The AP reports: Kobe Bryant had 49 points and 10 assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets 122-107 to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series… Bryant, who was 18-for-27 from the field and finished one point off his career playoff high, scored 20 points in the first quarter to get the Lakers off to a fast start, and 19 over the last seven minutes to keep them safely ahead… Pau Gasol added 18 points and 10 rebounds and Luke Walton scored 18 points for the Lakers. Lamar Odom, hampered by foul trouble throughout the second half, was held to four points, four rebounds and six assists, but in the end it didn’t matter. Allen Iverson had 31 points and six assists to lead the Nuggets. Carmelo Anthony added 23 points, J.R. Smith had a career playoff high 21 and Marcus Camby had 17 rebounds for Denver. Kenyon Martin, who fouled out with 5:47 remaining, scored 10 points… Linas Kleiza made just his 14th start of the season in place of Anthony Carter, giving Denver more firepower and additional size.
Category: Games
Basketball games blog
Apr. 23: Celtics 96, Hawks 77
The AP reports: Rajon Rondo outplayed Mike Bibby and helped the Boston Celtics silence Atlanta and its blustery point guard. Kevin Garnett had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Rondo added 12 points, eight assists and six rebounds to lead Boston to a 96-77 victory over Atlanta on Wednesday night and a 2-0 lead in the first-round series. Paul Pierce returned from a first-quarter knockdown to score 14 points, and Kendrick Perkins added eight points and nine rebounds for the Celtics. Josh Smith, who helped take Pierce down and appeared to land on him and roll over his head, had 13 points and eight rebounds for Atlanta. But it was Bibby, who called the locals fair-weather fans during the week, who drew the ire of the sold-out Boston Garden crowd… The Hawks came out feisty and physical. Just 82 seconds in, Joe Johnson fouled Pierce to keep him from an easy layup. Smith came in from the side and slammed Pierce to the floor and landed on top of his chest before rolling over his head.
InsideHoops.com Notes: Bibby shot 2-of-7 for 12 points and just one assists. The entire Hawks team had just 10 assists, while the Celtics had 23. The Celtics had 15 steals, the Hawks just 4. The Hawks didn’t hit a single three-pointer.
Apr. 23: Pistons 105, Sixers 88
The AP reports: The Detroit Pistons looked a lot like the team that reached the last five Eastern Conference finals. Rasheed Wallace scored 11 of his 16 points in the first quarter and had plenty of help at both ends of the court in a 105-88 series-evening victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 2 on Wednesday night… Wallace was one of four Pistons scoring in double figures as they took a 17-point halftime lead, while the 76ers had only Andre Miller, who scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half… Richard Hamilton finished with 20 points and seven assists, Tayshaun Prince and Antonio McDyess both added 16 points and rookie Rodney Stuckey had 12 after being held scoreless in his playoff debut… Philadelphia reserves Louis Williams (17), Reggie Evans (13) and Rodney Carney (11) all scored career playoff highs.
InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Pistons shot 54.9%, the Sixers just 39.5%. Both teams struggled from three-point range but the Sixers were worse at just 1-for-6. The Sixers got 35 free throw attempts but only hit 23, while the Pistons went 11-of-15. The Pistons dished 26 assists, the Sixers just 12.
Apr. 22: Spurs 102, Suns 96
The AP reports: Tony Parker scored 32 points to lead the Spurs to a 102-96 victory in Game 2 on Tuesday night after the Suns gave away another double-digit, first-half lead… On Tuesday, the Spurs were down by as many as 14 in the first half before outscoring Phoenix 27-11 in a breakout third quarter… Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with 33 points but struggled after halftime, when he shot 2-of-11 from the field. The Spurs went up by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter after taking control in the third. But Steve Nash led a 10-0 run to bring Phoenix within 96-91 with 2:44 left on the clock… Tim Duncan, who finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds, had a monster dunk with 1:47 to play and Parker followed with a bucket to put San Antonio back up 101-93… Nash had 23 points and 10 assists for the Suns. Shaquille O’Neal had 19 points and 14 rebounds. Manu Ginobili, who won the NBA’s sixth man award on Monday, scored 29 points for San Antonio.
Apr. 22: Magic 104, Raptors 103
The AP reports: Two playoff games, two 20-point, 20-rebound outings for Dwight Howard. This time there was no question he was the difference maker. Orlando’s 3-point touch evaporated, but Howard’s 29 points and 20 rebounds powered the Magic past the Toronto Raptors, 104-103, Tuesday night for a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series… Chris Bosh had 29 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto, but missed a 19-footer with 1.9 seconds left that could have won the game. Jason Kapono scored 20 points, Jose Calderon had 18 and Carlos Delfino added 16 for the Raptors… Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis each scored 18 for Orlando. Hedo Turkoglu made the go-ahead layup and finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Orlando won despite shooting 9-of-31 from 3-point range—including a combined 0-of-13 for Turkoglu and Lewis. The Raptors made 11 of 29 3s, four by Kapono.
Apr. 22: Hornets 127, Mavs 103
The AP reports: Chris Paul had 32 points and a franchise playoff-record 17 assists, leading New Orleans to a 127-103 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night that gave the Hornets a 2-0 lead in their first-round series… David West scored 27 points and Peja Stojakovic 22 for New Orleans, which took a double-digit lead in the second quarter, led by as much as 25 in the third and never looked back. Tyson Chandler had his second double-double of the series with 10 points and 11 rebounds, despite playing with foul trouble. Morris Peterson added 12 points and reserve guard Jannero Pargo had 10 for New Orleans, which was 10-of-18 on 3-pointers, with Stojakovic hitting 5-of-7… Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 27 points, but spent most of the night looking frustrated, yelling at no one in particular after he threw one pass out of bounds. Brandon Bass was another bright spot for Dallas, muscling inside for 19 points. Reserve Jason Terry added 16 points and Josh Howard scored 10… The Mavs hoped Jason Kidd would be a bigger factor in this game, but he finished with only seven points and eight assists.
Apr. 21: Cavs 116, Wizards 86
The AP reports: LeBron James scored 30 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 16, and the Cavs played their best game since the Feb. 21 megatrade, blowing out the Washington Wizards 116-86 to take a 2-0 lead in an opening-round playoff series oozing with bad blood. The 30-point margin of victory was the largest in Cleveland’s 112-game postseason history, and the Cavaliers’ performance was perhaps their finest 48 minutes since November… The Wizards hardly bothered James, who finished with 12 assists and nine rebounds, barely missing his third career postseason triple-double. James went to the bench with 6:12 left… Wally Szczerbiak added 15 points for the Cavs, who have struggled with injuries and inconsistency since GM Danny Ferry dealt half his roster at the trading deadline… Gilbert Arenas went 2-for-10 from the field and Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison were both 4-of-13 as the Wizards’ Big Three combined for 28 points. The trio spent much of the fourth quarter sitting and thinking about what happened and the task ahead.
Apr. 21: Jazz 90, Rockets 84
The AP reports: Deron Williams shrugged off an ankle injury and scored 22 points and Mehmet Okur added 16 points and 16 rebounds as the Jazz beat the Rockets 90-84 on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series… Tracy McGrady, a seven-time All-Star who has never advanced past the first round of the playoffs, had 23 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists to just miss his first postseason triple-double. But he went 0-for-4 from the field and scored only one point in the final quarter as the Rockets lost to the Jazz for the eighth time in the last 10 meetings… Bobby Jackson rebounded from a 3-for-15 effort in Game 1 to score 18 points… Carlos Boozer added 13 points and Deron Williams had five assists for the Jazz, who closed the game with a 14-8 run.
Apr. 20: Celtics 104, Hawks 81
The AP reports: Ray Allen scored 18 points and Kevin Garnett had 16 as the two newcomers who led the Boston Celtics to the NBA’s best record sparked them to a 104-81 win Sunday night in their playoff opener against the Atlanta Hawks. Garnett stopped a 14-3 Hawks run with a jumper, starting a six-point Boston surge that made it 35-27 in the second quarter. And Allen scored 10 straight Celtics points midway through the third that extended a 13-point lead to 67-48 with 5:39 left in the period… Eighth-seeded Atlanta, which ended the NBA’s longest playoff drought with its first appearance in nine years, was led by rookie Al Horford with 20 points and 10 rebounds and Joe Johnson added 19 points… Paul Pierce scored 16 for Boston and Rajon Rondo had 15.
Apr. 20: Sixers 90, Pistons 86
The AP reports: Andre Miller scored 20 points and Willie Green had a career playoff-high 17, helping the 76ers stun Detroit 90-86 Sunday in Game 1 of their first-round series. Sixers forward Reggie Evans smiled when told the Pistons were shooting the breeze with Flip Murray during breaks in the game… Rasheed Wallace took the blame for the loss—despite having 24 points, nine rebounds and matching a franchise playoff record with seven blocks—but didn’t think blowing a big lead had anything to do with talking to Murray… Andre Iguodala Iguodala made two free throws with 7 seconds left to seal the win… Iguodala finished with a career playoff-high 16 points after a slow start, Evans had a career playoff-high 11 points and 14 rebounds and Thaddeus Young scored 10 for the Sixers in his postseason debut. Billups scored 14, Richard Hamilton had 13 points on 5-of-17 shooting, Maxiell contributed 12 points and a career playoff-high 11 rebounds and Prince added 12.