The AP reports: Pau Gasol established career playoff highs with 36 points and eight assists, and he also had 16 rebounds and three blocked shots Sunday as the Los Angeles Lakers took command in the third quarter and beat the Denver Nuggets 128-114… Kobe Bryant, who said he made himself a decoy through most of the game, scored 18 of his 32 points in the final 8 minutes to keep Los Angeles safely ahead. Lamar Odom had 17 points, 14 rebounds and six assists and Luke Walton added 16 points for the Lakers, who entered having won eight of their last nine regular-season games to earn the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference… Carmelo Anthony had 30 points and 12 rebounds for the eighth-seeded Nuggets. Allen Iverson also had 30 points before picking up two technical fouls with 2:10 remaining, calling for immediate ejection. Linas Kleiza scored a career playoff high 23 points and J.R. Smith added 15 before fouling out with 3:14 left.
Category: Games
Basketball games blog
Apr. 20: Magic 114, Raptors 100
The AP reports: Dwight Howard was in high school the last time the Orlando Magic won a playoff game. On Sunday afternoon, he made sure Orlando didn’t have to wait any longer. Howard had 25 points and 22 rebounds and blocked five shots, and the Magic defeated the Toronto Raptors 114-100 in the opener of their first-round series. Jameer Nelson added 24 points for Orlando… Anthony Parker had 24 points and 8 rebounds for Toronto, Chris Bosh scored 21 and Rasho Nesterovic had 16 points and 8 rebounds. Jason Kapono scored 18 off the bench. The Raptors, who trailed by 20 points after the first quarter, drew within five with 10:24 left in the fourth on two quick 3-pointers by Kapono and a Parker jumper. But Toronto went scoreless for the next 3:16 as Orlando pulled away.
Apr. 19: Jazz 93, Rockets 82
The AP reports: The Utah Jazz failed to secure home-court advantage for their playoff series with Houston. Maybe they won’t need it after all. Andrei Kirilenko scored 21 points, Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 16 rebounds and the Jazz beat the Rockets 93-82 to take a 1-0 series lead Saturday night. Deron Williams had 20 points and 10 assists as Utah, 17-24 on the road during the regular season, won its second straight playoff game in Houston. The last victory came in Game 7 last season, and that was when Houston had Yao Ming… Kirilenko hit 8 of 12 shots and Utah’s reserves also contributed, outscoring Houston’s reserves 28-17… Shane Battier scored 22 and Tracy McGrady had 20 points for Houston, which shot 37 percent (29 of 79). The Rockets are also playing without starting point guard Rafer Alston, who strained his right hamstring late in the season. His backup, Bobby Jackson, scored seven points on 3-for-15 shooting.
Apr. 19: Hornets 104, Mavs 92
The AP reports: Chris Paul had 35 points, 10 assists and four steals in his first playoff game Saturday night, lifting New Orleans to a 104-92 come-from-behind victory over Dallas in Game 1 of their first-round series… David West scored 23 points against Dallas. Tyson Chandler had 10 points and 15 rebounds to help New Orleans not only storm back but win going away. Dirk Nowitzki had his way with New Orleans early and finished with 31 points, but scored only four during Dallas’ fourth-quarter collapse. Josh Howard added 17 points for the Mavericks, who were in the finals two years ago… Jason Kidd, the All-Star point guard the Mavericks were hoping would be the missing piece to a championship run when they traded for him midseason, finished with 11 points and nine assists… The Hornets also got 14 points from Peja Stojakovic, one of their few grizzled playoff vets, who hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final period to help squelch any notion of a Dallas comeback.
Apr. 19: Spurs 117, Suns 115 2OT
The AP reports: Tim Duncan’s first 3 of the season with just ticks left sent his team into double overtime against the revenge-minded Phoenix Suns. Then it was Manu Ginobili’s turn, and his layup with 1.8 seconds left pushed the defending champions past the Suns 117-115 Saturday in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series… Tony Parker added 26 points for the Spurs and Manu Ginobili had 24… Amare Stoudemire, who fouled out with 12 seconds left in the first overtime, led the Suns with 33 points. Shaquille O’Neal scored 11 points… Mike Finley had 13 points for San Antonio, and Kurt Thomas, who played for the Suns last season, grabbed 10 rebounds… “We had the game won a few times and just weren’t tough enough or disciplined enough to make every single play when it counted,” said Steve Nash, who had 25 points and 13 assists.
Apr. 19: Cavs 93, Wizards 86
The AP reports: Bumped and banged by the Wizards on every drive, LeBron James scored 32 points, making two tough shots in traffic down the stretch as the Cleveland Cavaliers opened the NBA playoffs with an intense 93-86 win over Washington on Saturday… Resting a bothersome back, James sat out the early part of the fourth quarter… Following a miss by Gilbert Arenas, who led the Wizards with 24 points, James powered past Stevenson and dropped a floater with 55 seconds left in the game—and one tick to spare on the 24-second shot clock… Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 22 points and 11 rebounds and Delonte West finished with 16 points for the Cavaliers, who, unlike the Wizards, stayed quiet in the weeks leading up to the series.
Apr. 16: Sonics 126, Warriors 121
The AP reports: Kevin Durant set career highs with 42 points and 13 rebounds in his first professional double-double, and Jeff Green added 27 points to help the SuperSonics win what could have been their final game as a Seattle team, beating the Golden State Warriors 126-121 on Wednesday night. A strong season-ending performance by a pair of talented rookies would normally be a bright spot for fans of a lottery-bound team. But with the NBA Board of Governors set to vote later this week to approve the Sonics’ move to Oklahoma City after 41 years in the Emerald City, it’s unclear which fans will benefit… Baron Davis scored 21 points in 39 minutes after mysteriously being benched for the second half of Monday’s loss in Phoenix. Monta Ellis led the way with 24 points, Andris Biedrins had 20 points and 17 rebounds and rookie Marco Belinelli had a career-high 17 points.
Apr. 16: Suns 100, Blazers 91
The AP reports: Little-used Sean Marks had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Phoenix beat the Portland Trail Blazers 100-91 on Wednesday night in a game that ended up having no bearing on the Suns’ playoff seeding… The Spurs led Utah by 26 at halftime, and it wasn’t long before D’Antoni sent in reserves D.J. Strawberry, followed by Marks, Alando Tucker and Eric Piatkowski. Marks’ 16 points matched a career high and his 13 rebounds set a career high. Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Shaquille O’Neal didn’t play after halftime. Stoudemire finished with 12 points in 18 minutes, snapping his streak of consecutive 20-point games at 18 games, the third-longest in franchise history… Travis Outlaw scored 24 points and had 12 rebounds for Portland, which finished 41-41 and missed a chance for its first winning record since 2002-03.
Apr. 16: Spurs 109, Jazz 80
The AP reports: The San Antonio Spurs wrapped up the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs in dominant fashion, routing the Utah Jazz 109-80 on Wednesday night. The Spurs will face the sixth-seeded Phoenix Suns in the first round. The Jazz will take on the Houston Rockets… Tony Parker had 24 points and 12 assists for San Antonio in the easy win. Tim Duncan added 14 points and 11 rebounds, and four other Spurs scored in double digits. C.J. Miles led the Jazz with 12 points. Mehmet Okur scored 11 and Carlos Boozer had 10 rebounds… Utah guard Deron Williams, who shot 2-of-6 from the field in the first half, didn’t play in the second half. He bruised his tailbone Saturday against Denver.
Apr. 16: Nuggets 120, Grizzlies 111
The AP reports: Carmelo Anthony scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds in his first game since getting arrested on a drunken driving charge, and the Denver Nuggets reached 50 wins for the first time in 20 years with a 120-111 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night… Denver’s starters all watched the fourth quarter from the bench after taking a 99-84 lead with unusually deep rotations. Allen Iverson led Denver with 21 points. Kenyon Martin logged the most minutes among the starters, collecting 11 points and 10 rebounds in 24 minutes… Kyle Lowry led the Grizzlies’ starters with 22 points, and Hakim Warrick added 19. Reserve Andre Brown also scored 19.