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The 2006 NBA Playoffs
Topic Started: Apr 23 2006, 12:40 PM (2,693 Views)
Tealey
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The NBA Playoffs 2006

As a welcome break from my Boston Celtics thread, I'm doing this thread separately about this season's playoffs. The following teams have qualified:

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Detroit
Milwaukee
Cleveland
Washington
New Jersey
Indiana
Miami
Chicago

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San Antonio
Sacramento
Dallas
Memphis
Denver
LA Clippers
Phoenix
LA Lakers

A Brief History of the Playoffs

In the first season, 1946-1947, of the NBA (called the BAA until the merger with the NBL in 1949) the top three teams from the Eastern and Western divisions were invited to the playoffs. The two division champions played a Semifinal best-of-seven series for entry into the finals. The other four teams played two rounds of best-of-three playoffs to face the winner of the Semifinal match. That year, the Philadelphia Warriors defeated the Chicago Stags 4 games to 1 in the first ever BAA Championship.

In the 1949 playoffs, an additional team from each Division was added, eliminating the byes, and two rounds of best-of-three series were played, followed by a best-of-seven championship. In 1950 the Minneapolis Lakers became the first official NBA Champions, knocking off the Syracuse Nationals in 6 games.

The 1951 through 1953 playoffs changed the Division Finals into a best-of-five playoff. In 1954, the year the Indianapolis Olympians folded, the NBA Playoffs used a Round Robin for the first and only time in its history. Then, from 1955 to 1966 year, the league returned to the original 6-team format, expanding the Division Finals to a best-of-seven in 1958 and the Semifinals to a best-of-five in 1961.

In 1967 the field was again expanded to 8 teams, filling out the three-round bracket. A year later, the Division Semifinals were changed to best-of-seven playoff. Then, in 1975 and 1977, respectively, a fifth and sixth team were added to each Division, necessitating an additional First Round of best-of-three series.

Finally in 1984, the tournament expanded to its present 16-team format and the now-complete First Round was changed to a best-of-five playoff. In 2003 the first round was changed to be best-of-seven also.

Beginning with the 2004-2005 season, with the addition of the 30th NBA franchise, the Charlotte Bobcats, the NBA realigned its divisions. The result was each conference now has three divisions of five teams each, and the winner of each division is guaranteed a top-three playoff seed, regardless of whether the team had one of the top eight records in its conference. However, the division champion is not guaranteed home-court advantage; a division-leading team with a poor record could be ranked number three but face a sixth seed with a better record, which would then have the home-court advantage.
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Round 1 - Game 1

Last night various teams played in the first game of the first round. The fixtures were:

San Antonio versus Sacramento
Miami versus Chicago
Denver versus LA Clippers
Cleveland versus Washington

San Antonio versus Sacramento

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"nba.com"
 
SAN ANTONIO, April 22 (Ticker) -- In their postseason opener, the San Antonio Spurs looked very familiar. Unfortunately, so did the Sacramento Kings.

Sparked by Tony Parker, the Spurs began defense of their NBA title with a resounding 122-88 victory over the Kings in the opener of their Western Conference first-round series.

Seeking their fourth title in eight years, the top-seeded Spurs appeared thoroughly prepared for a run at repeating as champions. They were unrelenting against the eighth-seeded Kings, who reverted to their defenseless approach prior to the arrival of Ron Artest.

"I hate losing, so I'm (upset)," said guard Mike Bibby, one of Sacramento's few bright spots with 17 points. "I don't know anyone who likes to lose, but to be embarrassed like that on national television hurts even more. I know we're better than how we played tonight."

Parker scored 23 of his 25 points in the first half, when the Spurs shot a searing 68 percent (26-of-38) from the field and tallied a season-high 73 points, turning the second half into garbage time.

"This is the playoffs and everybody is motivated," Parker said. "In 2004, when we were defending the title, we got experience from that. I think everybody is ready. We're not going to shoot like that every night. It's just one of those things."

Nazr Mohammed added 18 points for the Spurs, who had seven players in double figures, led by as many as 37 points and finished at 57.5 percent (42-of-73). They already are ahead of their postseason pace of last year, when they lost Game One at home to Denver.

"We made shots tonight," Mohammed said. "We didn't expect such a large margin against them. We need to come ready for the next game and be ready to grind it out."

Since the acquisition of Artest on Jan. 26, Sacramento had discovered defense, going 26-14 while allowing just 94.3 points per game. Artest went so far as to boldly predict that the Kings would win the championship.

However, that defense disappeared as Parker penetrated at will, scoring and setting up teammates. He scored 16 points in the first quarter as San Antonio sped to a 32-24 lead.

"It all starts with defense," said Bibby, who was trying to defend Parker. "When we play good defensively, we get into a groove and things start working for us on the offensive end. We didn't do either one tonight."

"We were fortunate to start the game making a lot of shots," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We were able to jump on them. Obviously that's not going to happen often. We were able to take advantage tonight and it worked out for us."

The onslaught began in the second quarter, when the Spurs scored 41 points and built the lead to 73-39 at halftime. Robert Horry scored five points in an 8-0 spurt that opened the period, Nick Van Exel had nine in a 14-0 burst midway through and Parker tallied seven in a 12-4 run that closed the quarter.

"Nick has proven he can hit big shots," Parker said. "He will hopefully continue to get open and hit threes. Our bench is great. Robert Horry made big shots as did Brent (Barry) and Michael (Finley)."

"They proved why they are the NBA champions," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "In the first quarter, we made a lot of mental mistakes. In the second quarter, they shot the ball so well and it just snowballed from there. We got impatient on offense and that played into their hands. ... In the first half they picked us apart."

The Kings got no closer than 24 points in the second half and suffered the worst playoff loss in team history, eclipsing a 30-point setback to Utah in 1999. They will try again here Tuesday night.

"It was tough," Bibby said. "They weren't missing too many shots tonight. And when they did, they were getting to the offensive rebounds on those. It's a new game on Tuesday, though, so all of this is out the door."

"Game Two is going to be different," Parker said. We have to sustain our defense." Parker said

Van Exel and Tim Duncan scored 11 points apiece for the Spurs, who played no one more than 25 minutes. They held a 51-32 advantage in rebounds.

"It started from horn to horn," Duncan said. "We shot the ball well. We moved the ball well. Our defense was solid."

Artest scored 16 points for the Kings, who shot 39 percent (33-of-84). He took an elbow to the mouth from Spurs guard Manu Ginobili and did not speak to reporters after the game.


Final Score

San Antonio: 122--------------Sacramento: 88


Washington versus Cleveland

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"nba.com"
 
CLEVELAND, April 22 (Ticker) -- In his first playoff game, LeBron James displayed much more verve than nerves.

James scored 32 points and notched a triple-double and the Cleveland Cavaliers shut down the high-scoring trio of the Washington Wizards for a 97-86 victory in Game One of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Donyell Marshall scored an efficient 19 points for fourth-seeded Cleveland, which dominated every facet of the game and looked nothing like a team playing its first postseason contest in eight years.

It was James who led the Cavaliers to the playoffs and the 21-year-old wunderkind did not disappoint anyone in his debut on the postseason stage. He overcame some early anxiety and gave Cleveland control with a spectacular surge late in the first quarter.

In all, James made 12-of-27 shots and collected 11 assists and 11 rebounds. He played all but three-tenths of a second and heard chants of "MVP!" throughout the game.

"It's a God-given talent," James said. "I don't know how the boxscore will end up at the end of the game. I just try to go out there and play hard and play my game."

"I had no idea that (James) had a triple-double," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "He never ceases to amaze me. The things that he does offensively just blow you away."

James became the third player in NBA history to register a triple-double in his playoff debut, joining Johnny McCarthy (1960) and Magic Johnson (1980).

While James had no jitters, the fifth-seeded Wizards looked wide-eyed. They did very little right as Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler - the highest-scoring trio in the NBA - were neutralized.

Averaging better than 67 points during the season, the trio was limited to 21 points on 8-of-33 shooting through three quarters before padding their numbers in the final period.

"I thought our guys did a solid job of making the paint look crowded," Brown said. "And when they did kick the ball to their shooters, I thought we tried to contest."

"We didn't want them to get in a comfort zone," James added.

A three-point play by Arenas gave Washington an 18-18 tie before James took over. In just two minutes, he made a 3-pointer, a three-point play and three free throws before finding Marshall for a 3-pointer and a 30-18 lead.

"It was 18-18 and you just want to close the quarter the right way," James said. "I was able to get in the seams and attack and hit some jumpers, and I'm always looking for Donyell."

The Cavaliers led by double digits for all but 77 seconds thereafter as the Wizards could not find a rhythm. Washington shot less than 41 percent (29-of-71), including 3-of-22 from the arc, and missed 11 free throws.

James got some help from Eric Snow, who knocked down a handful of jumpers and scored 14 points, and Marshall, who scored 11 points in the fourth quarter to help maintain the lead.

"I thought we did a decent job (of defending James) early, four minutes I guess, and then he started breaking us down and making shots," Washington coach Eddie Jordan said. "Then we tried to double-team those pick and rolls and he started finding people."

"We said we would keep (James) off his right hand. He went right all night," Arenas said. "That is why he had a triple-double against us."

Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Flip Murray scored 10 points each for the Cavs, who shot 44 percent (38-of-87), held a 52-36 rebounding advantage and committed just 10 turnovers. Game Two is here Tuesday.

"It felt great - the energy, the crowd," said Ilgauskas, a rookie when the Cavaliers made their last playoff appearance in 1998. "You don't know how much you missed it."

"(Washington) didn't come out and play as well as they are capable of playing," Marshall said. "I expect them to come back in Game Two and play a lot better than they did tonight."

Arenas scored 17 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter but made just 7-of-20 shots and fouled out. Jamison and Butler each scored five of their 11 points in the final period.

"That was certainly playoff basketball by the Cavaliers and it wasn't playoff basketball by the Wizards," Jordan said. "I thought we tried to make a run, but you don't make a run if they score, if you don't get stops."

Jared Jeffries scored 15 points and Antonio Daniels added 14 for Washington, which reached the conference semifinals a year ago.

"Coach probably thought I wasn't giving it out there," Arenas said. "I tried to come out in the fourth quarter strong. The first three quarters I tried to get everybody involved and help. I wasn't aggressive enough."


Final Score

Washington: 86-----------Cleveland: 97


Chicago versus Miami

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"nba.com"
 
MIAMI, April 22 (Ticker) -- After Udonis Haslem was tossed for tossing his mouthpiece, Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal let their play do the talking.

Wade scored 14 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and O'Neal had 27 points and 16 rebounds as the Heat recovered for a 111-106 victory over the scrappy Chicago Bulls in Game One of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Jason Williams scored 17 points for the second-seeded Heat, who shot 63 percent (24-of-38) from the field in the first half but had to scramble in the fourth quarter to turn back a rally by the seventh-seeded Bulls.

"You're going to see that kind of series," said Heat coach Pat Riley, who was coaching in the postseason for the first time in five years. "I thought we did a great job at the end of finally closing down and forcing some misses."

"I felt like we should have stole that game. We were right there," Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich said. "I see it more as a missed opportunity."

The series opener became a battle of attrition, as the Heat lost Haslem to an ejection in the second quarter and Wade to cramps in the final minute. Meanwhile, the Bulls saw Hinrich and center Tyson Chandler foul out.

With 4:11 left in the second quarter, Haslem beat a trio of Bulls to a loose ball but lost his balance beneath the basket. He threw away a pass as he fell to the floor and - upset that a foul had not been called - fired his mouthpiece across the court in the direction of veteran referee Joey Crawford.

Crawford interrupted a potential fast break to whistle Haslem for a technical foul and eject the power forward, who now faces a possible league suspension for Game 2 on Monday. A contrite Haslem apologized afterward.

"I got a little frustrated and threw my mouthpiece at the ground," Haslem said. "Looking at it on TV, I can see how Joey would think I was throwing it at him, but I have a tremendous amount of respect for the officials. We do not always agree, but I would never physically approach an official or throw something at an official. ... My intentions were not for the mouthpiece to bounce in Joey's direction."

"I know U.D. and he doesn't do things like that on purpose," O'Neal said. "He's a class guy and everybody in this locker room knows that. He acted on impulse and that's the end of it."

Sparked by an incited crowd, the Heat closed the first half with a 20-11 surge fueled by seven points from Wade, turning a three-point lead into a 63-51 halftime bulge.

"That second quarter hurt us when we gave up 11 layups and they were shooting 63 percent at halftime," Bulls guard Chris Duhon said. "Our transition D hurt us."

As they have all season, the Bulls continued to battle. They closed to 87-82 after three quarters and began the final period by taking their first lead with a 9-0 run featuring seven points from Ben Gordon, who scored 35.

Relatively quiet on offense to that point, Wade came alive with six straight points to reclaim the lead for good for the Heat. O'Neal had a follow dunk for a 95-91 edge with 6:31 to go.

"I had to pick my spots more than anything and get my teammates involved," said Wade, who also had 11 assists. "Then, like Shaq and I always say, the fourth quarter is my time and I tried to step up."

"They're an attacking team," Riley said. "They do a great job with the energy. If you make a mistake and turn it over, they're going to come right back at you. For the most part we found a way - or Dwyane found a way - to break through. With 11 assists, he created more opportunity for everyone else."

A pair of drives by Wade inched the margin to 104-99 before Chicago's Andres Nocioni drained a 3-pointer with 2:36 remaining. But that was the game's last basket.

After Wade's two free throws made it 107-104 with 1:49 to play, the teams traded empty possessions until Nocioni missed a potential tying 3-pointer that was rebounded by Wade, who sank two more from the line to seal it with 14 seconds left.

"He's a great player," Gordon said. "He is one of the top five scorers in the league. When guys are struggling they always find a way to get loose and get their shots. He got to the free throw line a lot and that's what great players do."

Antoine Walker and James Posey scored 10 points each for the Heat, who finished at 48 percent (37-of-77) and enjoyed a huge advantage at the line. Miami made 32-of-39 free throws while Chicago sank 13-of-17.

Hinrich had 19 points and eight assists and Nocioni added 18 and 16 rebounds for the Bulls, who stayed in it by making 13-of-26 3-pointers. Gordon drained five, Hinrich three and Nocioni and Chris Duhon two apiece.

O'Neal was very active throughout, making 11-of-16 shots and adding five blocks. He was a big part of Miami's quick start and was a factor at the finish as well.

"Pat wanted me to be aggressive offensively," he said. "I wanted to be aggressive. I was feeling loose and confident after those days off and I was ready to have a big game."

O'Neal, who won three championships with the Lakers, entered the game with 171 games of playoff experience compared with 111 combined by the young Bulls.

"Shaquille is a load down there," Chandler said. "It is tough fighting him down there. Every second you are out there guarding him is exhausting. He is one of the greatest players ever and he was on tonight."

The Heat beat the Bulls in the playoffs for just the second time in 12 meetings. Most of those came during Michael Jordan's days in Chicago.

Riley notched his 156th career postseason win and trails just Phil Jackson on the all-time list. Jackson, who has 175 playoff victories, coaches the Los Angeles Lakers at Phoenix on Sunday.


Final Score

Miami: 111--------------Chicago: 106


Denver versus LA Clippers

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"nba.com"
 
LOS ANGELES, April 22 (Ticker) -- The Los Angeles Clippers hoped Sam Cassell would take them to the playoffs. With more efforts like Saturday's, he may carry them much further.

Cassell had 19 points and seven assists against no turnovers and Elton Brand added 21 points and a big block down the stretch as the Clippers marked their first playoff game in nine years with an 89-87 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game One of their Western Conference first-round series.

"I've been leading the whole year," said Cassell, who was acquired in a trade with Minnesota this offseason and was playing in his 104th postseason contest.

Brand was happy to get a win in his first playoff game, but upset with the way his team nearly faltered down the stretch.

"It's great to win but still a little disappointed because we let that big lead slip away," said Brand, referring to a blown 16-point third-quarter cushion. "But it's a learning experience."

The Clippers assumed control in the third period when Cuttino Mobley hit back-to-back 3-pointers in a span of 23 seconds for a 74-58 lead with 4:01 left. Cassell buried a 17-footer moments later but Los Angeles would not record a field goal for the next 6:32.

The Nuggets used the stretch to get within 76-72 on Earl Boykins' runner with 9:06 remaining in the game, but Cassell, who sat for the bulk of the Clipper's drought, returned and hit a 3-pointer that pushed the margin to seven points.

"Sam's leadership meant a lot," Brand said. "It's just great to know you have somebody out there with the type of poise, that kind of mindset, someone who's been there, someone who can lead from the point spot like that.

"'Big Game Sam' hit a lot of big shots for us also."

Los Angeles eventually rebuilt its lead to 10 at 87-77 on Chris Kaman's three-point play with 4:09 left before Denver used a 10-0 run to tie it. Andre Miller scored inside and then finished a fast break with a layup to knot the score with 67 seconds left.

"It's never good to blow a 10-point lead, but we're getting on-the-job experience " Cassell said. "Tomorrow in practice we're going to look at the tape and find out how the game got so close. They outhustled us. They made big-time basketball plays. That's something we have to understand."

Vladimir Radmanovic made a pair of free throws on the other end to finish the scoring and Carmelo Anthony - who missed all eight shots he took in the fourth quarter - had a drive blocked by Brand with 45 ticks remaining and failed on a pair of attempts in the final four seconds as the Clippers survived.

"Carmelo Anthony is the focal point of their offense," Brand said. "He was just coming down the lane, and I thought 'OK, I have my man, Kenyon Martin, who had scored a few buckets too, but more important I had to stop the ball.' I just wanted to attack the ball. I just wanted to go for the ball and contest the shot."

"That block was huge but that's what Elton's been doing all year," Cassell said. "That's nothing new."

Radmanovic's offensive foul gave the Nuggets another chance, but Anthony failed on a pair of attempts, including a potential game-tying jumper from the left corner at the buzzer while surrounded by three defenders.

"The last shots I remember were the last two at the end of the game," Anthony said. "On the last shot I didn't get a good look. When it was four seconds left and coach (George Karl) was drawing up the play, I said to myself, 'There's no way they're going to let me face up and shoot the ball.' I knew they were going to send a couple of defenders out there. But you can't miss a shot if you don't take it."

With Anthony the owner of five game-winning shots in the final 10 seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime this season, Los Angeles coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. planned for the obvious.

"We thought he (Anthony) might get the ball for a shot and we did a good job knowing the play," he said. "Our guys did a good job of doubling him."

Brand scored 12 points in the first quarter to help the Clippers open a 31-26 lead and after the Nuggets drew within 46-43 late in the second, Cassell sparked an 8-2 run to close the half with four points and one assist.

The league leader in fast-break points, Denver was held to eight in transition in the first half and failed to score in that manner in the third. Los Angeles led the league in transition defense during the regular season.

Mobley scored 17 points and Kaman had 15 and 13 rebounds for Los Angeles, which won a playoff game for the first time since May 5, 1993.

The Clippers will host Game Two on Monday before the series shifts to Denver.

"The toughest game in any home series is the second game," Dunleavy said. "Teams are most vulnerable and they have the most problems. You win the first one at home, you're feeling good about yourself and everyone is telling you what a great job you did, you're going to sweep them.

"(But) they know coming in here all they have to do is take one and shift the home court. So our work is not done, we can't even think along those lines."

Anthony and Miller had 25 points apiece for Denver, which shot 5-of-20 (25 percent) in the fourth and finished 35-of-91 (38.5 percent) from the floor.

Anthony is feeling optimistic the Nuggets can rebound.

"I'm feeling really good about our chances in the series," he said. "Me knowing how much fight I have in me and how much fight we have as a team. We always rebound. We're not going to steal Game Two, we're going to earn the win."


Final Score

Denver: 87------------LA Clippers: 89

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Fixtures (23rd March

Tonight, the other series are started.

Indiana versus New Jersey
Memphis versus Dallas
LA Lakers versus Phoenix
Milwaukee versus Detroit
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Round 1 - Game 1

On Sunday night, the other teams started their series. Fixtures:

Cleveland versus Washington
Indiana versus New Jersey
Phoenix versus LA Lakers

Cleveland versus Washington

Posted Image

"nba.com"
 
CLEVELAND, April 22 (Ticker) -- In his first playoff game, LeBron James displayed much more verve than nerves.

James scored 32 points and notched a triple-double and the Cleveland Cavaliers shut down the high-scoring trio of the Washington Wizards for a 97-86 victory in Game One of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Donyell Marshall scored an efficient 19 points for fourth-seeded Cleveland, which dominated every facet of the game and looked nothing like a team playing its first postseason contest in eight years.

It was James who led the Cavaliers to the playoffs and the 21-year-old wunderkind did not disappoint anyone in his debut on the postseason stage. He overcame some early anxiety and gave Cleveland control with a spectacular surge late in the first quarter.

In all, James made 12-of-27 shots and collected 11 assists and 11 rebounds. He played all but three-tenths of a second and heard chants of "MVP!" throughout the game.

"It's a God-given talent," James said. "I don't know how the boxscore will end up at the end of the game. I just try to go out there and play hard and play my game."

"I had no idea that (James) had a triple-double," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "He never ceases to amaze me. The things that he does offensively just blow you away."

James became the third player in NBA history to register a triple-double in his playoff debut, joining Johnny McCarthy (1960) and Magic Johnson (1980).

While James had no jitters, the fifth-seeded Wizards looked wide-eyed. They did very little right as Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler - the highest-scoring trio in the NBA - were neutralized.

Averaging better than 67 points during the season, the trio was limited to 21 points on 8-of-33 shooting through three quarters before padding their numbers in the final period.

"I thought our guys did a solid job of making the paint look crowded," Brown said. "And when they did kick the ball to their shooters, I thought we tried to contest."

"We didn't want them to get in a comfort zone," James added.

A three-point play by Arenas gave Washington an 18-18 tie before James took over. In just two minutes, he made a 3-pointer, a three-point play and three free throws before finding Marshall for a 3-pointer and a 30-18 lead.

"It was 18-18 and you just want to close the quarter the right way," James said. "I was able to get in the seams and attack and hit some jumpers, and I'm always looking for Donyell."

The Cavaliers led by double digits for all but 77 seconds thereafter as the Wizards could not find a rhythm. Washington shot less than 41 percent (29-of-71), including 3-of-22 from the arc, and missed 11 free throws.

James got some help from Eric Snow, who knocked down a handful of jumpers and scored 14 points, and Marshall, who scored 11 points in the fourth quarter to help maintain the lead.

"I thought we did a decent job (of defending James) early, four minutes I guess, and then he started breaking us down and making shots," Washington coach Eddie Jordan said. "Then we tried to double-team those pick and rolls and he started finding people."

"We said we would keep (James) off his right hand. He went right all night," Arenas said. "That is why he had a triple-double against us."

Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Flip Murray scored 10 points each for the Cavs, who shot 44 percent (38-of-87), held a 52-36 rebounding advantage and committed just 10 turnovers. Game Two is here Tuesday.

"It felt great - the energy, the crowd," said Ilgauskas, a rookie when the Cavaliers made their last playoff appearance in 1998. "You don't know how much you missed it."

"(Washington) didn't come out and play as well as they are capable of playing," Marshall said. "I expect them to come back in Game Two and play a lot better than they did tonight."

Arenas scored 17 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter but made just 7-of-20 shots and fouled out. Jamison and Butler each scored five of their 11 points in the final period.

"That was certainly playoff basketball by the Cavaliers and it wasn't playoff basketball by the Wizards," Jordan said. "I thought we tried to make a run, but you don't make a run if they score, if you don't get stops."

Jared Jeffries scored 15 points and Antonio Daniels added 14 for Washington, which reached the conference semifinals a year ago.

"Coach probably thought I wasn't giving it out there," Arenas said. "I tried to come out in the fourth quarter strong. The first three quarters I tried to get everybody involved and help. I wasn't aggressive enough."


Final Score

Cleveland: 97----------------Washington: 86


Indiana versus New Jersey

Posted Image

"nba.com"
 
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., April 23 (Ticker) -- The New Jersey Nets' playoff journey began with a subtle but significant bump in the road.

The Nets became the first home team to lose in the postseason as Nenad Krstic bumped Anthony Johnson, whose two free throws with in the final second gave the Indiana Pacers a 90-88 victory in their Eastern Conference first-round opener.
 
Foul-plagued Jermaine O'Neal scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter for the sixth-seeded Pacers, who again proved their playoff mettle with patient, smart play down the stretch.

"We've been through an awful lot not only this year, but the last few years," O'Neal said. "The guys really kept talking to each other during timeouts. The five guys on the floor kept telling each other just to be patient and we'll give ourselves and opportunity to win."

Vince Carter needed 33 shots to score 31 points for the third-seeded Nets, who are considered a dark horse for the title and may be experiencing some deja vu. New Jersey also lost a postseason opener at home to Indiana in 2002 - the first year they reached the NBA Finals.

A follow slam by Carter produced the game's 15th tie at 88-88 with 32 seconds to go. The Pacers went to O'Neal, who passed out of a double-team. The ball wound up with Austin Croshere, who missed a corner jumper but tracked down the rebound.

Johnson, a former Net, began his move from well above the arc with five seconds left. He got a step on Kidd and took a bump as he rose for a runner over the 7-foot Krstic that missed as the whistle blew with 0.9 seconds left, bringing a groan from the crowd.

"I was trying to make a play," Johnson said. "The refs called the foul and I was able to make some big free throws."

"Anthony Johnson is a guy that you can count on," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "He's just one of those guys that fits that description. He's a major reason our team has held together through some difficult circumstances."

Replays showed the foul appeared to be on Kidd but was called on Krstic. Johnson drained both free throws to give Indiana the lead.

"It looked like a foul," Carlisle said. "It was pretty clear to me that there was a foul there and they did the right thing."

"The foul on Krstic seemed like a really, really hard call," Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. "I didn't see a problem with it, but I haven't seen the replay yet. The game was in the balance for either team to take, so we are not going to look at the officials for the reason we lost the game."

A 22-footer from the corner by Richard Jefferson bounced off the rim as time expired, allowing the Pacers to escape with the win.

Stephen Jackson had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers, who had five scorers in double figures. Reserve Fred Jones, returning from a torn ligament in his left thumb, scored 15 points and Johnson and Peja Stojakovic added 12 apiece as Indiana shot 47 percent (30-of-64).

Krstic scored 22 points and Jefferson added 19 for the Nets, who never led in the last six minutes.

Carter made just 12-of-33 shots but grabbed a career playoff high 13 rebounds. He was 1-of-8 from 3-point range as the Nets went a franchise-worst 1-of-15, undoing their team record-low six turnovers.

"I missed a few in a row and was like, 'Hey, I might as well try to get to the basket,'" Carter said. "When that wasn't working for me, I didn't know what I was going to do. I just kept at it."

A non-factor through three quarters, O'Neal conducted a clinic in the low post in the final period as he worked over Jason Collins and Cliff Robinson, both very good post defenders. He fouled out Collins as he blew past him for a lefthanded dunk that gave the Pacers an 85-82 lead with 1:55 to go.

"I just kept telling myself the entire time on the bench to stay focused and be patient, and hopefully I'll get the opportunity to be effective in the fourth quarter," O'Neal said. "I think the difference now is that that the team is really focused."

Krstic sank a jumper, but Jeff Foster put home a follow shot and a free throw around a drive by Jefferson, leaving the Pacers with an 88-86 lead with 46 seconds remaining.

Despite O'Neal's early struggles, the Pacers hung in as Carter repeatedly settled for jumpers instead of attacking the basket. Indiana held a 50-46 halftime lead but managed just 14 points in the third quarter, when O'Neal picked up his fourth foul.

Carter benefited from a couple of questionable foul calls down the stretch.

With 4:35 remaining, the All-Star made a scoop shot despite running over Johnson - who appeared set in the lane - and fell very hard to the floor on his back. With 3:21 left, he drove the right side and converted another scoop, with Jackson getting whistled. Carter failed to convert his free throws after each basket, both times leaving the game tied.

"It's all sore right now, but come game time (Tuesday), I'll be ready to go," Carter said. "If I feel sore now, it's going to be really sore (Monday)."


Final Score

Indiana: 90----------------New Jersey: 88


Phoenix versus LA Lakers

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PHOENIX, April 23 (Ticker) -- Tim Thomas and Leandro Barbosa provided a spark. But when the Phoenix Suns needed a win, they turned to Steve Nash.

Nash made a clutch 3-pointer and two important free throws in the final 67 seconds as the Phoenix Suns hung on for a 107-102 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game One of their Western Conference first-round series.

Nash had 20 points and 10 assists for the second-seeded Suns, who blew a 14-point lead but recovered with instant offense from Thomas and Barbosa and the leadership of Nash, their All-Star point guard.

The reigning MVP, Nash got off to a quick start but was quiet in the second half as the Lakers climbed back into the game. The Suns were clinging to a 98-95 lead when Raja Bell missed a tough runner.

However, Boris Diaw grabbed the offensive rebound and shoveled the ball to Nash, who launched a 3-pointer very early in the shot clock that splashed through, doubling the lead with 1:07 to go.

"We really struggled through the game so when I saw that ball coming from Boris, I knew I would get a great look and I wasn't going to pass it up," Nash said. "I wasn't going to pass it up and pull it out and see what we were going to get later. I was going to take it. I know coach was yelling not to take it, but I didn't hear him and wouldn't have listened to him anyway."

"He about gave me a heart attack," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We were having a hard time getting shots and he was wide open, plus he is one of the best 3-point shooters in the league. That shot kind of put a dagger right in them."

After a 3-pointer by Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant - who had an uncharacteristically quiet game - made it 103-100 with 17 seconds remaining, Nash essentially sealed it with two free throws.

The Suns had gotten a break moments earlier. They were holding a 101-97 lead when Bryant drove to the basket and was swiped across the face by Thomas. His lost his balance and missed the shot, but no foul was called.

"No comment necessary," Bryant said. "Just look at the knot on my head."

Signed by the Suns less than two months ago, Thomas had perhaps the best playoff game of his life with 22 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. He made his first eight shots, including a 3-pointer with 9 1/2 minutes left that gave Phoenix the lead for good at 82-80.

"That is what you work for," Thomas said. "The whole Chicago situation was what it was - pretty much nothing. I spent that time wisely working out and constantly shooting and getting prepared for this situation right here."

Barbosa scored nine of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, breathing some life into the league's best offense which had stagnated in the second half. His 3-pointer at the 3:44 mark opened a 98-89 advantage.

"That is my job ... I go out there to pick up the pace and score when I can," Barbosa said. That is the way I am supposed to play and at the time it was needed. We trapped and then on offense used the pick-and-roll that made it easier for me."

Shawn Marion scored 19 points and Diaw added 15 for the Suns, who shot spectacularly from the lines. They made 9-of-20 3-pointers and 32-of-35 free throws.

Often trapped and double-teamed, Bryant scored 22 points on just 7-of-21 shooting. During the season, he led the NBA at better than 35 points per game and averaged more than 42 vs. Phoenix.

"We don't normally trap but Kobe is kind of special and he needs special attention," D'Antoni said. "It worked this game, but we will see if we do it next game. They missed some shots they may make next time."

"I had to take a lot of bail-out shots tonight," Bryant said. "I wasn't looking to attack or assert myself, it is just a matter of finding that groove. All I need is one jumper, then I know I'll get hot. We were keying on the other guys. Look at the open opportunities our other guys had."

Lamar Odom had 21 points and 14 rebounds and Luke Walton scored 19 points for the Lakers, who had all five starters in double figures and held a 47-36 advantage on the glass.

"I know we can play a better ballgame then that," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who lost Game One of a first-round series for the first time in 15 tries. "Our inside game was relatively good, but we are not pleased with the way we turn the ball over in key situations. Our game plan was to exploit the middle and have Kobe a force on the other side, but he never got in rhythm.

"We wanted to get everyone involved," said guard Smush Parker, who scored 15 points. "We all feel like we can beat this team. The game plan was to slow the game down, slow the pace and play inside. Kobe didn't force anything. I don't think he had an off night; he just stuck to the game plan."

Phoenix, which won its fifth straight playoff opener, sped to a 39-29 lead after one period and opened a 50-36 advantage in the second quarter. Los Angeles closed to 58-50 at halftime and pulled into a 73-73 tie on a drive by Bryant with 1:32 left in the third quarter.


Final Score

Phoenix: 107------------LA Lakers: 102


Monday's Games

Chicago versus Miami
Denver versus LA Clippers
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Round 1 - Game 2

These are the fixtures from last night's games.

Chicago versus Miami
Denver versus LA Clippers


Chicago versus Miami

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MIAMI, April 24 (Ticker) -- The Miami Heat are turning their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Chicago Bulls into repeat viewing.

With Jason Williams again supporting the superstar tandem of Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade, the Heat held on for a 115-108 victory over the Bulls and opened a 2-0 lead in the series.

The second-seeded Heat gave the seventh-seeded Bulls a bad case of deja vu. O'Neal scored 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting and blocked three shots as he again was a considerable factor on both ends of the floor. Wade had 21 points and seven assists as he again handled the playmaking.

"We feel good," O'Neal said. "We know what they're going to do. (Bulls coach) Scott Skiles is telling the world what they are going to do. ... If they are going to continue to double me, I'm going to keep picking them apart. I was actually looking forward to going to the line 30 or 40 times tonight."

Williams has emerged as a consistent third option in the offense. After scoring 17 points in Game 1, the point guard totaled 17 of his 22 in the first half, when Miami made Chicago's determined defense appear porous.

"I have to be ready to take them (jumpers) when I'm open and when those guys double Shaq, he kicks it out and I take the shot," Williams said. "They (Wade and O'Neal) make my job a lot easier because all I have to do is be ready to shoot if it comes my way. My game is to play with a lot of energy and take advantage of the open shots and that's what I did."

As in the opener, the Bulls came up with a late surge to throw a small scare into the Heat, who have turned it up a notch in the postseason, just as O'Neal said they would.

"We pretty much got dominated from beginning to end," Skiles said. "Defensively, we're not getting it done."

The relative ease of the win was surprising considering that Miami was without backup center Alonzo Mourning (calf) and starting power forward Udonis Haslem, who was suspended for one game for throwing his mouthpiece at referee Joey Crawford in Game 1.

"This team is being judged very harshly and that's the way it is," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "We have more than enough, even with Udonis and Alonzo out. There's enough offensive firepower to overcome the losses of players if we can sustain the defensive effort to make that work."

Antoine Walker filled in nicely, playing the first 40 minutes without rest and collecting 17 points and 10 rebounds.

"He's (Haslem) a guy who gives us tremendous rebounding ability," Walker said. "He's our hustle guy. I extend the defense and make plays off the dribble and that's where our game differs, but we do complement each other, so when he's out I can come in and give them a different look."

The teams traded runs at the outset of each quarter. Miami began the game with an 8-0 burst en route to a 33-26 lead after one period as Williams scored 12 points.

Chicago responded with nine straight points to briefly grab the lead. The Bulls still were within 58-53 before unraveling. The half ended with Williams dribbling through the entire defense for a layup with 1.2 seconds left and Wade stealing the ensuing inbounds pass and dunking at the buzzer for a 68-57 advantage.

It was the most first-half points allowed this season by the Bulls, who dug themselves a huge hole despite shooting 61 percent from the field.

"Our defense is not nearly where it needs to be in order for us to win," Bulls guard Chris Duhon said. "We're not going to win any games if they're scoring 68 points in the first half. We need to tighten up our defense and get them shooting in the low 40s. ... We need to find a way to slow (them) down."

James Posey had a 3-pointer and a driving three-point play in a 15-4 run that built Miami's lead to 89-69 with 2:44 left in the third quarter.

"They were brought in for the playoffs," O'Neal said of Miami's offseason acquisitions of Williams, Walker and Posey. "Last year, we had some injured and did not have the additional firepower. But now we have (it)."

The Bulls made their obligatory late push behind Kirk Hinrich, who scored 11 of his 29 points in a 13-2 run that closed the margin to 104-97 with three minutes left. He scored 17 points in the final period. But it wasn't nearly enough.

''I think it was a little laziness on our part,'' Williams said of the Bulls late rush.

A 3-pointer by Andres Nocioni, who scored a career-high 30 points, made it 108-104 with 1:15 remaining, but Wade answered with a leaner in the lane and Gary Payton added two free throws to seal it.

Luol Deng scored 14 points and Ben Gordon added 13 for the Bulls, who wasted their 53 percent (41-of-77) shooting with poor defense and sloppy play.

Chicago, which led the NBA in field-goal percentage defense for the second straight season, allowed Miami to shoot 52 percent (44-of-84) and committed 18 turnovers.

"I don't know what they shot, but we're a defensive team and should have had it on that end tonight," Hinrich said. "I really don't know how to explain it, except to say we weren't ready on that end."

The series shifts to Chicago for Games 3 and 4 on Thursday and Sunday.

"We need to stop O'Neal, but we need to stop the other guys, too," Nocioni said. "We paid every time because we tried to help take Shaquille O'Neal away."


Final Score

Miami: 115------------Chicago: 108


Denver versus LA Clipepers

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LOS ANGELES, April 24 (Ticker) -- With Sam Cassell running his mouth, the Los Angeles Clippers ran the Denver Nuggets out of the STAPLES Center.

Cassell provided leadership with his words and his play, and Cuttino Mobley and Elton Brand had big games as the Clippers ambushed the Nuggets, 98-87, and grabbed a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference first-round series.

Mobley scored 15 of his 21 points in the decisive first half and Brand totaled 19, 11 rebounds and three blocks. Cassell had 13 points and 11 assists while making sure the Clippers kept the home-court advantage.

A 13-year veteran point guard with a pair of championship rings, Cassell is the most experienced member of the Clippers, who are in the playoffs for the first time in nine years.

Always a talkative player, Cassell gave the Clippers encouragement and instruction while working the referees and engaging the Nuggets in a bit of friendly chatter. Whatever he said worked as Los Angeles raced to a 25-point lead in the first 15 minutes and never looked back.

"I don't have to say too much," he said. "I just have to remind them once in a while and once I've reminded them, we are off and running.

"There wasn't any trash-talking. We were just having fun. I respect every guy on their team and they are giving us respect. No trash-talking, just competing. When you are competing you tend to say things to each other. (But) nothing nasty that would give the other team momentum."

The sixth-seeded Clippers also benefitted from the Nuggets' foul trouble as star forward Carmelo Anthony had three fouls and zero points in the first half. Without him, third-seeded Denver made just 11 shots before the break and fell into a 22-point hole.

"Tonight was just one of those nights," Anthony said. "I got those three early fouls quickly and I had to go and sit down. Playing six minutes in the first half really hurt us. We still had a chance to stay in the game with the fellows we had out there."

The series shifts to Denver for Games 3 and 4 on Thursday and Saturday. Los Angeles has not won a playoff series since a best-of-three set in 1976, when the franchise was in Buffalo and Cassell was 6 years old.

With Cassell exhorting his teammates, the Clippers played one of their best quarters of the season in the first period. They moved and shared the ball, shot 65 percent (13-of-20) and raced to a 32-13 lead.

"Sam knows what it takes," teammate Corey Maggette said. "He is the one that is keeping us patient and keeps encouraging us by telling us to just go out there and do what we are capable of doing. It is good to have a guy with his leadership skills."

Meanwhile, the Nuggets were lost, especially after Anthony took a seat with his second foul at the 7:08 mark. They could not get their running game going and made just 6-of-24 shots.

Anthony returned at the start of the second quarter, and sat down again 90 seconds later with his third foul. Two baskets by Maggette and another by Shaun Livingston gave the Clippers a 38-13 lead.

"Once Carmelo picked up three fouls in the first half, that really set us back because he is a big focal point of our offense and it definitely showed with the way we struggled," Nuggets center Marcus Camby said.

Anthony spent the rest of the first half hanging his head on the bench. Mobley's running 40-foot banker beat the buzzer and gave the Clippers a 56-34 lead.

"The whole first half was bad," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "Their entire team played well. Usually, it's just a two-man game on offense with Brand and Cassell, but that wasn't the case tonight. Mobley had a great game offensively and (Quinton) Ross also played well."

In the second half, Anthony found a rhythm, making four of his first five shots. The Nuggets inched to within 12 points before Livingston capped an 8-0 burst with a driving dunk for a three-point play and a 72-52 lead with 3:15 left in the third quarter.

"Anyone gets frustrated over fouls," Anthony said. "It is just a matter how you bounce back in the second half. I tried to come back in the second half fighting and compete, but by that time it was a little bit too late for that."

A pair of baskets by Maggette bookended a 7-0 spurt that began the final period, gave LA an 82-59 bulge and started the party at the STAPLES Center.

Maggette scored 12 points for the Clippers, who had six players in double figures and shot 47.5 percent (38-of-80). Cassell thinks they can play better.

"We have not played our best basketball," Cassell said. "We missed a lot of easy shots tonight. I missed seven great looks tonight. Cat (Mobley) missed some as did (Chris) Kaman. And Elton, our horse, missed a few wide-open jumpers. Hopefully we can showcase better in Denver."

Anthony scored 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Camby contributed 16 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks for the Nuggets, who shot just 34 percent (27-of-79). Denver also lost forward Kenyon Martin to a knee injury late in the first half.

The Nuggets have lost five straight meetings with the Clippers.

"I don't know if we're confident right now," Karl said. "But they will be on Thursday. Confidence can change in a practice and a game."


Final Score

LA Clippers: 98-------------Denver: 87

Tonight's fixtures are:

Washington versus Cleveland
Indiana versus New Jersey
Sacramento versus San Antonio
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Round 1 - Game 2

Last night, the following fixtures were played:

Indiana versus New Jersey
Sacramento versus San Antonio
Washington versus Cleveland

Indiana versus New Jersey

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., April 25 (Ticker) -- Vince Carter may not have been fazed by criticism, but Jermaine O'Neal is certainly bothered by the officiating.

Carter scored 33 points on 12-of-20 shooting as the New Jersey Nets evened their Eastern Conference first-round series with a 90-75 Game 2 victory over the Indiana Pacers, who again were hampered by foul trouble to their All-Star forward.

Carter was criticized for his shot selection after making just 12-of-33 shots in Sunday's Game 1 loss. But he came out attacking the basket Tuesday, helping the Nets open a big lead before dominating the fourth quarter to turn back a rally by the Pacers.

"I thought I had a (good) game last time but (the shots) just didn't fall," Carter said. "I play the game for my team and if it's good enough for them, that's all I care about."

"It was unfair for him to be criticized for the 33 shots because we put so much pressure on him to carry us," Nets point guard Jason Kidd said. "He's been focused. He wanted a playoff win."

O'Neal was stifled for the second straight game, playing less than 33 minutes as he was plagued by fouls, including two charging calls. He received two personal fouls and a technical in the first quarter and picked up his fourth foul less than a minute into the third period.

"I don't understand it," he said. "When I use the same moves I've made in the last four or five years that have made me an All-Star and (the referees) honor a flop. They're holding on to me. You have to find a way (to play through it) and I will find a way."

"We can't afford not to have him for 35-40 minutes in a playoff game," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "I'm not going to criticize the officials because they're working hard, but it is something that needs to be looked at."

O'Neal struggled with the physical defense of Jason Collins, Clifford Robinson and Nenad Krstic, managing just 12 points on 3-of-12 shooting while committing six turnovers.

Stephen Jackson and rookie Danny Granger also were limited by foul trouble to make matters worse for the Pacers, who were without forward Peja Stojakovic due to a sore right knee.

New Jersey shot 59 percent (10-of-17) from the floor in the first quarter and was led by Carter, who scored 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting and continually attacked the defense.

"It wasn't really a chip (on my shoulder), just focus," Carter said. "I wanted to get my first win. They brought me here not to win 49 (regular-season) games, but to win playoff games."

Richard Jefferson scored 13 of his 21 points in the third period to give the Nets a 73-53 cushion entering the fourth quarter - which the Pacers opened with an 18-6 run, pulling within 79-71 on a fast-break dunk by Jackson with 3:32 left.

Carter took over with five consecutive points, making a technical free throw with 3:08 left and nailing a jumper 11 seconds later. He added a dunk off a long pass from Kidd with 2:31 left for an 84-71 cushion.

New Jersey made just seven baskets in the fourth quarter, but Carter was involved in all of them. He sank five shots and assisted on the other two buckets, jumpers by Krstic and Kidd.

Krstic had 20 points and 10 rebounds for his first playoff double-double and Kidd fell four points shy of his ninth career postseason triple-double with 11 rebounds and 13 assists for the Nets, who snapped a seven-game postseason losing streak.

"The first one is always the toughest," Kidd said. "We haven't won a playoff game for some time. It means a lot to us to get one under our belt and now we can move on."

New Jersey shot 47 percent (33-of-71) and held Indiana to just 35 percent (28-of-79) in a physical game that featured four technicals.

"The first game we were more passive and tonight we came out with the intention of playing defense for 48 minutes," Kidd said. "(The physical play) is what the playoffs are all about. It was expected."

Former Net Anthony Johnson scored 17 points and Fred Jones added 13 off the bench for Indiana, which hosts Game 3 on Thursday.


Final Score

Indiana: 75-------------New Jersey: 90


Sacramento versus San Antonio

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SAN ANTONIO, April 25 (Ticker) -- Playing without Ron Artest, the Sacramento Kings showed plenty of resiliency against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. But they sure could have used him against Manu Ginobili.

Ginobili scored eight of his 32 points in overtime as the Spurs scrambled for a 128-119 victory over the Kings and a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference first-round series.

Ginobili also had nine assists, none more important than his baseline bounce pass to Brent Barry, whose 3-pointer from the right corner rattled around and off the backboard before dropping through with 4.9 seconds left in regulation.

"I couldn't believe it," Ginobili said. "When I passed the ball I was under the basket. My focus was on grabbing the rebound when it looked like the shot missed, then it hit the backboard and went in."

"This is definitely one of the biggest shots in my career," Barry said.

The eighth-seeded Kings lost, 122-88, in the series opener and faced the prospect of taking on the top-seeded Spurs without Artest, who was suspended by the NBA for delivering a blow to Ginobili in Game One.

Second-year swingman Kevin Martin started for Artest and collected a career-high 26 points and eight rebounds.

"It's the NBA. People step up, so any different player can step up in any different game," Martin said.

Veterans Bonzi Wells and Shareef Abdur-Rahim also picked up the slack. Wells had 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds and Abdur-Rahim - in the playoffs for the first time in his 10-year career - added 27 on 12-of-19 shooting and nine boards.

"We knew we had to step up tonight because Ron wasn't here," Wells said. "We tried our best and we played them tough."

"Those guys came out and played a heck of a game," Barry said. "Kevin Martin did well in Ron's absence. We kind of held Mike Bibby in check but Shareef was awesome off the bench ... Bonzi dominated us in the game until he fouled out."

The trio helped the Kings build an early 10-point lead, erase a 10-point third-quarter deficit and hold a 106-103 advantage after a hook shot by Abdur-Rahim with 49 seconds left in regulation.

Michael Finley answered with a jumper and Wells and Ginobili traded free throws before Martin sank a pair from the line for a 109-106 edge with 14 seconds left.

Ginobili drove left to draw the defense and zipped a pass to Barry, whose clutch shot forced the first overtime of the 2006 postseason.

"The ball bounced in and we didn't defend the play very well," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "He had a wide-open look and when you have wide-open looks, bad things happen. That's the way it goes."

Barry scored a playoff career-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting. He made 4-of-7 3-pointers.

"Every playoff game takes on a life of it's own and you never know if you're going to be the guy who steps up and get something done," Barry said.

There were five lead changes in the extra session, the last on Tony Parker's layup off a feed from Ginobili that gave San Antonio a 114-113 edge. Ginobili made three free throws after drawing a foul from Bibby, then drove for a hoop with a foul to open the margin to 120-113 with 1:41 to go.

"Of course they miss a great player in Ron tonight because of his defense, but we scored a lot of points, too," Ginobili said. "I made the shots that I could in the offense. We move the ball and we really don't care who scores."

Parker had 22 points and 10 assists and foul-plagued Tim Duncan added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Spurs, who shot 51 percent (43-of-84), including 12-of-26 from behind the arc.

Bibby scored 15 points on just 3-of-16 shooting and Kenny Thomas added 12 points for the Kings, who shot 48 percent (42-of-87) and held a 47-34 advantage on the glass.

Duncan sat down for the final five-plus minutes of the third quarter with his fourth foul and for nearly five minutes of the fourth quarter with his fifth foul. During his absences, the Spurs were outscored by eight points.

Abdur-Rahim scored 12 points in the fourth quarter but missed an open 18-footer that could have won it at the buzzer.

"We had a shot to win the game. It just didn't go down for us," Adelman said.

With Artest unavailable, the Kings went with Martin, who paid immediate dividends. In the first half, he scored 14 points to back 19 from Wells as Sacramento built a 56-51 lead.

The Spurs opened the second half with a 14-2 spurt fueled by consecutive three-point plays from Ginobili. They held a 74-65 lead when Duncan sat down at the 5:22 mark but found themselves in an 82-82 deadlock entering the fourth period.

The series shifts to Sacramento for Games 3 and 4.

"We put on a good show tonight," Wells said. "We just came up a little bit short. Hopefully we can do the same thing in Sacramento but come up with a win."


Final Score

Sacramento: 119-------------San Antonio: 128


Washington versus Cleveland

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CLEVELAND, April 25 (Ticker) -- One game after being victimized by LeBron James' triple-double, the Washington Wizards gave the Cleveland Cavaliers some triple trouble.

The high-scoring trio of Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler came alive and lifted the Wizards to an 89-84 victory over the Cavaliers that evened their Eastern Conference first-round series at one game apiece.

The fifth-seeded Wizards found a way to corral James, who had 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in his playoff debut Saturday but missed 18 shots and committed 10 turnovers - one shy of the NBA playoff record - as the fourth-seeded Cavaliers gave away home-court advantage.

During the season, Arenas, Jamison and Butler combined to average 67 points, making them the highest-scoring trio in the league. They managed just 48 on 15-of-47 shooting in Sunday's 97-86 loss but bounced back Tuesday.

"We stayed disciplined in our offensive possessions," Washington coach Eddie Jordan said. "Guys were a little bit jagged out there the first game, a little bit self-absorbed. Tonight we just pulled for each other."

Arenas scored 30 points and made a pair of huge plays in the final two minutes. His three-point play with 1:34 to go gave Washington an 85-77 lead and he sealed the win by stripping Anderson Varejao underneath with 10 seconds remaining.

Jamison overcame a slow start to score 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, when he made a pair of 3-pointers. He also sank the clinching free throws after Arenas' steal.

"I knew I had to do something, but I got into a rhythm," Jamison said. "Gilbert told me coming out in the second half to just let it ride. He shouldn't have to tell me that.

Butler had a terrific two-way game, scoring 21 points while forcing James to shoot just 7-of-25 from the field. Before fouling out with 20 seconds left, he limited James to one basket in the last 8 1/2 minutes.

"(Butler) was really pumped up," Jordan said. "We gave him the assignment of guarding LeBron, and when you get down defensively, your offense comes a little bit easier. He really did it at both ends of the floor early for us."

The 21-year-old James showed himself to be somewhat less than superhuman. He had 26 points and nine rebounds but could not find a rhythm with his shot and joined Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Moses Malone among those with double-digit turnovers in a postseason game.

"All of the great ones have gone through it," Jamison said. "You can't let a guy pick you apart and not be aggressive with him. Tonight we came right at (James). We tried to be more aggressive and tried to get the ball out of his hands. We didn't let him get into that comfort zone that he was in the first game."

"I know that hard fouls are going to happen," James said. "(Washington) has been reading the clippings about me leading the league in and-ones, so they did a good job of trying to foul me before I got the ball up. It's just playoff basketball.

Butler also grabbed nine rebounds for Washington, which hosts Games Three and Four on Friday and Sunday. A year ago, the Wizards upended fourth-seeded Chicago in the first round.

The Cavaliers wasted a huge game by Drew Gooden, who had 24 points and 16 rebounds. They shot just 36 percent (30-of-83) and received five points from their bench.

"I thought Drew kept us in the game," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "His presence gave us a chance to win down the stretch."

A jumper by James gave Cleveland a 68-65 lead with 8:58 to go before Jamison drained a 3-pointer and a follow shot. Butler's 3-pointer off Arenas' penetration gave Washington the lead for good at 75-72 with 4:50 remaining.

Another jumper by James cut the deficit to 79-77 with 2:48 left, but Jamison buried another 3-pointer before the game's key sequence.

Cleveland's Eric Snow tied up Antonio Daniels and won the ensuing jump ball. Both James and teammate Zydrunas Ilgauskas tried to grab the ball along the baseline and bumped into each other. Falling out of bounds, James threw a behind-the-back pass that went right to Arenas, who made a layup and was fouled.

"I thought (James and Ilgauskas) were going to walk out of bounds with (the ball)," Arenas said. "I saw that someone was trying to throw it, so I wanted to be somewhere around there and they threw it right to me. I was trying to make the layup, but I saw Eric Snow getting ready to foul, so I tried to hold my shot a little bit longer to try to get the and-one, which I did."

Two free throws by James made it 87-84 with 20 seconds to play. Cleveland had a chance to tie after Washington's Billy Thomas missed two free throws, but James did not take a 3-pointer, instead zipping a pass underneath to Varejao, who was stripped by Arenas.

"Varejao slipped (into the lane) and I was the only person on the weak side," Arenas said. "I tried to get my hand on the ball or I was going to foul him. The ball was loose, I didn't hear a whistle and Antawn jumped on the ball.

Showing very little urgency, the Wizards quickly fell behind, 23-8, and were on the verge of being blown out until Arenas and Butler came alive. They combined for 18 straight points as Washington grabbed a 26-23 lead early in the second period.

Despite a missed breakaway dunk by James, the Cavaliers opened a 57-50 lead in the third quarter before Jamison had a rare four-point play and Arenas added a dunk and a 3-pointer, again giving the Wizards the lead.

"I missed a lot of buckets (lay-ups) that I usually make," James said. "They did a great job of playing me 1-on-1. It's going to be a dogfight now. It's a long series and we have to go out there on the road and try to take care of business.


Final Score

Washington: 89------------Cleveland: 84

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tonight's Fixtures

Milwaukee versus Detroit
Memphis versus Dallas
LA Lakers versus Phoenix

How Things Stand (Best of 7)

San Antonio: 2--------------Sacramento: 0
Phoenix: 1---------------LA Lakers: 0
Denver: 0---------------LA Clippers: 2
Dallas: 1--------------Memphis: 0
Detroit: 1----------------Milwaukee: 0
Miami: 2-----------------Chicago: 0
New Jersey: 1-------------Indiana: 1
Cleveland: 1--------------Washington: 1
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Round 1 - Game 2

The fixtures last night were:

LA Lakers versus Phoenix
Memphis versus Dallas
Milwaukee versus Detroit


LA Lakers versus Phoenix

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PHOENIX, April 26 (Ticker) -- This time, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers did more than get close.

Bryant had 29 points and 10 rebounds and the Lakers again controlled the tempo and upset the Phoenix Suns, 99-93, to even their Western Conference first-round series at one game apiece.

Lamar Odom scored 21 points and made two critical hustle plays down the stretch for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who came up just short in Game 1 but stole home-court advantage with their second straight committed effort against the second-seeded Suns.

"It's going to take a team effort to win and advance in the playoffs," Odom said. "These are games that we have to put together."

Bryant, who led the NBA in scoring at better than 35 points per game, appears clearly committed to sharing the ball, especially with low-post players. The Lakers have used size to their advantage against the smallish Suns, who never got their running game going.

"In Game 1, we did an okay job. I just didn't make shots that I normally make," said Bryant, who made just 7-of-21 shots en route to 22 points in the series opener. "Tonight everybody contributed. We are just trying to work hard on defense. We are attacking as a unit.

"In the playoffs, everybody kind of has a rhythm for the game. During the regular season, we were trying to find our rhythm and I had to shoulder the scoring load. We know we can start attacking teams as a unit and not me going out there trying to score 40 or 50 points."

Taking the lead for good at the end of the first quarter, L.A. held a 74-67 advantage entering the final period and widened it to 92-83 with 3:11 remaining as Odom dove to grab a loose ball and zipped a pass to Bryant, who sprang for a flying dunk over Steve Nash.

"We had some dramatic plays down the stretch," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "Kobe stayed very well inside of what we were trying to do. We kind of died on the vine a couple of times when the shot clock was running down. Then we were able to find that penetrating pass. We were able to find a couple of things that worked for us."

Raja Bell made two free throws and two jumpers, cutting Phoenix's deficit to 92-89 with 1:51 to go. Bryant and Bell traded misses before Odom again tracked down a loose ball and found Smush Parker for a layup and a 94-89 advantage with 49 seconds to go.

It was at least a two-possession game thereafter as Bryant made three free throws in the final 27 seconds. He made 12-of-24 shots and added five assists.

Kwame Brown scored 12 points and Sasha Vujacic added 11 for the Lakers, who shot 51 percent (38-of-75), including 9-of-16 from the arc.

The Lakers host Game 3 and Game 4 on Friday and Sunday. Jackson is 14-0 all-time in first-round series.

Nash had 29 points and nine assists for the Suns, who shot just 42 percent (33-of-78) and turned their playmaker into a scorer.

Phoenix went scoreless for more than seven minutes in the first half and received just four points from its bench.

"I think it goes hand-in-hand with us being inexperienced and not making shots we normally do," Nash said. "We got a little bit down and started forcing shots. We also don't seem to be playing as hard as we normally do.

"In the first half, we weren't scrappy enough and offensively we panicked a bit. You can't give yourself a 15-point hole and expect to yourself to fight out of it and win in the playoffs.”

Bell scored 23 points and Shawn Marion added 13 on just 5-of-15 shooting for the Suns.

Early on, Bryant was involved in a shouting match with Nash, who had 15 of Phoenix's first 20 points.

A jumper by Eddie House gave the Suns a 22-19 lead before they inexplicably went nearly 7 1/2 minutes without a point. The Lakers scored 19 straight points - just two by Bryant - and opened a 36-22 lead midway through the second period.

"In the first half, for whatever reason, we were on our heels offensively and defensively," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "Once we played as bad as we could, we said, 'The heck with it,' and picked it up. In the second half we played great. I don't think we had enough fight defensively and when we did, we could not get out on the break."

Phoenix appeared to get a break when Bryant sat down with his third foul with 3:01 to play in the first half. But Vujacic and Odom drained 3-pointers and Los Angeles actually widened its lead without its superstar to 53-38 at halftime.

"Kobe is going to do his thing," Odom said. "Everybody was sticking to the game plan and we picked it up. We were controlling the tempo and we made them pay."

Bryant opened the second half with a jumper to give the Lakers their largest lead before the Suns raced back into it with a 20-6 surge, closing to 61-58 on a 3-pointer by Tim Thomas. But Phoenix missed its next six shots and LA made four straight hoops - three by Bryant - to rebuild the lead to double digits.

"We are playing good basketball," Bryant said. "We played great defensively as a team. We played offensively as a team. When you play together as a cohesive unit, you can do a lot of things."


Final Score

LA Lakers: 99----------------Phoenix: 93


Memphis versus Dallas

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DALLAS, April 26 (Ticker) -- Dirk Nowitzki is giving fellow All-Star forward Pau Gasol a lesson in playoff basketball.

Nowitzki ignored early foul trouble and scored 31 points for the second straight game as the Dallas Mavericks rolled to a 94-79 victory over the sloppy Memphis Grizzlies and opened a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference first-round series.

Josh Howard scored 17 points for the fourth-seeded Mavericks, who were 11 wins better than the fifth-seeded Grizzlies during the season and have looked every bit of it through the first two games.

An MVP candidate and a playoff-tested veteran, Nowitzki has thoroughly outplayed Gasol, who has struggled while allowing the Grizzlies to fall to 0-10 all-time in the postseason. In each of the first two games, he has disappeared for long stretches.

"He came out firing and had like 10 or 12 points in the first quarter," Nowitzki said. "After that, we did a decent job on him. We got the ball out of his hands some. We met him early and tried to be physical with him. Really that's the only way you can play him. He's still young."

"We did a great job on Pau," Howard said. "I think he only scored four points in the second half, and I give all of the credit to Gana (center DeSagana Diop) and Damp (Erick Dampier) and even D.J. (third-string center D.J. Mbenga) when he came in. You've got to send him the opposite way of where he likes to go. Our big guys have paid attention to the scouting report and they are really doing their job."

With 3:11 left in the first quarter, Nowitzki took a seat with his second foul. The Grizzlies quickly took advantage, opening a 36-32 lead early in the second quarter.

Nowitzki returned at the 10:25 mark scored the game's next nine points in a 2:07 span to give Dallas the lead for good and thoroughly discourage Memphis, which fell apart for the rest of the period.

"I wanted to come out really, really aggressive, obviously, offensively," Nowitzki said. "I made my first couple of shots and felt great. I got two calls there and it kind of took me out of the game a little bit. But once I came back, guys were looking for me. I got open a couple of times. It just felt great."

In the second quarter, Memphis managed 12 points while committing 10 turnovers. By contrast, Nowitzki scored 13 points, including a 3-pointer and free throw that helped push the lead to 57-43 at halftime.

"The turnovers cause you to lose control of the game," Gasol said. "It was frustrating. We were turning the ball over and giving them the ball back without making them work for it. It was really an intense game for a while, and we had a very good chance to be right there. We lost it for a few minutes and we really paid for it.

"Overall we played some great defense," Nowitzki said. "Once we do that we will always be in a position to win a game."

A 3-pointer by Jason Terry gave Dallas a 64-45 lead with 9:11 left in the third quarter. The Mavericks led by at least 13 points thereafter.

"We have a lot of athletes that are great in the open court with Marquis (Daniels) and Josh and (Terry is) so fast and, obviously, Devin (Harris)," Nowitzki said. "Once we rebound and we push the ball it's good."

After scoring 10 points in the first quarter, Gasol went more than 30 minutes without a basket. The rest of the Grizzlies managed just 25 points in the middle two quarters and trailed, 76-56, entering the final period.

Gasol finished with 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting, adding seven rebounds and five assists. He could have used some help as he led the Grizzlies in all three categories.

"They started doubling and we kind of stopped running plays for the post-ups," Gasol said. "We kind of got lost a little bit. Especially in the second quarter, we got out of our game for a few minutes and that really cost us."

Nowitzki made 9-of-19 shots and 12-of-14 free throws. Terry added 16 points and nine assists for the Mavericks, who made 28-of-36 from the line.

Bobby Jackson scored 12 points and Eddie Jones added 11 for the Grizzlies, who committed 20 turnovers.

"We're not going to win any games if we turn the ball over like that," Jackson said. "We've been taking care of the ball all season but now we're just, for some reason, turning the ball over a little bit too much right now."

"We'll take 20 turnovers anyway we can get them," Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said. "Whether they are forced are unforced, we're not going to be choosy in that situation. The more we get turnovers like that, we'll have a chance to get some easy baskets."

The series shifts to Memphis for Game 3 and Game 4 on Saturday and Monday. Dallas won three road playoff games a year ago.

"We have to come out hard in Game 3, really establish ourselves at home and get a win there," Gasol said. "The whole scenario changes then, but we've got to do it. We've got to make it happen. I'm really excited about that, going back home with our fans and getting this monkey, that is really getting heavy, off of our back."

"In this league, you can never relax," Nowitzki said. "I was part of a playoff series one year against Portland. We were up 3-0 and we relaxed a little bit in that fourth game, they found their rhytm a little bit and the next thing you know, we found ourselves in a seventh game. So you've always got to keep the pressure up in the playoffs."


Final Score

Memphis: 79-------------Dallas: 94


Milwaukee versus Detroit

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AUBURN HILLS, Mich., April 26 (Ticker) -- Richard Hamilton and the Detroit Pistons had more than a leg to stand on.

Hamilton scored 18 points despite an ankle injury and was part of a balanced attack as the Pistons again toyed with the Milwaukee Bucks, 109-98, and opened a commanding 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Tayshaun Prince scored 22 points to lead six players in double figures for the top-seeded Pistons, who have hardly been tested in the first two games of what is shaping up to be a lopsided series.

In Game One, Detroit did it with defense, limiting Milwaukee to 74 points. In Game Two, the Pistons flashed their offense, shooting 51 percent (42-of-83) from the field and collected 28 fast-break points.

"Milwaukee shoots a lot of jump shots and our big guys do a good job of getting the rebounds," said Pistons guard Chauncey Billups, who scored 20 points. "We're able to make some long outlet passes and we have the guys who can get out fast. Then we're off to the races."

Hamilton scored 21 points while limiting Bucks star guard Michael Redd to 11 in the opener but suffered a sprained left ankle in the fourth quarter. He aggravated the injury late in the first quarter but not before helping the Pistons get off to a good start with eight points.

"It scared me because it hurt for a couple of minutes, but I just pushed myself through it," Hamilton said. "I didn't want to sit out too long and have it tighten up."

Hamilton returned and finished with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting, adding eight assists in 33 minutes as he showed no ill effects from the injury. He came up a bucket short of his 52nd 20-point game in 67 career playoff contests.

The Pistons are more than just Hamilton, however. In racing to a 61-48 halftime lead, they received key contributions from reserves Maurice Evans and Antonio McDyess, who combined for 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting before the break.

"They posed a lot of problems for us," Redd said. "Whether it's Tayshaun on (the) blocks, Rip coming off screens, Rasheed (Wallace) popping out and McDyess getting off as well. They have a versatile team. I think their offense is underrated."

It was typical of the Pistons that their first five baskets of the game came from five different players.

"That's how we beat people," Billups said. "We know there's strength in numbers. When the game starts, we don't know what matchup we're going to attack. We just see how it goes. We see how the flow is. Early in this game everyone had good looks."

Detroit's balance is a headache for an opposing coach.

"You don't know where they're going to come up with it, but they usually come up with it, whether it's Chauncey, Rasheed, Tayshaun or Rip - or McDyess," Bucks coach Terry Stotts said. "Any one of their guys can make plays to stop runs, start runs, win games."

The eighth-seeded Bucks cut a 10-point deficit to 39-37 midway through the second quarter before Evans had two 3-pointers and a pair of free throws in a 12-0 run that gave the Pistons a 51-37 lead with 3:13 remaining.

"Mo (Evans) gave us a boost at both ends tonight," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "Guys have confidence in him. The guys on the bench want to play more, but they have to do what he did. He came with the right frame of mind."

"I feel like I can be an important part of this team at any time," Evans said. "I'm happy he gave me a chance, and I'm happy I was able to make the most of it."

Detroit widened a 61-48 halftime lead to 85-67 as reserve guard Lindsey Hunter made a 3-pointer and steal, feeding Prince for a thunderous dunk with 2:29 left in the third quarter. Milwaukee got no closer than 10 points thereafter.

McDyess scored 13 points and Rasheed Wallace added 12 for the Pistons, who made 10 3-pointers and committed just nine turnovers.

"We have so many guys that can hurt you as opposed to teams that have only one or two guys that can really hurt you," Billups said. "You can adjust your defense to stop one or two guys. YOu can't do that when you play us. We have too many options."

Redd was able to get loose for 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting. T.J. Ford added 17 points for the Bucks, who shot 43.5 percent (37-of-85).

Milwaukee will host Games Three and Four on Saturday and Monday. It has not been swept in a best-of-seven series since the 1989 conference semifinals against Detroit.

"They call it home court advantage for a reason, so we'll go home and take advantage of it," Stotts said.

"They'll be more comfortable at home, but we're not playing Milwaukee," Saunders said. "We're playing ourselves. Whether we're home or away we want to play our offense and our defense. Hopefully, if we do that there won't be a letdown."


Final Score

Milwaukee: 98-------------Detroit: 109

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tonight's Fixtures

New Jersey versus Indiana
Miami versus Chicago
LA Clippers versus Denver

How Things Stand (Best of 7)

San Antonio: 2--------------Sacramento: 0
Phoenix: 1---------------LA Lakers: 1
Denver: 0---------------LA Clippers: 2
Dallas: 2--------------Memphis: 0
Detroit: 2----------------Milwaukee: 0
Miami: 2-----------------Chicago: 0
New Jersey: 1-------------Indiana: 1
Cleveland: 1--------------Washington: 1
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Round 1

27th March

Denver: 94--------------LA Clippers: 87

Chicago: 109-------------Miami: 90

Indiana: 107---------------New Jersey: 95

28th March

Cleveland versus Washington

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WASHINGTON, April 28 (Ticker) -- LeBron James again made history and more importantly, gave the the Cleveland Cavaliers the playoff edge.

James scored 14 of his record-setting 41 points in the fourth quarter, including a tough banker with 5.7 seconds remaining, to help the Cavaliers capture a hard-fought 97-96 triumph over the Washington Wizards in Game Three of their first-round series.

The heralded 21-year-old James added to his growing legacy by eclipsing the league record for the most points in a road postseason debut - 40 by David Thompson and Kelley Tripucka - while giving fourth-seeded Cleveland a 2-1 edge in the series.

"LeBron James is special," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "Folks, he scored 41 points on 28 field-goal (attempts) with nine free-throw attempts. I'm not a math major, but I don't even know how that can add up to 41 points. A heck of an effort by him."

With the Cavaliers trailing, 96-95, in the waning seconds, James drove past Antonio Daniels and hung in the air before hitting a short banker over Michael Ruffin to give Cleveland the lead in the pivotal contest.

"We ran a play in the first half that looked pretty good," James said. "We came back to it in the fourth quarter, side pick-and-roll, with me and Larry (Hughes). I had Antonio Daniels on me and I didn't want to force the jump shot. I wanted to get into the paint. I was able to get him off his feet and take contact with Michael Ruffin. It was a good play designed by coach."

"At the end of the ballgame, defensively you've got to pick your poison," Brown said. "If you don't come to double him, he's going to make the right play. Nobody came to double. He drove the ball to the rim and he took a hard hit and still finished that shot."

Gilbert Arenas, whose three-point play gave Washington a one-point advantage before James' shot, had a wide-open look at a potential game-winning 3-pointer, but the shot rimmed out and fell into the waiting arms of Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao.

"It went in and came out," Arenas said. "You're going to miss more than you make in your career. I missed that one, but I'm going to have more opportunities to make them. I thought it was going in. It was there, just a little off. It just wasn't our day. We fought all 48 minutes of this basketball game and we deserved this win."

"I thought we got a good look at the basket but it didn't fall," Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said. "We've had a whole lot of these games all year long. It seems that every loss was right at the buzzer, and they are all heartbreakers. But we have to bounce back."

Arenas doesn't want any more games to go down to the last shot against James and the Cavaliers.

"We had 17 turnovers and we still lost the game by one point," Arenas said. "We've just got to beat them. We're not going to beat them in a close game, we've just got to flat-out beat them - let it be known that we're beating them. If it's within two, three, I mean, they have the advantage. We've just got to flat-out beat them."

Arenas finished with 32 points and Caron Butler collected 20 and 11 rebounds for the Wizards, who lost home court advantage after seizing it with an 89-84 road victory in Game Two.

Hughes finished with 16 points, but shot just 6-of-15 from the floor, which was indicative of James' teammates, and resulted in the phenom finishing with just three assists.

"He didn't really look to look for his teammates as often as he did in the first two games," Wizards forward Antawn Jamison said. "I think he really took this game personally and he wanted to really come out and play well."

Cleveland, which had not won a road playoff game since 1995, will try to take a commanding 3-1 series lead in Game Four here on Sunday.

"We've been knocked on our behinds a few times and our guys have seemed to find a way to respond and it was no different tonight," Brown said. "I thought both teams were physical and in the second half, our defense stepped up a little bit."


Final Score

Cleveland: 97----------------Washington: 96


LA Lakers versus Phoenix

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LOS ANGELES, April 28 (Ticker) -- The only thing more surprising than the Los Angeles Lakers holding a 2-1 lead on the Phoenix Suns is the manner with which they are doing it.

Playing unselfishly and under control, Kobe Bryant scored 17 points and the Lakers received strong performances from Smush Parker, Lamar Odom, Luke Walton and Kwame Brownen route to a 99-92 victory over the Suns in Game Three of their Western Conference first-round series.


Parker led a balanced attack with 18 points and Odom contributed 15 and 17 rebounds. Walton collected 17 points and 10 boards and Brown 13 and 11 for seventh-seeded Los Angeles, which has more than managed to slow down second-seeded Phoenix's high-powered attack.

"We have been a lot better at controlling the tempo in these games," Walton said. "In the regular season, we tried to play their style. They kind of bait you. If you run out, you can get some easier shots, but in the whole 48 minutes you are not going to beat them playing that way."

The Lakers, who were led in scoring by somebody other than Bryant for the first time in 37 games, have an opportunity to take a stunning 3-1 series lead when they host Game Four on Sunday.

"I think that from the start of this series we have just been playing extremely well and we are moving the ball around really well," said Bryant, who dished out seven assists to make up for 6-of-18 shooting. "We have just evolved into this from the start of the season, it has been process. We are just playing so well together."

Despite getting only seven points from Bryant on 3-of-10 shooting, the Lakers held a 77-74 lead entering the fourth quarter. Bryant had missed all three of his 3-pointers to that point and had attempted only two free throws, instead focusing on getting his teammates involved in the action.

In fact, the NBA's leading scorer was sharing the ball so much that he stunningly was the only one of the Lakers' starters not in double figures after three quarters. Parker scored 16 points and Odom, Brown and Walton had 13 apiece after 36 minutes.

"I don't think Kobe is having any trouble," Walton said of the league's leading scorer. "They are just double-teaming him all over the court and he is making the plays. He's making extra passes and that is how we all get all these other points. If he wanted to, he could go out and score 45 points. Kobe and (coach Phil Jackson) talked and they decided this was the best chance to win."

With 4:18 remaining in the fourth quarter, Bryant made 1-of-2 technical free throws to give Los Angeles a 92-86 lead after Phoenix's Raja Bell and Suns coach Mike D'Antoni each were whistled for infractions.

However, reigning MVP Steve Nash found Shawn Marion for a breakaway dunk and Leandro Barbosa for a layup on consecutive possessions, drawing the Suns within two points.

But the Lakers regained control as Brown tipped a loose ball to Walton for a layup and Walton zipped a backdoor pass to Parker for a nifty reverse finger roll on back-to-back trips to build the lead back to 96-90 with 2:22 to play.

"We knew that we had to go out there and be aggessive and pound the ball inside because we are a bigger team than they are," Parker said. "But they came out and wanted to be aggressive. They tried to play the role and we just played through it, kept our composure and came away with the win."

Marion answered with a short jumper but, after the teams exchanged misses, Bryant made a pair of free throws with 22 seconds left to seal the Lakers' 13th win in their last 17 games.

"We've been a very focused team in trying to do what the coaches have set up for us to do," Walton said.

After some bad blood surfaced between the teams in Game Two, further antics ensued in this contest, with one incident in each half.

In the first quarter, Walton got tangled up with Suns forward Tim Thomas, who was eventually wrestled to the ground by Parker.

"It is a physical game," Bell said. "I am not going to say anything about that right now for fear of being fined. I'll just leave that all alone."

Things escalated in the third period when Brown elbowed Boris Diaw to the ground. Nash, who argued with Bryant during Wednesday's altercation, came charging into the situation to fuel a heated war of words between several players and coaches before cooler heads prevailed.

"Of course there is more intensity," said Diaw, who scored 14 points. "And the refs get a little tight too. It is the playoffs and nobody wants to lose a game and everybody is out there trying to win."

Marion led Phoenix with 20 points but made just 8-of-19 shots and committed three of the team's 14 turnovers. Thomas contributed 18 points and Nash had 17 and 11 assists for the Suns, who shot only 43 percent and were dominated on the glass, 53-34.

"We lost the rebounding tonight and we need to block out better," said Diaw, who grabbed only five rebounds in nearly 37 minutes.

Bell, who was held to 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting, offered few answers for the Suns' struggles in the series.

"I don't know," Bell said. "We'll have to go back to the drawing board and see what we can get done for Sunday."


Final Score

LA Lakers: 99---------------Phoenix: 92


Sacramento versus San Antonio

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SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 28 (Ticker) -- Kevin Martin's heroics kept the Sacramento Kings from the brink of elimination.

Martin connected on a buzzer-beating layup over the outstretched arms of Tim Duncan as the Kings pulled out a critical 94-93 triumph over the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in Game Three of their Western Conference first-round series.

After winning the first two games of the series, the Spurs held a 93-92 advantage and possession with only 27 seconds left in this one. Manu Ginobili wound down the clock before attempting to drive toward the basket to stretch the advantage.

However, Mike Bibby stripped the ball from the nimble Argentine and quickly raced to the other end where he hit a charging Martin, whose layup agonizingly bounced along the rim before finally falling through the hoop as time expired.

"I couldn't believe it was going to go in," Bibby said. "I was standing underneath the rim and just saw it bounce around and around. I'm glad it bounced our way this time."

Martin, who stepped in for suspended forward Ron Artest and scored 26 points in an overtime loss in Game Two, answered succinctly when asked if the game-winning layup was the biggest shot of his career.

"By far," he said.

"I thought they blew the whistle and called a foul, so I didn't even look at the ball," Martin added. "I was just trying to get to the free-throw line and just threw it up, and it went in. (Then)...chaos."

The key to the game-winning shot was the defense of Artest, who harassed Ginobili into seven turnovers, including the crucial last one to rescue the Kings.

"Ron was playing good defense and putting pressure on (Ginobili), which caused him to fumble the ball," Bibby said. "I just tried to get in there. I was going to leave Tony (Parker) open if I had to and just go for the steal. Once I got it, I didn't think I was going to make it down the court, but Kevin always breaks out so it was a helluva finish by Kevin."

"I'm just figuring out how to play those screens because Manu comes off those a hundred miles an hour," Artest said. "Tonight, I figured out a little bit better, but I'm sure they will make adjustments."

The victory was critical for the eighth-seeded Kings, who would have faced a 0-3 deficit with a loss. No team in NBA playoff history has ever made up a three-game deficit to win a series.

"We needed this game, it was a must-win for us," Bibby said. "We didn't give up. We'll see (if momentum) is with us the next game."

Top-seeded San Antonio rallied from a 15-point third quarter deficit behind Duncan, who collected 29 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks. Michael Finley, who scored all 17 of his points in the second half, drilled a 3-pointer that gave the Spurs a 93-92 advantage with 41 seconds remaining.

"I had pretty good looks at the basket," said Finley, who made 4-of-7 from the arc. "We knew it was going to be nip and tuck. This is the playoffs and the Kings are a good team. We knew it might come down to a shot like that."

After drilling 23 3-pointers over the first two games, San Antonio cooled off in Game Three, hitting just 6-of-20 from long range. However, the Spurs were were still in position to win thanks to Duncan.

"I feel like we wasted (Duncan) tonight," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We had a tough time getting those kind of games from him this season, so when he does get one of those, we'd like to win."

Bibby scored 25 and Bonzi Wells collected 19 and a playoff career-high 14 rebounds for Sacramento, which will try to even the series when it hosts Game Four on Sunday.

"Ron and Bonzi were great tonight, they got to the basket, got to the free-throw line, they got layups," Duncan said. "For a stretch there, I thought we did a good job stopping that and that's what kind of got us back into the game. Down the stretch it was just back-and-forth, who could make a stop."

"We've got to take this win and maybe celebrate for 10 minutes, (then) leave it alone because there's a new game coming up on Sunday," Artest said.


Final Score

Sacramento: 94----------------San Antonio: 93

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How Thing Stand (Best of 7)[/size]

San Antonio: 2--------------Sacramento: 1
Phoenix: 1---------------LA Lakers: 2
Denver: 1---------------LA Clippers: 2
Dallas: 2--------------Memphis: 0
Detroit: 2----------------Milwaukee: 0
Miami: 2-----------------Chicago: 1
New Jersey: 1-------------Indiana: 2
Cleveland: 2--------------Washington: 1

Tonight's Fixtures

Indiana versus New Jersey
Dallas versus Memphis
Detroit versus Milwaukee
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Stuff

Can't be bothered to update this much after a week of exams, so I'll say how things stand in the series. Normal service will be resumed tomorrow, when I'm not totally shattered.

How Thing Stand (Best of 7)

San Antonio: 3--------------Sacramento: 2
Phoenix: 3---------------LA Lakers: 3
Denver: 1---------------LA Clippers: 4
Dallas: 4--------------Memphis: 0
Detroit: 4----------------Milwaukee: 1
Miami: 4-----------------Chicago: 2
New Jersey: 4-------------Indiana: 2
Cleveland: 3--------------Washington: 2

Wow. So LA Clippers, Dallas, Detroit, Miami and New Jersey go through to the next round.

Tonight's Fixtures

Cleveland versus Washington
Sacramento versus San Antonio
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Round 1 - May 5th and 6th

A combined update here. On May 5th and 6th, the fixtures were:

Cleveland versus Washington
San Antonio versus Sacramento
Phoenix versus LA Lakers


Cleveland versus Washington

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WASHINGTON, May 5 (Ticker) -- Damon Jones made first-year coach Mike Brown look like a genius.

Jones hit a jumper from the left corner with 4.8 seconds remaining to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers into the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 114-113 overtime victory over the Washington Wizards in Game Six of their first-round series.

All-Star LeBron James collected 32 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as the fourth-seeded Cavaliers won their first playoff series since 1993, setting up a matchup with the two-time defending Eastern Conference champion and top-seeded Detroit Pistons.

Cleveland, which was swept by the Chicago Bulls in its last appearance in the semifinals in 1993, will face Detroit in the postseason for the first time starting Sunday.

Hardly used throughout the series, Jones was inserted into the game for the first time with Cleveland trailing, 113-112, with 14 seconds left and his team inbounding just past half-court.

"During off days when we weren't playing I've been getting my reps up," Jones said. "Just because I wasn't in the rotation, I wasn't going to stop working."

Larry Hughes took the inbounds pass and quickly got the ball to James, who was immediately double-teamed by Jared Jeffries and Gilbert Arenas. Sensing the pressure, James passed the ball on the left sideline to Hughes, who flipped it to Jones for the clutch jumper.

"I was going to either be the hero or the goat," Jones said. "Tonight I was the hero so I'm glad. That's why I'm smiling. I closed the MCI Center down and the place that you guys knew as the Verizon Center is no more."

"Damon Jones has been a professional," Brown said. "He helped us get to where we are. A lot of things that I have done this year, I have done on a gut feeling. Tonight I just had a gut feeling that I wanted to rotate Damon Jones into the lineup for that last possession. He is a pro's pro."

After James won both Games Three and Five with last-second shots, Washington coach Eddie Jordanfelt more than justified in deciding to double the Cleveland star right away.

"We wanted to double-team LeBron James because he had shown that he could beat us 1-on-1, 1-on-2 and sometimes 1-on-3," Jordan said. "We took our chances and Damon Jones hit a shot. I thought we executed our defense right, but this is what happens when you double-team and have a player making a play."

Without any timeouts, the Wizards raced the ball upcourt and got a good look, but Caron Butler's 3-pointer from the right wing hit the front of the rim.

"We left it all out there on the court," Butler said. "We were a play away from winning this series and moving on. It hurts. It's something you have to live with and tip your hat to the other team because they did a great job. This whole series was tough."

Jones' second basket on just three attempts in the series highlighted a huge effort by the Cleveland bench in a game where the organization had normally been snakebitten.

Donyell Marshall scored 28 points, Flip Murray 21 and Anderson Varejao grabbed 10 rebounds as the Cavaliers captured their second road win in a playoff series for the first time in franchise history and improved to 1-4 all-time in Game Sixes.

"I wasn't necessarily shooting the ball well up until this game and I wanted to get some easy buckets," said Marshall, who shot 11-of-15 and grabbed eight rebounds. "My teammates were getting me the ball at the right spot at the right time. I was open and I was in rhythm and able to knock the shots down.

"We have a lot of guys who've been scorers on other teams and guys who can step up on any given night and we showed that tonight."

The play of the bench proved crucial down the stretch as James scored only two points in an 11-1 run that turned a 101-94 deficit with just over two minutes remaining into a 105-102 edge after two free throws by Eric Snow with 14 seconds left.

Marshall started the spurt with one of his four 3-pointers and Murray added a driving layup and two free throws.

Despite his lack of scoring, James still played a big role in the run with a huge play on the defensive end. With the Wizards trying to add to their 102-101 lead, James blocked Antawn Jamison from behind and started a fast break that led to Murray's two free throws.

Cleveland later had a 107-104 advantage in regulation after Murray sank two more free throws with 9.9 seconds remaining. Arenas, who finished with 36 points on 14-of-27 shooting, had the ball stripped out of his hands and out of bounds after racing up the court. However, he caught the ensuing inbounds more than seven feet behind the 3-point line and sank the deep shot to force the overtime.

"He shot it from where the ESPN booth was - where Hubie Brown and those guys were sitting," James said. "It was an unbelievable shot. Gilbert is just an unbelievable player."

In the extra session, James and Arenas exchanged baskets in the opening moments. Eventually, Arenas had a chance to add to a 113-112 lead for Washington with 15 seconds left but missed two free throws.

In between the two misses, James went up to Arenas and had a few words to say to the Washington star.

"If you miss both of those free throws, the game is over," James said he told Arenas.

After missing the second, Arenas went to the bench shaking his head in disbelief.

"They gave us a chance and we didn't capitalize on it," Arenas said. "I had the chance to seal the game with two free throws and missed them both. You live and you learn and that is something I can take into the summer and use as motivation. I will be in plenty of situations and have plenty of opportunities to redeem myself."

Antonio Daniels scored 22 points and Butler added 18 and a career-high 20 rebounds for fifth-seeded Washington, which failed to make its second straight trip to the conference semifinals.


Final Score

Cleveland: 114--------------Washington: 113 (OT)


San Antonio versus Sacramento

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SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 5 (Ticker) -- While it may have taken longer than expected, the San Antonio Spurs are back where they belong.

Tony Parker scored 31 points as the Spurs advanced to the Western Conference semifinals with a 105-83 victory over the Sacramento Kings in Game Six of their tightly contested first-round series.

Bruce Bowen contributed 16 points and Tim Duncan 15 for top-seeded San Antonio, which has advanced in the playoffs for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons. The defending champion Spurs will host the fourth-seeded Dallas Mavericks in Game One on Sunday.

"Our defense was the best it (has) been in three of four weeks," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Maybe we finally figured out something with Bonzi (Wells) and with Ron (Artest). But we made shots on the other end too and Tony was spectacular, so we just had a great night."

Mike Bibby scored 19 points and Bonzi Wells added 17 with 11 rebounds for eighth-seeded Sacramento, which gave the best in the West all it could handle but ultimately was doomed by 41 percent shooting to go along with 20 turnovers.

"Tough loss," Wells said. "I'm very disappointed. (San Antonio) just dominated us in all facets of the game and flexed their championship muscles against us. ... From where we (were) in January to where we are today, that was a big turnaround. It's something to build on for next year."

"We understood that this team is difficult to beat here, but it was more or less about doing the best job we could defensively and paying attention to detail," Bowen said.

The Kings also got virtually nothing offensively out of Ron Artest, who battled a sprained ankle to shoot 2-of-11 from the field, or Brad Miller, who had as many fouls (three) as points.

"It was a bad time for an ankle sprain," Artest said. "It seemed like it affected our team. We played bad but we can play bad for a quarter and come back. That's not a big problem, but as soon as we got out for the third quarter, we just couldn't stop them."

The Spurs broke open the game in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the third quarter, when they outscored the Kings, 14-1, to take a 59-39 lead. Manu Ginobili had six points and an assist in the burst and Bowen added back-to-back 3-pointers for San Antonio, which scored 34 points in the third quarter after managing just 45 in the first half.

"I think a little wind did go out of their sails when (Artest) got hurt," Popovich said. "I thought it had an effect on the game because as soon as the third quarter started we went to Manu and tried to take advantage of that."

The primary star of the period was Parker, who scored 14 points in the session. The All-Star guard finished 11-of-20 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the foul line.

"Pop told me before this game that he wants me to shoot 25 times." Parker said. "I only shot 20, so I was five behind. When I make my outside shot, I feel like I can penetrate anytime I want. That's the key for me is to try to make that (outside) shot consistently and in the third quarter, it just felt great."

Brent Barry scored 12 points off the bench and Ginobili and Michael Finley added 10 apiece for the Spurs, who shot over 50 percent and made 9-of-19 attempts from the arc.

The matchup with the Mavericks is what most expected after the two teams battled all season for the Southwest Division title, with the Spurs closing strong to win by three games.

"Dallas is another very very good team," Parker said. "They're deep. Dirk Nowitzki is another tough cover. We're going to try to find some solution to slow him down. Jason Terry is a very good point guard, good shooter. They've got a lot of guys who can do a lot of stuff. It's going to be a good series."

"We're going to play them in about 20 minutes so we're going to try to get together and do a little scouting," Popovich joked, referring to the short turnaround before Sunday's Game One. "We just hope the game doesn't get moved to 8:00 AM."


Final Score

San Antonio: 105--------------Sacramento: 83


Phoenix versus LA Lakers

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PHOENIX, May 6 (Ticker) -- After Leandro Barbosa helped the Phoenix Suns to a big lead, Kobe Bryant decided to do nothing about it.

Barbosa scored a playoff career-high 26 points as the balanced Suns completed their comeback with a 121-90 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers in the decisive seventh game of their Western Conference first-round series.

Boris Diaw added 21 points and Shawn Marion had 14 and 10 rebounds for the second-seeded Suns, who became just the eighth team in NBA history to rally from a 3-1 series deficit.

Following a 114-97 win in Game 5 that prolonged the series, the Suns gained even more momentum in a 126-118 overtime triumph in Game 6. Tim Thomas hit a 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds left in regulation to send the sixth game into overtime.

Back in front of their home fans, the Suns overwhelmed the seventh-seeded Lakers in the decisive game, never trailing and leading by as many as 33 points.

"It was the heart and perseverance of our guys to overcome Game Four," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "Thinking that we were slighted. We tried to do the right thing, we kept getting hit, and they had enough. Whether they turned it on or thought about it subconsciously I don't know but from that moment we played the way we played all year."

Barbosa, who scored 22 points while getting the start in place of the suspended Raja Bell in Game 6, again was a major factor in this one.

Coming off the bench, Barbosa scored 15 points in the first half as the Suns shot 60 percent (25-of-42) and opened a 60-45 advantage. They led by at least 14 points the entire second half.

Barbosa made 10-of-12 shots overall in 30 minutes.

"I think I figured out my game," Barbosa said. "At the beginning everybody knew they had to do more. Right now I have a lot of confidence. Maybe it is concentration and focus. I wasn't worried about points. I was trying to be aggressive. That is the way I like to play."

"It does help that he is one of the fastest guys on earth and one of the best shooters from three," D'Antoni said. "It was amazing what he and Boris Diaw did in the first half."

Bryant tried to keep the Lakers in it in the first half by scoring 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting. The league's leading scorer, Bryant netted 50 points in Game 6.

But in a puzzling disappearing act, Bryant deferred to his teammates in the second half Saturday, taking just three shots and scoring one point on a technical free throw.

"If we were going to get back in this type of game we had to have everybody contributing," Bryant said. "In the first half I started to pick it up offensively just to keep us in the hunt. If we were going to get back into the game in the second half everybody has to get into a rhythm and that didn't happen."

Through the first four games of the series, Bryant had been giving more responsibility to his teammates. The superstar attempted 35 shots in Game Six, but faded in the second half in his team's biggest game of the season.

"We wanted to get back in the game so we were running things through other guys," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "Nash was a little bit banged up and we were trying to use out inside out game. Kobe just sat on that game plan and let the other things happen."

When Bryant decided to stop shooting, the Suns decided to run the Lakers off the court. A pair of free throws by Marion with 4:31 remaining in the third quarter gave Phoenix an 80-56 bulge. Phoenix held a 90-65 bulge entering the final period.

Steve Nash contributed 13 points and nine assists and Bell scored 13 for Phoenix, which will meet the sixth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers in the conference semifinals. Game 1 is here Monday.

Bell had battled Bryant all series and was ejected during Game 5 when he clotheslined Bryant and then threw him to the ground.

"I can't really give you an answer why he didn't shoot in the second half," Bell said. "Whatever happened we've got bigger fish to fry now."

"I really don't think about him defensively," Bryant said. "It is not like when I go up against a Bruce Bowen or a Ron Artest. They make you think about what you do out there. It's not like that."

Possibly the only bad news for the Suns is that Nash - the reigning MVP who reportedly will win the award for a second straight season - appeared a bit slow after tweaking his ankle in the first half.

"It will be fine after the next day and a half," Nash said.

The Suns had seven players reach double figures and shot 61 percent (47-of-77), including 10-of-21 from 3-point range.

Jackson, who has won nine NBA titles, had been 44-0 when leading in a series.

"It is a shame we couldn't give them a better game today," Jackson said. "You could see early on that things were going to be a little strained for us. The first five minutes on it seemed like they were a step quicker and a step better offensively and we had jitters today."

Luke Walton scored 16 points and Lamar Odom 12 for the Lakers, who shot just 35 percent (32-of-91).


Final Score

Phoenix: 121---------------LA Lakers: 90

So the first round of matches are all finished in both conferences. Here are the final standings in all series.

Final Conference Quarter Finals Standings (Best of 7)

San Antonio: 4--------------Sacramento: 2
Phoenix: 4---------------LA Lakers: 3
Denver: 1---------------LA Clippers: 4
Dallas: 4--------------Memphis: 0
Detroit: 4----------------Milwaukee: 1
Miami: 4-----------------Chicago: 2
New Jersey: 4-------------Indiana: 2
Cleveland: 4--------------Washington: 2

Conference semi finals

San Antonio versus Dallas
Phoenix versus LA Clippers
Detroit versus Cleveland
Miami versus New Jersey

Tonight's Fixtures

Dallas versus San Antonio
Cleveland versus Detroit
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San Antonio v Dallas should be an interesting match-up! My GI Fantasy NBA League team versus the reigning champions (in real life)!
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Matches - 7th May

Last night, there were two games:

Cleveland versus Detroit
Dallas versus San Antonio

Cleveland versus Detroit

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AUBURN HILLS, Mich., May 7 (Ticker) -- Tayshaun Prince's defensive assignment did nothing to slow down his offensive game.

Prince scored 16 of his 24 points in a blistering first half as the Detroit Pistons coasted to a 113-86 victory over the weary Cleveland Cavaliers in the opener of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
 
Richard Hamilton added 20 points and Chauncey Billups 14 and 10 assists for the top-seeded Pistons, who put on an offensive clinic in looking very much like the NBA's best team.

"We got our behinds kicked," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "I'll tell you what, they shot the heck out of the ball. They jumped on us early. This team already has a lot of confidence and when they go on runs like that at the end of the quarters, they tend to pounce on you. They played a (heck) of a ballgame."

The lanky 6-9 Prince will be the primary defender on 21-year-old phenom LeBron James, who averaged 30.7 points in leading the fourth-seeded Cavs by the fifth-seeded Washington Wizards in six games in the first round. James finished second in the NBA MVP voting to Steve Nash earlier Sunday.

Prince was the offensive leader in the first half, when the Pistons took all the drama out of this one.

Behind Prince, the Pistons shot 65 percent (24-of-37) and made 10-of-11 attempts from 3-point range in the first half en route to building a commanding 69-48 lead.

The Pistons, who scored a franchise-record 43 points in the second quarter, led by as many as 37 points in the second half.

"Tay was great because I think it's important to make LeBron work," Hamilton said. "They depend on him so much on the offensive end, you've got to make him work on the defensive end, too. Tay did an excellent job of doing that."

Detroit shot 52 percent (42-of-81) overall and went 15-of-22 from the arc.

"We just shot the ball great," Billups said. "When we can shoot it that good, nobody can really beat us. If any team shoots it that good, you're in trouble."

Playing less than 48 hours after closing their series against the Wizards, the Cavs held a 12-7 lead less than four minutes into the contest before the rested Pistons took control.

Billups, who finished fifth in MVP voting earlier in the day, scored nine points in a 19-4 surge over the last 8:15 of the first quarter that gave the Pistons a 26-16 lead. The lead only grew larger thereafter.

Prince and Lindsey Hunter nailed 3-pointers and Antonio McDyess drained a jumper to push the advantage to 56-39 with 2:36 left in the half. Hunter also drilled two long shots from the arc in the final minute of the half.

The Pistons' advantage grew to 94-63 after three quarters.

"We definitely know that we aren't going to shoot like this throughout the playoffs, but we knew we had to set a tone today," Prince said.

McDyess and Hunter scored 12 points apiece for Detroit, which had been off since Wednesday after disposing of Milwaukee in five games in the first round. The Pistons closed that series with a 122-93 destruction.

"Lindsey has always been known for his ability to defend, but he, along with all of our bench players, have shot the ball extremely well these first six games of the playoffs," Detroit coach Flip Saunders said.

James scored all 22 of his points in the first half for the Cavs, who are in the conference semifinals for the first time in 13 years. The superstar did not play the fourth quarter with the game out of reach.

"It wasn't frustrating, it was a bit discouraging," James said. "You play defense for 22 or 23 seconds and a guy hits a three at the end of the shot clock. But give much credit to the Pistons. They came out, took care of business on their home court and that's what it's about."

Game 2 is here Tuesday.


Final Score

Cleveland: 86---------------Detroit: 113


Dallas versus San Antonio

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SAN ANTONIO, May 7 (Ticker) -- Bruce Bowen hit the go-ahead 3-pointer. Jerry Stackhouse missed an ill-advised 3-point attempt.

Playing approximately 36 hours after clinching their first-round series on the road, the San Antonio Spurs made enough plays down the stretch to hold off the well-rested Dallas Mavericks, 87-85, in the opener of the Western Conference semifinals.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was not pleased with having to play an afternoon game on Sunday after his team clinched its first-round series on Friday night at Sacramento.

The Mavs had not played since completing a four-game sweep of Memphis on Monday.

"It all depends on how you handle it," Popovich said. "Both teams played well enough to win. We were fortunate to get something to fall in the end. They couldn't get something to fall. We were fortunate it went our way."

The lack of rest against too much rust theme was resolved in a fourth quarter in which both teams looked tired and out of rhythm.

Bowen made the biggest basket for the top-seeded Spurs, snapping an 84-84 tie with a 3-pointer from the right corner with 2:14 left.

The Mavericks missed their last six shots and made just 2-of-4 free throws in the final 3:28. After Josh Howard split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 84-84, Stackhouse missed a reverse layup and a 15-footer from the right side.

The Spurs broke the tie when Tony Parker drove the lane and dished to Bowen, who drilled his go-ahead 3-pointer. That turned out to be the last field goal of the game.

"During the timeout, Popovich told me to penetrate and either they would foul me and put me on the free throw line, or Bruce would be open in the corner for the three," Parker said. "Bruce was open and he just made a great shot."

Manu Ginobili stole the ball from Dirk Nowitzki on Dallas' ensuing possession, but missed a reverse layup. Ginobili had another chance to increase San Antonio's three-point lead, but missed a driving shot in the lane with 36.6 seconds left and then fouled Erick Dampier.

A 59 percent free throw shooter, Dampier missed the first and made the second to pull the Mavs within 87-85.

Ginobili missed again, hitting the front rim on a lefthanded shot in the lane with 13.9 seconds left.

Mavs coach Avery Johnson called a timeout to set up a play and watched in frustration as Stackhouse launched an off-balance 3-pointer from the left sideline as time expired.

"We were trying to get the ball to Dirk," Johnson said. "But if Dirk gets the ball when he is 20 feet away from the basket, we are supposed to have another option. And we just did a poor job of getting the ball to the other option. We were going for the two, and if we had nothing we knew we had a timeout. It's nobody's fault. It's my fault."

Jason Terry took the inbounds pass and gave the ball to Nowitzki - Dallas' leading scorer - on the right side. Bowen's primary assignment in this series is to defend Nowitzi, who drove to his left and passed across to Stackhouse. Ginobili deflected the pass, but Stackhouse was able to grab the ball and appeared to have an open 15-foot shot.

However, instead of shooting immediately, Stackhouse retreated to the left corner for a fadeaway 3-pointer that barely grazed the rim.

"The last play was an isolation for Dirk but he got tangled up and the play kind of got broken," Stackhouse said. "I ended up with the ball in the corner and I had to collect it. When I did, I wasn't sure how much time was left. Once I looked up there was only about three seconds left, not enough time to set up another play. So I just stepped back and tried to get a good look for a three from the corner."

The miss spoiled an otherwise solid game for Stackhouse, who led the Mavericks with 24 points off the bench.

Tim Duncan, who averaged 18.6 points in San Antonio's six-game series victory over Sacramento, played like a two-time NBA MVP with 31 points and 13 rebounds.

"Well, I really didn't do a whole lot in the last game (against Sacramento)," Duncan said. " I might have played 30 or more minutes, but we built ourselves a good lead and I didn't really have to do that much. So maybe that's why I felt pretty good today."

Parker added 19 points and Ginobili finished with 15, but made just 5-of-14 shots.

Nowitzki, who finished third in the NBA MVP voting for the second consecutive year, scored 20 points on 8-of-20 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds. But just two of those points came in the fourth quarter on 1-of-4 shooting.

"We played well enough to win the game but didn't," Nowitzki said. "Both teams have athleticism on the perimeter. Both teams have big guys who can step up. Ultimately, we're both playing defense first."

Howard scored 17 points and Terry added 14, but made just 6-of-18 shots.

This series matches the two top teams in the conference, although the Mavs are the fourth seed. San Antonio won 63 games and Dallas was second in the conference with 60 wins, but the Mavs were delegated behind the two other division winners who were automatically awarded the second and third seeds.

Game 2 is here on Tuesday, where the Spurs are 38-7, including playoffs.

The series opener featured 12 lead changes and 10 ties.

San Antonio scored the first five points on a shot from the arc by Robert Horry and a layup by Parker. Johnson called a timeout 1:13 into the game to berate his team and the Mavs responded, taking a 29-26 lead at the end of the first quarter and increasing the advantage to 52-46 at halftime.

Duncan scored 20 of his points on 8-of-14 shooting in the first half to keep the Spurs within striking distance.

A driving bank shot in the lane by Howard gave Dallas its biggest lead at 54-46 just 1:22 into the second half.

But the Spurs scored the next eight points to tie the game as Parker hit a 3-pointer and bank shot in the lane.


Final Score

Dallas: 85--------------San Antonio: 87

How Things Stand (Best of 7)

Cleveland: 0--------------Detroit: 1
Dallas: 0------------------San Antonio: 1
Phoenix: 0----------------LA Clippers: 0
Miami: 0------------------New Jersey: 0

Tonight's Fixtures

New Jersey versus Miami
LA Clippers versus Phoenix
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Matches - 8th May

Last night there were the following games:

New Jersey versus Miami
LA Clippers versus Phoenix


New Jersey versus Miami

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"nba.com"
 
MIAMI, May 8 (Ticker) -- Jason Kidd and the New Jersey Nets exploited all of the Miami Heat's weaknesses.

Kidd collected 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as the Nets made the Heat look very ordinary in cruising to a 100-88 victory in the opener of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Vince Carter scored 27 points and Richard Jefferson added 20 in slightly more than a half for third-seeded New Jersey, which was swept by the Heat in the first round a year ago but wasted no time letting them know that this will be a different series.

"You don't win or lose a series in Game 1, but this is certainly a very big win," Jefferson said. "We'll have to come out just as strong in Game 2 because you know Miami will be ready to bounce back. We have to stay aggressive and attack the basket. We can't settle for just this effort."

Considered a challenger for the NBA title, second-seeded Miami struggled at times as it needed six games to dispatch Chicago in the first round. The Heat repeatedly were beaten off the dribble, made poor decisions with the ball and saw Shaquille O'Neal limited by foul trouble.

With the quickness of Kidd, Carter and Jefferson and the shooting of center Nenad Krstic, the Nets appear to have the formula for instilling fear in the Heat. Miami should be very concerned about this loss, its first at home in the postseason.

"We kept them in front of us and tried to make them get us from the outside," Kidd said. "Our perimeter defense forced them into a lot of turnovers early on. We got our hands on some balls and had some deflections and that kind of set the tone."

The Heat's inability to defend the perimeter was evident as they allowed 64 points in the first half, matching the most in franchise playoff history. Kidd and Jefferson ran wild, scoring 17 points each.

"We have to do a better job in transition," said Miami guard Dwyane Wade, who scored a quiet 25 points. "They are a pretty good transition team and today they really hurt us. They got out and hit open shots, so we have to a better job of getting back and making them see five guys in Game Two."

Miami committed nine turnovers in the first quarter. Two were offensive fouls in the first five minutes by O'Neal, who sat for the rest of the period.

"We have to take care of the ball. Every time we turned it over, they pushed it right down our throats," Heat forward Antoine Walker said. "It looks like it might be one of those kinds of series where there's going to be those touchy, feely, picky fouls. We have to work through it and around it."

O'Neal, who did not speak to reporters after the game, picked up two more fouls in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the third period and took another seat, which jump-started a clinching 13-0 run by the Nets. The superstar center finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, mostly in the fourth quarter.

New Jersey answered Miami's opening basket with a 12-0 run and never looked back. Making 19 of their first 25 shots, the Nets held leads of 38-21 after one period, 64-46 at halftime and 82-54 midway through the third quarter, when boos rained down on the home team.

"It was really important for us to get off to a good start," Nets coach Lawrence Franksaid. "Defensive stops led to some transition opportunities ... The ball was moving and those were great rhythm stops. We had a really good paint attack. ... It's one game. We just have to keep on getting better."

"We were just not ready in the beginning of the game," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "The No. 1 point to our players when we met was that we have to take care of the ball against them and (we) have to be real strong with the ball and get back in transition. You can't let them turn turnovers into points."

Kidd, who shot 29 percent from the field in the first round, made 9-of-17 shots and added four steals. Krstic contributed 11 points for the Nets, who shot 49 percent (34-of-70) despite a chilly final period.

Early in the third quarter, Jefferson sprained his right ankle, left the game and did not return. X-rays were negative and his status is unknown for Game 2 on Wednesday.

"I got bumped on my way up and when I came down my ankle buckled," said Jefferson, who was wearing a walking boot after the game. "I just sprained it. ... There's no swelling but we'll wait to see what the MRI shows (Tuesday) and take it from there. I can't say for sure how it will be (Wednesday) but I'm a confident person and I believe this will turn out OK."

There may have been a little something to the season series. New Jersey was a questionable call away from a four-game sweep of Miami and continued its dominance without an explosion from Carter, who averaged 38.5 points in those games.

When the Heat made a late surge and closed to 92-83 with 4:22 remaining, Carter made two free throws, a lefthanded layup around O'Neal and another free throw before Kidd's jumper sealed it at 99-86 with 1:56 left.

"We just had to remain patient and execute," said Carter, who sank 15-of-19 free throws. "We knew Miami would make a run; they're a great team and great teams do that. But we just had to stay aggressive and attack the basket."

Jason Williams scored 12 points for Miami, which shot 39 percent (27-of-69), including 4-of-22 from the arc.

"The things we talked about doing regarding Vince Carter, Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson as a team defensively, we did not do," Heat forward Udonis Haslem said. "Anytime you dig a hole like that, it's highly unlikely you're going to come back and win."

Or as Miami backup center Alonzo Mourning said before exiting the locker room, "We got our (butts) kicked."


Final Score

New Jersey: 100------------Miami: 88


LA Clippers versus Phoenix

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"nba.com"
 
PHOENIX, May 8 (Ticker) -- The outside attack of the Phoenix Suns overwhelmed the inside presence of Elton Brand.

Steve Nash directed a potent offense that drained 12 3-pointers to offset 40 points by Brand and lift the Suns to a 130-123 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Nash had 31 points and 12 assists and Shawn Marion added 20 and 15 rebounds for the second-seeded Suns, who shot 55 percent (47-of-86) from the field and had six players in double figures.

Phoenix scored a staggering 74 points in the second half and pulled away late for its fourth straight postseason win by hitting threes and being able to penetrate. It hosts Game 2 on Wednesday.

"Scoring 74 points in the second half will give us a nice chance to win most games," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We weren't sharp mentally in the second quarter but our guys found a way to bounce back. We hit big shots. We hit big threes and we outscored them in the paint."

The highest-scoring game of the playoffs thus far saw an explosion by Brand, who made 18-of-22 shots, most of them on short jumpers after overpowering the smallish Suns in the post. The All-Star forward added nine rebounds and four blocks.

"Personally, I had a great game but we didn't close it out," Brand said. "They are a hot team and they were hitting all their shots. We do have to control the tempo better. We can't have any lows or any mistakes against this team. To get the tempo in our favor we really need to limit our quick shots. That is their game plan. It can't be fools gold."

A dunk by Brand pulled the sixth-seeded Clippers into a 101-101 tie with 8:33 to play. He was given a rest for less than two minutes, but that was enough as the Suns pounced with a 19-6 surge.

Boris Diaw triggered the surge with consecutive baskets and Leandro Barbosa, Raja Bell and Nash sank 3-pointers to build the lead to 120-107 with 2:56 remaining. Phoenix led by at least six points thereafter.

"The tempo wasn't exactly what we needed," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "Offensively in the second half, we didn't have the intensity. We executed and put up shots but they made their threes. We shot a high percentage but they were controlling the paint."

Phoenix made 12-of-27 shots from the arc while Los Angeles made 4-of-12 - three of them coming in the final two-plus minutes. Bell made four 3-pointers, Nash had three and Barbosa and Tim Thomas two apiece. The Suns also outscored the Clippers in the paint, 48-42.

The Suns were pretty good from the straight line, too. They sank their first 20 free throws and finished 24-of-25 from the stripe, with the only miss coming from Nash, the team leader.

Bell scored 22 points, Diaw added 19 and Barbosa 17 for the Suns.

"That is how we play and we have been playing like that all season," Diaw said. "We are a three-point shooting team so we just have to keep it up."

Sam Cassell scored 28 points and Corey Maggette added 20 for the Clippers, who shot 59 percent (48-of-81).

After receiving his MVP trophy from Commissioner David Stern before the game, Nash sparked the Suns to an early 23-12 lead. However, the Clippers closed the first quarter with a 13-6 surge that featured three straight buckets by Brand.

"We are getting better. I think we are getting more balance," Nash said. "Our offensive is playing with the tempo, confidence and rhythm we need to. It must be a difficult loss for Elton Brand. He was phenomenal. I thought he was trying to get them to change the MVP at halftime."

A jumper and 3-pointer by Thomas rebuilt the lead to 54-45 with 4:09 remaining before the Clippers again closed in strong fashion with a 16-2 burst, taking a 61-56 lead into halftime as Brand made three more hoops.

A seesaw third quarter saw Phoenix start with a 12-4 spurt, Cassell sink four straight shots in a 13-2 run that allowed Los Angeles to rebuild a 78-70 lead and Bell drain a 3-pointer to give the Suns a 93-91 edge entering the final period.


Final Score

LA Clippers: 123----------------Phoenix: 130


How Things Stand (Best of 7)

Cleveland: 0--------------Detroit: 1
Dallas: 0------------------San Antonio: 1
Phoenix: 1----------------LA Clippers: 0
Miami: 0------------------New Jersey: 1

Tonight's Fixtures

Cleveland versus Detroit
Dallas versus San Antonio
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My Trophies:

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Intercontinental Cup (Football)
Winners' Shield (Football)
One Day Cricket League x2 (Cricket)
ECB Complex Cup (Cricket)
World Club Championship (Cricket)
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Why do all American sports have 'Best of 7' playoffs? Why not one-match or at least three matches?
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