butler scored 32 points and DeShawn Stevenson had 17 points for the Wizards and got only 8 points from the normally reliable Antawn Jamison. Gilbert Arenas announced before the game that his season was over because of a bothersome knee. The three-time All-Star, who missed 66 regular-season games following knee surgery, played in the first four games in the series despite a painful deep bone bruise.
James scored 34 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had 7 assists, but was unable to make the final shot which could have sent home the Wizards. James, who has withstood body blows throughout the series, felt he was fouled on his final shot but didn’t make excuses.
Atlanta Hawks 85 – Boston Celtics 110
Paul Pierce scored a playoff-high 22 points, Kevin Garnett scored 20 points, and Ray Allen had 19 points, who turned back the final Hawks’ charge with three 3-pointers, to help Boston beat Atlanta 110-85 and take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Celtics got a huge lift from its bench in the second quarter, when Sam Cassell scored 9 points and Leon Powe had 7 points and 5 rebounds.
Joe Johnson scored 21 points, and Al Horford had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks. Mike Bibby continues his struggle in Boston, scoring only 6 points while dishing out only 1 assist.
A seventh game, if necessary, would be played in Boston, an advantage the Celtics earned with their NBA-best 66-16 record in the regular season. The top overall seed wasn’t expected to have this much trouble in the first round with an a Hawks team that went 37-45 to grab the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. But the Hawks answered two losses in Boston with a pair of victories at home, tying the series 2-2.
Source: ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/
