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Pacers beat Bulls 89-84 to avoid elimination

The AP reports:

The Pacers sent the red and black-clad swarm back home disappointed. After fourth-quarter collapses in each of the first three games, Indiana avoided elimination by holding off a furious rally to beat the Bulls 89-84 in Game 4 of the first-round Eastern Conference series on Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers not only faced superstar guard Derrick Rose and the pressure of a 3-0 deficit in the series, they dealt with an unexpected roadblock—a hostile environment on its home floor at Conseco Fieldhouse. The crowd shocked Pacers center Jeff Foster, who has played for the Pacers for his entire 12-year NBA career…

Danny Granger led the Pacers with 24 points, including four free throws in the final 14.1 seconds while being booed. He said the team remembered its earlier failures in the series…

Chicago’s Carlos Boozer missed a 3-pointer that could have tied the game in the closing seconds. The Bulls were looking to set up Luol Deng for the final shot.

“I caught the ball at the elbow and I was supposed to set a backscreen for Luol,” Joakim Noah, who led the Bulls with 21 points and 14 rebounds, said…

Rose, who averaged 32.7 points in the first three games, finished with 15 points and 10 assists. He sprained his left ankle late in the first quarter and scored eight points on 3-for-16 shooting the rest of the way.

Kobe scores 30, Lakers beat Hornets 100-86 in Game 3

The AP reports:

The New Orleans Hornets didn’t expect Pau Gasol to toss up a 3-pointer from the corner any more than the Lakers star’s growing chorus of critics expected him to make it.

Gasol stunned them all by draining the shot, then scored twice more during a key fourth-quarter surge that helped secure a 100-86 victory Friday night and put Los Angeles in control of the first-round playoff series.

“It’s funny how a shot can kind of turn the momentum around for him when he’s had a hard time making shots around the basket and in the paint—and he knocks down a 3,” said Kobe Bryant, who led the Lakers with 30 points. “That kind of got him going.” …

Andrew Bynum added 14 points and 11 rebounds. He briefly went down holding his right knee, but remained in the game after trainers examined him and then got a rest for most of the fourth quarter. Lamar Odom scored 13 points for the two-time defending champs, who took the lead for good when Ron Artest made a layup as he was fouled to make it 13-10.

Chris Paul had 22 points and eight assist for the Hornets, who managed to stay within single digits for long stretches of the game but never truly threatened to take the lead in the second half…

Landry scored 23 points for New Orleans, while Trevor Ariza had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Emeka Okafor had 15 points.

Jamal Crawford scores 23, Hawks beat Magic 88-84 in Game 3

The AP reports:

Jamal Crawford banked in the long-range shot from the top of the key with 5.7 seconds left to cap a brilliant second half, leading the Atlanta Hawks to an 88-84 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday night and a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series.

The Hawks led most of the game, but it came right down to the wire—marred by an altercation that led to the ejection of Pachulia and Jason Richardson of Orlando.

Both were thrown out with 2:22 remaining after getting into it under the basket. The teams swapped the lead four times after that near-brawl, with Al Horford putting the Hawks ahead for good with 46.6 seconds remaining…

Joe Johnson added 21 points for Atlanta, while Josh Smith had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Howard, as usual, led the way for the Magic with 21 points and 15 rebounds, but that was actually quite a letdown after he averaged 39.5 points during the first two games in Orlando…

The Magic still has not led all night until Quentin Richardson hit a pointer just over a minute into the final quarter. The Hawks, who made only 5 of 20 shots in the third, suddenly found their shooting touch and ripped off 10 straight points for a 79-71 lead with just over 6 minutes left.

Matthews scores 25 as Blazers beat Mavs 97-92 in Game 3

The AP reports:

Matthews scores 25 and Blazers beat Mavs 97-92 in Game 3

Wesley Matthews had 25 points and the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Mavericks 97-92 on Thursday night to narrow Dallas’ lead in the first-round playoff series to 2-1.

Jason Terry had 29 points coming off the bench early for the Mavericks, including five 3-pointers.

The Blazers led by as many as 13 points in the fourth quarter, but Dirk Nowitzki hit consecutive jumpers to make it 87-81 midway through the period…

Aldridge finished with 20 points for the sixth-seeded Blazers, while Brandon Roy had 16 off the bench.

Nowitzki had 25 points and nine rebounds for the third-seeded Mavs…

Portland went ahead 85-74 in the fourth after consecutive 3-pointers from Batum and Gerald Wallace.

InsideHoops.com notes: The Mavs shot 51.5%, the Blazers 48.0%. Portland nailed 8-of-14 from three-point range, while Dallas hit 9-of-22. Rebounding was even, and assists were pretty close, but the Mavs had 16 turnovers, the Blazers just nine.

Wade scores 32, Heat beat 76ers 100-94 for 3-0 series lead

The AP reports:

Dwyane Wade had 32 points and 10 rebounds, LeBron James finished with 24 points and 15 boards and the Miami Heat took a 3-0 lead in their first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers with a 100-94 victory Thursday night…

Wade delivered with a string of big baskets—he was 10 of 19 from the field overall—in the third and fourth quarters that spurred the Heat to the brink of the conference semifinals. He drew a foul on a spin move against Jrue Holiday and hit two free throws with 51.6 seconds left that about clinched the game…

Wade was 12 for 12 from the free throw line. For all the hype around the Big Three, Wade remembers he was the Biggest One in Miami. He still plays that way and the Heat needed all of his all-around excellence against the scrappy Sixers.

Chris Bosh scored 19 points for the Heat, who rallied from an early 10-point deficit to move within one win of a sweep of the Eastern Conference series…

Lou Williams missed a 3 with 43 seconds left that would have made it a one-point game. Holiday scored 20 points, Williams finished with 15 and Elton Brand had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the 76ers.

The Heat dominated again from the free-throw line, going 24 for 30 to Philadelphia’s 13 of 19…

Philadelphia’s fast start fizzled down the stretch and a team that showed amazing resiliency all season simply doesn’t have the talent to match up with the Heat.

D-Rose leads Bulls past Pacers for 3-0 lead

The AP reports:

Derrick Rose was beaten up and shaken up by Indiana’s trapping defense, which was intent on shutting him down at all costs.

The Chicago Bulls guard struggled all game long and even lost his cool at times, but he still found a way to be the difference-maker. He scored 23 points, including the go-ahead layup with 17.8 seconds left, to help the Bulls beat the Pacers 88-84 on Thursday night and take a 3-0 lead in their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series…

Danny Granger had a chance to give the Pacers the lead, but his 3-pointer was off, and Chicago’s Ronnie Brewer rebounded. Brewer was fouled, and he made two free throws with 1.1 seconds left to put the game out of reach…

Rose made up for his shooting difficulties by making 13 of 15 free throws. Chicago can close out the series on Saturday…

Luol Deng had 21 points and Korver added 12 for the Bulls.

Granger, who led the Pacers with 21 points, said the Pacers wanted something better than the contested 26-footer that bounced off the rim with 2.2 seconds remaining.

InsideHoops.com notes: It was a brick-fest (or a defensive struggle, if you prefer that), as the Bulls shot 38.9% while the Pacers hit 37.9%. But the Bulls hit an impressive 9-of-20 three-pointers, the Pacers a miserable 1-of-10. Rebounding was even, but the Bulls won the assist battle, 20-11… Pacers point guard Darren Collison was limited in his return from brief injury, scoring nine points on eight shot attempts and only creating two assists with four turnovers.

Live fan discussion of this game took place in this forum topic.

Lakers grind past Hornets, even playoff series

The AP reports:

Andrew Bynum had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Lamar Odom scored 16 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers survived poor games from their two biggest stars to even their first-round playoff series with an 87-78 victory over the New Orleans Hornets in Game 2 on Wednesday night.

Ron Artest added 15 points as the two-time defending champions rebounded from a stunning nine-point loss in the series opener with an improved defensive effort against Chris Paul, who still had 20 points and nine assists after shredding Los Angeles’ defense in Game 1.

With Odom’s outstanding performance leading strong bench play, the Lakers overcame the struggles of All-Stars Kobe Bryant, who managed just 11 points, and Pau Gasol, who had eight.

Game 3 is Friday night in New Orleans.

Trevor Ariza scored 22 points for the Hornets, who committed 16 turnovers after making just three in Game 1.

The second-seeded Lakers nursed a small lead throughout the second half largely thanks to Odom, who was in top form in his first game since winning the NBA’s Sixth Man award on Tuesday. After Bynum scored 12 points in the first half, Odom drove the Lakers’ offense down the stretch.

Ginobili returns, Spurs beat Grizzlies 93-87 in Game 2

The AP reports:

Manu Ginobili scored 17 points in the All-Star’s return after missing Game 1 with an elbow sprain, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Memphis Grizzlies 93-87 on Wednesday night to even the first-round series.

Ginobili wore a thick sleeve to protect his right elbow but played as physically reckless as usual. He stayed questionable until just before tipoff, yet even with Ginobili, the top-seeded Spurs didn’t have it easy.

Sam Young led Memphis with 17 points. The Grizzlies opened the series with a stunner for their first franchise playoff win, and 2-0 lead seemed possible in the final seconds.

Young’s 3-pointer with 14.9 seconds left made it 89-87 before George Hill sealed the win at the free throw line…

Tim Duncan had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, and Hill and Richard Jefferson added 16 apiece…

Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, who combined for 49 points in the opener, were far less dominant in Game 2. Randolph scored 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting and Gasol had 12 points, making just 2 of 9. Gasol had 17 rebounds.

Thunder rock Nuggets 106-89, take 2-0 lead

The AP reports:

Kevin Durant scored 23 points, Russell Westbrook added 21 and the Oklahoma City Thunder built a huge first-half lead on their way to a 106-89 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 on Wednesday night…

The Thunder relied heavily on their All-Star duo in Game 1, getting a combined 72 points from Durant and Westbrook. But they got contributions from everyone to build a 26-point lead early in the second quarter of a dominant victory.

Ty Lawson scored 20 points to lead Denver, which got as close as 10 in the fourth quarter before Oklahoma City put the game away.

Nene and Raymond Felton added 16 points apiece for the Nuggets…

Oklahoma City got a balanced performance, with James Harden providing 18 points and Serge Ibaka adding 12 points and 12 rebounds. Kendrick Perkins had 11 rebounds as the Thunder piled up a 41-19 edge on the boards by late in the third quarter.

The Sports Network reports:

James Harden scored 14 of his 18 points in a first half controlled by the Thunder, who went up by as many as 26 points early in the second quarter and led by double digits the rest of the way.

Ty Lawson scored 20 points, while Nene and Raymond Felton both had 16 for the Nuggets, who shot just 39 percent from the field and head back to Denver for Saturday’s Game 3 trailing the series, 2-0.

Fan discussion of this game took place as it happened in this forum topic.

Melo scores 42, but Celtics beat Knicks 96-93 in Game 2

The AP reports:

Amare Stoudemire didn’t play in the second half and Chauncey Billups didn’t play at all, and still the Boston Celtics needed more late heroics from one of their Big 3 to beat the New York Knicks in Game 2 of their first-round series.

“We were lucky to win,” coach Doc Rivers said after Boston overcame Carmelo Anthony’s 42 points in a 96-93 victory on Tuesday night.

Kevin Garnett sank the go-ahead basket with 14 seconds left then stole the ball with 4 seconds remaining as the Knicks gave the Celtics all they could handle in falling into an 0-2 hole in the series…

Billups had a strained left knee and his status for Game 3 on Friday night at Madison Square Garden is uncertain. Stoudemire had back spasms but expects to be back when the best-of-seven series resumes.

Rajon Rondo led the Celtics with a career playoff-high 30 points, 14 of them in the first quarter when he kept driving to the basket…

Anthony matched his career playoff high for points and set a new high with 17 rebounds as the Knicks held a 53-37 advantage on the boards. Toney Douglas had 14 points in place of Billups.

Paul Pierce had 20 points after missing his first five shots, and Ray Allen, who hit the game-winning 3-pointer in Boston’s 87-85 win in the opener, scored 18.