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Game 1: Kobe scores 40, Lakers wreck Suns

The AP reports:

Even with a balky knee and a litany of additional woes, Kobe Bryant still is among the most dangerous postseason scorers in NBA history—and he had no problem giving Los Angeles an early leg up in the Western Conference finals.

Bryant scored 40 points, Lamar Odom added 19 points and 19 rebounds, and the Lakers opened the series with ruthless offensive efficiency in a 128-107 victory on Monday night…

Pau Gasol had 21 points for the top-seeded Lakers, who won their seventh straight playoff game and snapped the Suns’ six-game streak with a phenomenal second half, highlighted by Bryant’s 21-point third quarter. He barely stepped on the Lakers’ practice court during the past week to rest his ailing knee, ankle, finger and back—all minor impediments to a major talent…

Amare Stoudemire scored 23 points and Steve Nash had 13 points and 13 assists for the Suns, who hadn’t lost since April 24. Robin Lopez started at center and scored 14 points in his playoff debut, but Phoenix couldn’t keep up with the champs’ height and 58-percent shooting in the Suns’ first conference finals appearance since 2006…

Bryant and Grant Hill got technical fouls for arguing with officials 57 seconds apart in the third quarter.

InsideHoops.com notes:

This was not a defensive game. The Laker shot 58%, the Suns 49.4%. The Lakers hit 8-of-17 three-pointers, the Suns just 5-of-22.

Gasol shot 10-of-13. Bryant hit 13-of-23. Odom hit 9-of-15.

Several Suns bench players tossed bricks: Channing Frye shot 1-of-8, Jared Dudley 1-of-5, Louis Amundson 1-of-4.

Celtics beat Magic 92-88 in East Conf Finals Game 1

The AP reports:

The Orlando Magic finally met their match in the playoffs.

Celtics beat Magic 92-88 in East Conf Finals Game 1

Ray Allen scored 25 points, Paul Pierce had 22 and the Boston Celtics used smothering defense to beat the Magic 92-88 on Sunday in the Eastern Conference finals opener.

Rasheed Wallace added 13 points as the Celtics built a 20-point lead, then held on late to snap Orlando’s 14-game winning streak.

Vince Carter had 23 points and Jameer Nelson finished with 20 for Orlando, which cut the lead to two in the final seconds but simply ran out of time, looking rusty after a six-day layoff. Dwight Howard was limited to 13 points and 12 rebounds, nowhere near the dominant force the Magic need to win a title…

Nelson had two quick 3-pointers and another jumper to start the third, moving the Magic within three points. Then it all unraveled.

The Celtics went on a 22-5 run later in the quarter to go ahead 65-45, and a crowd littered with blue and white T-shirts—deafening at times with noise clickers and claps—was silenced. But the Magic rallied late to cut the lead to three with 26 seconds remaining in the fourth on a dunk by Howard…

InsideHoops.com notes:

The Celtics defense was the star today. Orlando shot 41.6% and only hit 5-of-22 from three-point range. Boston only hit 44.6% of their shots, but they were stronger from outside with 6-of-14 threes.

In addition to his 22 points, Pierce had nine rebounds, five assists (but five turnovers) and two steals.

Orlando hit the offensive boards hard, grabbing 15 to Boston’s seven.

The entire Magic team had just 10 assists.

Dwight Howard shot just 3-of-10, had five blocks, but seven turnovers with two assists. He struggled.

Rasheed Wallace shot just 3-of-9 off Boston’s bench.

Kendrick Perkins only had four points and two rebounds, plus an awful five turnovers, but also delivered three steals and two blocks.

Marcin Gortat and J.J. Redick provided nice sparks for the Magic off the bench.

Read fan discussion and share your own opinion in this forum topic.

Game 6: Celtics eliminate LeBron, Cavs

The AP reports:

Kevin Garnett scored 22 points and added 12 rebounds, and Rajon Rondo had 21 points and 12 assists to beat Cleveland 94-85 in Game 6 on Thursday night and advance to the Eastern Conference finals. Boston will play the Orlando Magic, who are undefeated in the playoffs…

Despite his sixth career playoff triple-double, James is headed for another early offseason after winning a second MVP award and leading the Cavs to an NBA-best 61 wins and a home-court advantage they never got to use…

James scored 27 points with 10 assists, and his 19 rebounds matched a career-high and were the most he’s ever had in a playoff game. But he also had nine turnovers, and he may have been hobbled by an elbow injury that limited him to dunks and short jumpers, going 8 for 21 from the floor overall…

Mo Williams scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half for the Cavaliers.

Boston’s Paul Pierce scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half after playing just nine minutes—and shooting 1-for-5—in the first with foul trouble…

Antawn Jamison, acquired at the trade deadline from Washington, had just five points…

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:

The Cavs go into an off-season full of fear and loathing. At the final buzzer, James’ three-year, $42 million contract officially ended.

Attempting to shake off a wave of national criticism about his spiritless play two nights before, James ran a backdoor cut and threw down a two-handed dunk on the Cavs’ first offensive possession to attempt to set a tone. He played with that sort of vigor for the rest of the game, legs pumping, eyes darting and a desire for the ball…

When it wasn’t Garnett in the half court, it was guard Rajon Rondo in the open court. The Cavs tried half a dozen defenders on him, including James, in the series, too. None of them really worked.

It got to the point where the crowd at TD Garden would rise to its feet whenever Rondo got the ball on a fast break, just knowing he was going to do something special. He got plenty of chances in Game 6 — the Cavs turned the ball over a miserable 24 times, costing them 27 points.

The Celtics had 19 fast-break points and Rondo was in charge of them all, scoring 21 points with 12 assists to finish as the best player in the series.

To add insult to the situation, the Celtics’ bench dominated the Cavs’ bench as Tony Allen and Rasheed Wallace combined for 23 points.

The Boston Herald reports:

The Celtics’ physical approach continued to work. The Cavs, stripped of their flow, shot 38.4 percent overall from the field, 29.4 percent from 3-point range and just 70.6 percent from the line.

The Celtics were even worse from the stripe (63.6 percent), but their best work came at the other end.

“We just never got into a rhythm against this team, and they had something to do with it,” Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. “We were trying to get on the floor for loose balls and rebounds, but we just never had a rhythm for the game.

“We made runs, and we even took the lead a couple of times. But it was hard to find the rhythm. They’ve always been a great defensive team. The regular season is a lot different from the postseason. We knew they would be a different team.”

Game 5: Celtics shock Cavs with 32-point win

The AP reports:

Ray Allen scored 25 points, Rajon Rondo scored all of his 16 in the second half and the Celtics, once thought too old to challenge for another title, beat James and the Cavs 120-88 in Game 5 on Tuesday night to move within one win of knocking the league’s top team from the playoffs.

Paul Pierce added 21 and Kevin Garnett 18 for the Celtics, who handed the Cavs their worst home playoff loss in history and can end Cleveland’s season with a win in Game 6 on Thursday night…

LeBron James, on the verge of an expected trip into free agency on July 1, had an atrocious game. He scored 15 points on 3-of-14 shooting, a startling outing for the 25-year-old who has been playing with a sprained elbow. He refused to use his injury as an excuse…

Rondo, coming off a 29-point, 18-rebound, 13-assist performance in Game 4, was held without a point in the first half as the Cavs concentrated their defense on stopping the point guard from penetrating into the paint. He finally got loose in the third, scoring 12 as the Celtics opened a 21-point lead…

James missed his first seven shots before he got loose on a leak-out dunk with 6:15 left in the third.

The Cavs led 29-21 when, with Rondo on the bench, Boston’s Big Three of Allen, Garnett and Pierce did all the scoring in a 16-0 run that put the Celtics ahead by eight.

George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal reports:

The Cavs trailed just 50-44 at halftime, but that changed at the onset of the third quarter. Allen came out and made two consecutive 3-point shots to quickly double the lead to 12 points.

With Allen heating up, Brown sent guard Anthony Parker out on him and put Mo Williams back on Rondo. Rondo went directly at Williams to the tune of eight quick points before Brown called a timeout. After the timeout, Williams disappeared for the remainder of the third quarter, along with the Cavs’ hopes for winning the game.

”We have to do a better job with our team defense,” Brown said. ”Mo had gotten beaten a couple times, but there were a couple of times when we didn’t play the right defense behind him.”

The blame is not solely on Williams; there’s plenty to go around. After Tuesday’s game, there has to be a question about James’ health. After enduring a miserable Game 4, if he were true to form, he would return to inflict damage on the Celtics in Game 5. That wasn’t the case.

Game 4: Lakers eliminate Jazz

The AP reports:

The Lakers stormed out to a 22-point lead in the first half, then withstood a brief surge by Utah in the third quarter before regaining control in the fourth and winning 111-96 on Monday night, sweeping the second-round series and advancing to the Western Conference finals for the third straight year.

“With close-out games, you have a tendency to lose focus,” said Kobe Bryant, who scored 32 for the Lakers. “We kept our concentration and paid attention to detail.”

Pau Gasol added 33 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who are off until hosting the Phoenix Suns next Monday in Game 1 of the West finals…

“We’re a playoff team and they’re a championship team. They’re just better than we are,” said Deron Williams, who had 21 points and nine assists for the Jazz…

Carlos Boozer had 10 points and 14 rebounds, and Kyrylo Fesenko added 12 rebounds for Utah, which was swept for the first time in 21 years.

Game 4: Magic eliminate Hawks

The AP reports:

Vince Carter scored 22 points to lead another dominating performance by the Magic, which finished off its second straight playoff sweep with a 98-84 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night.

Orlando won the four games by an average of 25.3 points—a total blowout that no one could have expected in a matchup between the teams that finished second and third in the Eastern Conference. It was the most lopsided four-game sweep in NBA playoff history, according to STATS LLC…

“We would have to be playing at our absolute, absolute best—like, mistake free—to beat that team,” said Jamal Crawford, who led Atlanta with 18 points…

Atlanta held Dwight Howard to 13 points and eight rebounds, but the Magic had plenty of other options…

Jameer Nelson was unstoppable, baffling the Hawks with his now-you-see-him, now-you-don’t quickness. He finished with 16 points and nine assists. Rashard Lewis scored 17 points, knocking down four 3-pointers. Mickael Pietrus scored 12 points—all of them from beyond the arc.

As a team, Orlando was 16 of 37 from 3-point range, taking more long-range shots than two-pointers (28). Overall, the Magic shot 55 percent from the field and never trailed during either game in Atlanta…

Hawks star Joe Johnson finished off a miserable series by scoring only 14 points on 5-for-15 shooting.

Game 4: Amare scores 29, Suns sweep Spurs

The AP reports:

Game 4: Stoudemire scores 29, Suns sweep Spurs

Steve Nash scored 20 points and played with a right eye that was swollen shut as Phoenix swept San Antonio from the Western Conference semifinals with a 107-101 win Sunday night. Amare Stoudemire led the way with 29 points to help the Suns get past the Spurs in the playoffs for the first time in five tries.

“That was ugly,” Suns forward Channing Frye said walking off the court.

Kind of like Nash’s black-and-blue, stitched-up eye.

But it didn’t bother Nash, who scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to help smother a rally by the Spurs. Nash was accidentally struck by one of Tim Duncan’s elbows in the third quarter and briefly went to the locker room. He came back with an ice pack on his eye when he finally returned to the court…

Tony Parker scored 22 points to lead the Spurs, who were swept out of the playoffs for the first time since 2001. George Hill had 17 points, and was fouled while hitting a 3-pointer with 26.5 seconds left that gave the Spurs a flicker of hope.

InsideHoops.com notes:

The Suns got a huge boost from Jared Dudley, who came off the bench to shoot 6-of-7, including 3-of-3 three-pointers, for 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals in 31 minutes.

Grant Hill was a role player, putting up just four points and few measurable stats in 35 minutes.

Leandro Barbosa shot just 2-for-10, for seven points.

Goran Dragic received just 11 minutes, scoring six on six shots, with three assists.

For the Spurs, Manu Ginobili had a great game aside from miserable shooting, hitting just 2-of-11 shots (but with 10-of-12 free throws) for 15 points, six rebounds, nine assists and five steals.

Tony Parker scored 22, but needed 19 shots to do it.

Tim Duncan had 17 points (on 14 shots), eight rebounds, two steals and three blocks.

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

Game 4: Rondo unleashes monster triple-double, Celtics beat Cavaliers

The AP reports:

The Boston point guard [Rajon Rondo] had 29 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists, and the Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 97-87 on Sunday to even the Eastern Conference semifinal series at two games apiece…

Rondo became the third player in playoff history to have at least 29 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Oscar Robertson had 32 points, 19 rebounds and 13 assists in 1963, and Wilt Chamberlain had 29 points, 36 rebounds and 13 assists in 1967.

Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett scored 18 apiece for the Celtics, who rebounded from the worst home playoff loss in franchise history and ensured they’ll get at least one more game at home…

LeBron James scored 22 points—only one more than he had in the first quarter of Game 3—and seemed frustrated during a seven-turnover performance. Shaquille O’Neal added 17 points, his high for this postseason, but was on the bench when the Celtics blew by the Cavaliers in the fourth quarter.

InsideHoops.com notes:

Tony Allen had a monster game for Boston off the bench, shooting 6-of-7 for 15 points and five rebounds in almost 26 minutes.

Paul Pierce continued his struggles in this series, shooting 3-of-8 for nine points and little else. He’s looked lost.

Both teams were miserable from three-point range: Cavs 4-of-21, Celtics 1-of-14.

Delonte West came off the Cavs bench to shoot 0-of-7 for three points in 20 minutes.

While Rondo was a hero for Boston, Cleveland’s point guard, Mo Williams, shot 3-of-9 for 13 points and not too much else.

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

Game 3: Kobe scores 35, Lakers edge Jazz 111-110

The AP reports:

Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher hit back-to-back 3-pointers during an 8-2 run in the final minute and the Lakers held on for a 111-110 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night that put Los Angeles on the verge of sweeping the Western Conference playoff series.

The Jazz had two chances to win it in the final 4 seconds, but Deron Williams missed from the top of the key and Wesley Matthews’ tip just before the buzzer bounced off the rim.

Bryant finished with 35 points and Fisher scored 20 for the Lakers, who can close out the four-game sweep with a win Monday night in Game 4. Pau Gasol added 14 points and 17 rebounds for Los Angeles.

Williams scored 28 and Kyle Korver added a career playoff-high 23 points for the Jazz.

Ron Artest scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half for the Lakers, who never led by more than four but stayed close enough to win it in a thrilling final minute.

InsideHoops.com notes:

Artest finally remembered how to make three-pointers, hitting 4-for-7. Also, Bryant and Fisher each hit 3-of-7 from outside the arc.

Lakers center Andrew Bynum did almost nothing in 20 minutes of play, with no points and four rebounds.

The Lakers bench was lousy, with Lamar Odom shooting 2-of-6, Jordan Farmar 2-of-6, and Shannon Brown 4-of-12. Odom did grab eight rebounds.

For the Jazz, Wes Matthews hit just 2-of-11 shots, for nine points.

Offensively, the Jazz bench was terrific. Kyle Korver hit 9-of-10 shots, including 5-of-5 threes for 23 points in just under 24 minutes. Paul Millsap hit 3-of-6. In his return to action, Andrei Kirilenko hit 4-of-7 for eight points and six rebounds in 17 minutes.

Both teams had similar shooting, rebounding and assists stats. But the Jazz had 31 free throw attempts, hitting 26, while the Lakers had just 19 free throws, making 16.

Live fan discussion of the game was in this forum topic.

Game 3: Magic destroy Hawks 105-75

The AP reports:

Rashard Lewis scored 22 points and the backups helped Orlando pull away early with Howard on the bench as the Magic romped to another playoff blowout, moving to the brink of their second straight sweep with a 105-75 victory over the Hawks on Saturday.

Howard had 21 points and 16 rebounds but was hardly dominating. No problem for the Magic, who have so many complements to Superman and allowed many of them to shine in Orlando’s seventh straight postseason victory and 13th straight win overall.

Lewis knocked down four 3-pointers. Jameer Nelson scored 14 points. Mickael Pietrus chipped in with 13, hitting three shots from outside the arc. Marcin Gortat, Howard’s backup, grabbed six rebounds in less than 10 minutes. All 10 Orlando players who got on the court made it to the scoresheet…

The Hawks shot only 35 percent (29 of 83), and their best player was the biggest culprit. Joe Johnson made only 3 of 15 attempts to finish with eight points. Jamal Crawford led the Hawks with 22 points.

Fans discussed the game live as it happened in this forum topic.