The AP reports: Up by 29 points in the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers blew most of their big lead against Detroit’s reserves and LeBron James had to go back in and restore order as Cleveland held on for a 94-82 win on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series. For three quarters, the Cavs were at their basketball best… James, showing no regard for a defensive plan Detroit spent three days preparing for him, scored 29 and Williams added 21 as the Cavaliers withstood a stirring comeback by the Pistons, who used a 27-5 run to close within seven on Antonio McDyess’ jumper with 3:51 left… Delonte West scored 20 and Zydrunas Ilgauskas 12 for the top-seeded Cavs, who led 79-50 in the first minute of the fourth and were embarrassing the Pistons. But Detroit dug down and gave Cleveland and its raucous crowd a scare the Cavs may never forget… Richard Hamilton scored 17 and Rodney Stuckey 14 for the Pistons, who are going home down 0-2 with their starters searching for positives.
Category: Games
Basketball games blog
Parker 38 points, Spurs even series against Mavs
The AP reports: Tony Parker walked off the court with 38 points, a comfortable lead and a roaring Spurs crowd cheering him back to the bench with a Game 2 victory minutes away. Unlike the first game, Dallas was unable to pester Parker and the Spurs breezed to a 105-84 blowout over the Mavericks on Monday night. It evened the series and handed Dallas one of the worst losses in the history of the playoff rivalry… Parker had 27 points in the first half and finished 16-of-22 from the floor. It was a marked difference from Game 1, when the Mavs let Parker score 24 but made him a non-factor in the second half, when he made just two field goals… Jason Terry had 16 for Dallas, and Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd had 14 points. Josh Howard scored just seven points after torching the Spurs for 25 in Game 1… Tim Duncan had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Drew Gooden had 13 for the Spurs.
Allen, Rondo help Celtics even series against Bulls
The AP reports: Ray Allen landed the final blow in a memorable duel with Ben Gordon on Monday night, shooting the Boston Celtics back into their first-round series. Allen made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2 seconds left and finished with 30 points, leading the Celtics a 118-115 win over the Chicago Bulls. Gordon nearly carried Chicago to a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. He scored with 12.3 seconds left to tie it, the final hoop of his playoff career-high 42 points. Then Boston set up a play for Allen, who took a pass from Rajon Rondo and connected from the right side. Allen scored 28 points after getting some advice from coach Doc Rivers at halftime. “Doc said going into the half, ‘Be aggressive, but let it come to you,”’ Allen said… Davis had 26 points for second-seeded Boston, passing his career high of 24 points on March 21, and Rondo had a triple-double—19 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds. Pierce added 18 points and Kendrick Perkins contributed 16 points and 12 rebounds. John Salmons had 17 points and Brad Miller scored 16 for Chicago.
Billups leads Nuggets past Hornets in Game 1
The AP reports: Chauncey Billups scored 36 points and made a career-best eight 3-pointers in leading Denver to a 113-84 rout of the New Orleans Hornets, the second-biggest blowout in the Nuggets’ playoff history. Capitalizing on their first home-court edge in a playoff series in 21 years, the Nuggets nearly bested their previous biggest margin of victory, a 141-111 wallop of San Antonio back in 1985. Billups sank four of his 3s in the third quarter, when the Nuggets began to turn a tight game into a laughter. At one point, they led by 34. Denver used a 21-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to build a 95-69 cushion, a run that was highlighted by Billups’ seventh and eighth 3s.
InsideHoops.com notes: The Nuggets shot 50.7%, the Hornets just 37.2%. Both teams were excellent from three-point range. The Nuggets rebounded well… For Denver, Carmelo Anthony shot just 4-of-12 for 13 points and 7 rebounds – a quiet night… Denver simply had more contributions from across the board. Very few Hornets stepped up.
Hawks destroy Heat 90-64 in Game 1
The AP reports: With Josh Smith delivering one rim-shaking dunk after another and plenty of teammates chipping in, the Hawks made Miami look like a one-man team, running Dwyane Wade and the Heat ragged for a 90-64 blowout in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference series Sunday night… “We can’t worry about what anyone else is doing,” Joe Johnson said. “We’ve got to control our own destiny.” For one night at least, they did just that by holding Wade to 19 points—11 below his NBA-leading average—and allowing only one other Miami player to reach double figures… The Hawks tied a franchise record for fewest points allowed in a playoff game. Wade spent much of the night on his backside or complaining to the referees, his frustration growing as the Hawks raced to a 20-point lead by halftime in the opener to the best-of-seven series.
InsideHoops.com notes: The Heat shot just 36.6%… Both teams were lousy from three-point range… The Hawks had 50 rebounds, the Heat 35. The Hawks had 23 assists, the Heat 12… All five Hawks starters scored 10 or more points, plus Zaza Pachulia had 10 with 10 rebounds off the bench… Wade had 19 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals but 8 turnovers.
Iguodala jumper helps Sixers stun Magic in game 1
The AP reports: Andre Iguodala made a 22-foot jumper with 2.2 seconds remaining, and the Sixers rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat Orlando 100-98 in Game 1 of their opening-round playoff series Sunday… Iguodala had 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and Louis Williams scored 18 to help the Sixers beat the Magic for the first time in four tries this season—and when it mattered most. Hedo Turkoglu’s fadeaway 3-pointer missed at the buzzer, and Magic fans stood in disbelief before filing out quietly… Dwight Howard had a career playoff-high 31 points and 16 rebounds, and rookie Courtney Lee scored 18 for the Magic. It was the biggest lead the Magic blew all season, topping the loss on Oct. 31 to Memphis when they were ahead by 15 points. Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night in Orlando.
InsideHoops.com notes: This game was pretty even. The Sixers were better from outside, but rebounds, assists, turnovers, steals, blocks and fouls were all extremely close… Willie Green and Sam Dalembert only played 17 minutes each… Lou Williams shot 7-of-11 for 18 points off the bench… Donyell Marshall, who many fans forgot existed, came off Philly’s bench to shoot 4-of-5, including 3-of-4 three-pointers, for 11 points in just 11 minutes.
Lakers beat Jazz 113-100 to win Game 1
The AP reports: Kobe Bryant scored 24 points, Trevor Ariza added 21 and Pau Gasol 20 as the Lakers pretty much had their way against the eighth-seeded Jazz. They led by 22 points at halftime and then answered resoundingly both times Utah got within nine in the second half… Carlos Boozer led the Jazz with 27 points and Deron Williams added 16 points and a career playoff-high 17 assists. Both were in foul trouble, with Boozer getting his third just before halftime when Williams already had two… The Jazz sorely missed Mehmet Okur, who sat out with a mild right hamstring strain. He averages 17 points and 7.5 rebounds and gives Utah a much-needed inside presence against the Lakers’ twin 7-footers, Andrew Bynum and Gasol.
InsideHoops.com notes: The Lakers shot 55.6%, the Jazz just 39.1%. And the Lakers nailed 7-of-15 three-pointers, the Jazz just 3-of-13. Bryant had 24 points and 8 assists, but 6 turnovers. Ariza shot 8-of-10 for his 21 points. Gasol shot 7-of-11 and also had 4 blocks. Boozer shot 11-of-16.
Yao has 24 points, Rockets beat Blazers 108-81
The AP reports: The 7-foot-6 Yao Ming scored nine of Houston’s first 11 points and finished with 24 in the Rockets’ 108-81 victory over the Trail Blazers on Saturday night. It was the opener of their first-round playoff series… Yao scored all of his points in the first half, and added nine rebounds. He hit all nine of his attempts from the field and all six of his free throws… Aaron Brooks added 27 points for the Rockets, who haven’t advanced out of the first round of the playoffs since 1997. Brandon Roy had 21 points for the Blazers in their first playoff appearance since the 2002-03 season. Portland embraced the young team this season, and some 10,000 fans showed up at a downtown rally earlier in the week in support of the team… Luis Scola finished with 19 points, and Artest had 17.
Mavericks beat Spurs 105-97 in Game 1
The AP reports: In a giant Game 1 road victory for the Mavericks, who hadn’t won a road playoff game or postseason series since going to the NBA finals in 2006, Josh Howard scored 25 points and Dallas stole the home-court edge in 105-97 victory Saturday night… Tim Duncan scored 27 points, and Tony Parker had 24 for the Spurs… Jason Terry scored 12 points for the Mavs, including two 3-pointers. But the NBA’s leading candidate for Sixth Man of the Year took a backseat in the fourth to Barea, whose floating runner with 5:31 left made it 93-83.
Cavaliers roll over Pistons, take Game 1
The AP reports: LeBron James banked in a stunning 3-pointer at the end of the first half and finished with 38 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as the Cavaliers embarked on their quest for a first NBA championship with a 102-84 win over the Pistons in Game 1 on Saturday… The likely MVP went 13-of-20 from the field, 11-of-14 from the line and didn’t commit a turnover. Cleveland had only five miscues, a postseason franchise record… Joe Smith scored 13 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 12 and 10 rebounds for the Cavs, who pushed the tempo in the second half and outran the aging Pistons. Rodney Stuckey scored 20 and Hamilton 15 for Detroit, which came in as a No. 8 seed and could be in for a shorter postseason run after making the Eastern Conference finals the past six years.