NBA Playoffs Results

vs(From the Associated Press) - In front of a boisterous, hostile crowd and facing a team in desperation mode, the Orlando Magic showcased their depth, grit and poise when it mattered most.

Imagine how good they could be if their superstar center played more than half the game.

No Dwight Howard(notes), no problem for the Magic, who got 32 points from sudden star Jameer Nelson(notes) to overcome another frustrating, foul-filled game by their big man in a 90-86 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday.

Spoiling Charlotte’s return to the playoff stage after an eight-year absence, the Magic took a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round series despite being without Howard for the final 3:32 after he fouled out.

“You’ve got to admire them with Dwight getting foul trouble and fouling out how they still didn’t fold,” Bobcats coach Larry Brown said. “They were disciplined and executed. They got a well-deserved win.”

For the third straight game and two days after Orlando was assessed $70,000 in fines for complaining about the officiating, Howard played about half the game, finishing with 13 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks.

After Howard was sidelined for good, Nelson had a key bucket and backup center Marcin Gortat(notes) hit two free throws with 12 seconds left to put it away.

The defending Eastern Conference champions can clinch a spot in the second round with a win in Game 4 on Monday.

“I think this is a big test for me, learning how to keep my composure in tough situations,” said Howard, who has played in only 83 of 144 minutes in the series because of chronic foul trouble. “Things may not go my way, but we’re playing for something bigger.”

Stephen Jackson(notes) scored 19 points, but was 6 of 18 from the field and missed a key 3-pointer in the final minute for the cold-shooting Bobcats, who face the prospect of a first-round sweep in their first playoff appearance.

Charlotte hadn’t hosted a playoff game since the Hornets’ last year here in 2002, and towel-waving, white T-shirt-clad fans arrived early for the team’s milestone moment.

But even with excited owner Michael Jordan squirming in his seat and relaying pointers to players from the end of Charlotte’s bench, the 6-year-old Bobcats wilted in a tight fourth quarter.

Gerald Wallace(notes) added 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting for Charlotte. Raymond Felton(notes) also scored 13, but shot 5 of 14 and again couldn’t contain Nelson.

“We’re not good enough to win with one or two guys playing at a high level,” Brown said.

Nelson’s floater in the lane with 1:32 left put Orlando ahead 85-82. After an empty possession for each team, Felton’s driving layup with 52 seconds left cut the lead to one.

Nelson then missed a contested layup, giving Charlotte the ball with 31 seconds left. But Jackson was badly short on a straightaway 3-point attempt.

It was a familiar sight: Charlotte was 5 of 23 from 3-point range.

“It was kind of hard to drive when you know Dwight’s there clogging the paint and nobody’s open,” Jackson said of all the 3-point attempts. “It’s hard not to take the shot.”

Vince Carter(notes) and Gortat combined to hit 5-of-6 free throws to put it away.

Nelson, who also scored 32 points in the series opener, hit 12-of-21 shots and 5-of-9 3-point attempts.

“In this series, when I get in the paint something good has happened for us,” Nelson said. “I just want to stay in attack mode.”

He had to after Howard fouled out after picking up his last two fouls in 11 seconds. The first came after he tangled with Tyson Chandler(notes) in the post on the offensive end, the second when he tried to contest Felton’s driving layup.

Felton’s ensuing free throw put Charlotte ahead 80-79.

The Bobcats immediately went small, putting in an extra guard, but Rashard Lewis(notes) responded with two strong drives to the hoop and four free throws to put Orlando ahead for good.

Lewis added 14 points for Orlando, which overcame 9-of-30 3-point shooting to outscore Charlotte 11-6 after Howard left.

The crowd was giddy when Howard had three fouls—and a technical to boot from referee Joe Crawford(notes)—with 10:40 left in the first half after getting called for an offensive foul tangling with Chandler in the post.

It didn’t matter early with Nelson dominating. As in Game 1, Nelson constantly beat Felton off the dribble for easy layups when he wasn’t hitting 3-pointers. His four-point play that included the sight of Felton flailing away in attempt to grab him, ended a 19-point, 7-for-7 first quarter.

With Howard on the bench, the Bobcats built a 41-33 second-quarter lead before Nelson got hot again in the third quarter in Orlando’s 11-0 spurt.

Then Howard was called for his fourth foul with 3:40 left in the third quarter.

“It’s tough not to get frustrated,” Howard said. “I don’t think you guys understand how it feels to get beat up every night. I just try to keep my composure.”

vs(From the Associated Press) - Brandon Roy(notes) was so antsy to return to the Trail Blazers that he campaigned via text message to coach Nate McMillan.

“Coach, I think I should play,” he texted on the eve of Saturday’s playoff game against the Phoenix Suns.

Luckily for the Blazers, McMillan agreed.

Roy was activated Saturday, then helped Portland to a 96-87 victory that evened the first-round series at two games apiece.

Eight days removed from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, Roy made his surprising return to the court to the strains of the theme from “Rocky” blaring from the Rose Garden sound system, then went on hit a key 3-pointer late in the game that shifted the momentum squarely in the Trail Blazers’ favor.

“I just didn’t feel right sitting in the training room knowing that I could contribute—so I just had to keep begging coach,” Roy said afterward.

The first-round series now moves back to Phoenix on Monday night. It wasn’t supposed to include Roy, but things changed Friday.

McMillan said it was a “long, sleepless night” in deciding to play Roy, the team’s unquestioned leader. He even brought owner Paul Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, in on the discussion.

“All kinds of things went through my head, thinking about the risk of him reinjuring himself,” McMillan said. “But our doctors didn’t feel like Brandon could hurt himself.”

LaMarcus Aldridge(notes), who had been double-teamed all series long without Roy, benefited the most from his return, with 31 points and 11 rebounds.

“As soon as he checked into the game, I got my first open shot with nobody guarding me, so I was thinking thank God he’s back,” Aldridge said.

Roy, who had the surgery to repair a torn meniscus, came into the game to a deafening ovation with 4:06 left in the first quarter and made a layup about a minute later to put Portland ahead 20-19.

Roy played a relatively quiet 26 minutes, but hit a 3-pointer with 4:55 left that gave Portland a 85-79 lead.

“I’d certainly say it gave them a lift,” Suns guard Steve Nash(notes) said. “More than anything it just gave everyone a boost in their spirit and attitude. That was good for the crowd and good for his teammates to have him out there.”

Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with 26 points.

After dropping the series opener 105-100 in Phoenix, the Suns cruised to a 119-90 home victory before beating the Blazers 108-89 in Portland to take the series lead going into Saturday’s game.

“We didn’t bring it, we just didn’t bring it,” Stoudemire said. “We realized how important the game was. We didn’t bring the effort, we didn’t bring the energy, we didn’t rebound, we didn’t attack. We had a chance to go up 3-1, which would have been great. Now we’ve got to go back to a must-win situation.”

The Suns in the previous two games had stymied Portland with an up-tempo pick-and-roll, kicking the ball out to Jason Richardson(notes), who had a career playoff-high 42 points in Game 3.

The Blazers caught on in Game 4, limiting Richardson to 15 points. Nash also had 15 points and eight assists.

“For us, the difference in the game was that we didn’t play with the energy that we needed to in order to beat this team,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. “And if you don’t, you struggle. I thought we had the pace of the game where we needed to have it at the start, but we ended up with 37 in the second half. You won’t be able to beat this team doing that.”

The Blazers were much more competitive at the start than they had been the past two games. Rudy Fernandez(notes) hit a 3-pointer that put Portland up 35-33 in the second quarter and the Blazers extended the lead to 51-45 with 2:09 left on Aldridge’s dunk.

The Suns kept it close, narrowing it to 52-50 on Grant Hill’s(notes) pull-up jumper before Marcus Camby’s(notes) tip-in put Portland up 54-50 at the half.

Richardson hit two consecutive 3-pointers to open the second half and gave Phoenix a 56-54 lead.

Portland responded, going up 70-64 on Jerryd Bayless’(notes) fast-break jumper, but the slight cushion was short-lived and Stoudemire’s hook tied it 74 early in the fourth quarter.

The Suns were unable to pull ahead, despite poor shooting by the Blazers from the field. Portland missed 12 straight shots but was able to stay in the game on the free throw line.

Then came Roy’s 3-pointer with 4:55 left to make it 85-79. He also made a pull-up jumper with 2:10 left that gave the Blazers a 91-83 lead, their biggest of the game.

Roy’s injury was the latest to strike the unlucky Blazers this season. Nicolas Batum(notes) missed 45 games to start the season after shoulder surgery, centers Greg Oden(notes) and Joel Przybilla(notes) both had season-ending knee surgery, Fernandez had back problems, and former Blazer Travis Outlaw(notes), later traded to the Clippers, was out for an extended period because of a foot injury.

Roy himself was out for 15 games because of a sore hamstring.

In all, 13 Blazers missed a combined 311 regular-season games, second only to Golden State this season. Only guard Andre Miller(notes) and forward Martell Webster(notes) played in all 82 games.

Roy, who for a long time had a note with the words “Stay Humble” in his locker, gave himself an average grade.

“For the first game in a couple of weeks I thought I did OK,” he said. “Once I get my rhythm back, I’m capable of making shots.”



vs(From the Associated Press) - John Salmons(notes) let out a huge sigh at his locker before a wide grin crept across his face. The questions of whether the Milwaukee Bucks can hang with the Atlanta Hawks are over.

Salmons scored 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting, Kurt Thomas(notes) had eight points, 13 rebounds and four stitches, and the Bucks never let up after a hot start in a 107-89 Game 3 victory on Saturday night after a three-day layoff.
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“It’s just good to finally play. That was a tough three days thinking about what you have to do, what you should do,” said Salmons, who was acquired in a trading deadline deal that’s helped spark Milwaukee’s postseason run. “It’s good to get the game going.”

The series is now on, too.

Atlanta still leads 2-1 after two double-digit victories at home, when the Bucks looked overmatched without the injured Andrew Bogut(notes).

“We came out with a lot of energy. We knew that would be the only way we’d be able to win,” Salmons said. “We’ve got to play as close to perfect as possible and we did a good job of that.”

The Bucks shot 68 percent in the first quarter and 51 percent for the game. Milwaukee’s stingy defense returned, too, holding the Hawks to 32 percent shooting through three quarters to turn the fourth into trash time.

“It was nice to see the guys show up again,” Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. “This is the team that I’m used to coaching and seeing, with a lot of intensity.”

Rookie Brandon Jennings(notes) added 13 points and played 11 minutes in the second half after a fall late in the first half where he landed hard on his elbow and hip. He didn’t miss a beat, though.

“I was so pumped up, I didn’t want to miss any part of the game,” he said.

Milwaukee proved that the Hawks may have to “Fear the Deer” after all when the series picks up again Monday in Milwaukee with Game 4.

Only once did Atlanta appear poised to make a run. Joe Johnson(notes) scored 25 points for Atlanta and helped the Hawks cut the lead to nine early in the third quarter, but Jennings and the Bucks turned up the pressure.

Jennings sent a soft pass to Luc Richard Mbah a Moute(notes) in the lane and Mbah a Moute’s layup spun around the rim twice before falling in as the rookie point guard twisted his body 25 feet away in an effort to make the ball fall.

Moments later, Carlos Delfino(notes) hit his second straight 3-pointer to make it 64-47 after starting Game 3 by missing his first five shots. Salmons, who also had seven assists, followed with spinning 5-footer in the lane.

“The ball was moving a little more. That’s our style of basketball. We share the ball. A lot of guys got involved,” said Mbah a Moute, who finished with 12 points. “That paid dividends.”

Jennings then whipped the crowd into a frenzy late in the quarter, stripping Mike Bibby(notes) and sending a behind-the-back bounce pass to Jerry Stackhouse(notes) for a dunk as Milwaukee took a 78-57 lead into the fourth.

While the Hawks may boast the “Highlight Factory” in Atlanta, Milwaukee went buck wild back home in the Bradley Center after spending three days brooding over the tapes of the embarrassing road losses.

The Bucks found their mark from 3-point range, hitting 10 of 23 after going 10 of 44 in the first two games.

Jennings, who had nine points in Game 2, made three 3s and scored 11 points in the first quarter. Salmons hit all five of his first-quarter attempts and added 11 as Milwaukee built a 31-13 advantage and led 36-19 after the period.

“For us to come out, the way we played in the first quarter, that’s unacceptable,” Johnson said. “Give the Bucks credit, man. They fed off this crowd tonight and got their team off to a fast start and they never looked back.”

Josh Smith(notes), who mentioned there was “nothing to do” in Milwaukee earlier this week, was mostly quiet with seven points and 12 rebounds. He fell late in the first half and appeared to be limping slightly the rest of the game. Center Al Horford(notes) had 10 points, but only three rebounds in 30 minutes.

“I live in Atlanta, stay in Atlanta, play for Atlanta, love Atlanta,” Smith said. “I didn’t say anything about their fans. I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”

Thomas, a 15-year veteran, went in for stitches early in the second quarter after taking an inadvertent shot to the chin and missed 4 1/2 minutes of game action, but even lightly used Dan Gadzuric(notes) had 10 rebounds in 17 minutes for Milwaukee.

Bucks owner and U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl watched the team’s first home postseason game in four years in his customary seat just behind center court, and Milwaukee hit 12 of its first 15 shots to start the game.

He and the rest of the Bucks can only wonder how far they might go in the postseason with a healthy Bogut. Bogut doled out left-handed high fives from the bench with his right arm still in a large cast from the elbow down after breaking his right hand, spraining his wrist and dislocating his elbow in an ugly fall three weeks ago.

The strong shooting plus the play of Thomas and Gadzuric have given the Bucks new hope that this series won’t be a short one without Bogut.

“There was a lot of pressure on us to come out and win Game 3,” Jennings said. “But we can’t celebrate. We’ve got to come back Monday and do the same thing.”

vs(From the Associated Press) - At the time last summer when Kevin Durant(notes) suggested the Oklahoma City Thunder should be shooting for the playoffs this season, it was considered an outlandish statement.

But look at them now.
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Durant scored 22 points, Russell Westbrook(notes) added 18 points and eight rebounds, and the Thunder evened the first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers with a 110-89 victory in Game 4 on Saturday night.

“A lot of people didn’t expect us to be here and once we got here, people were saying we were going to get swept and a lot of different things,” Durant said. “We knew what we were capable of and how hard we play every day and how hard we practice every day.

“With those attributes, I think that we can go far as a team. It’s all on us. We control our own destiny at this point.”

For the second straight game, the Thunder capitalized on a significant edge at the foul line and on the boards despite the presence of the Lakers’ 7-foot tandem of Pau Gasol(notes) and Andrew Bynum(notes).

Oklahoma City never trailed after the opening 5 minutes and led by double digits for the final three quarters in a thorough dismantling.

“This is as big as a game can possibly be,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “You’re playing against one of the best teams in the playoffs on your home floor. Like I told the guys after the game, the Lakers did a good job the first two games. They took care of their home court. We did the same thing.”

Bynum had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Gasol also had 13 points to lead Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant(notes) had 12 points after spending the entire first quarter deferring to his teammates and the whole fourth quarter on the bench with three other L.A. starters.

“I was managing the game exactly how I wanted to. Unfortunately, it got away from us,” Bryant said. “By them getting out in transition and getting those buckets, I wasn’t able to do what I normally do at the end of the game and close games out.”

Lakers coach Phil Jackson stood by Bryant’s decision to wait nearly 15 minutes into the game—and until his team was down by 15—to take his first shot, but said “It was a pretty good meltdown” in the second half.

“Our expectation is we wanted to win both of these games and be done with it. I think that’s every team’s mindset coming on the road being up 2-0,” Bryant said. “It’s not the reality of the situation. We’ve got a tough fight, and it should be fun.”

Game 5 is Tuesday night in Los Angeles.

After Durant clamped down on Bryant in the fourth quarter of the Thunder’s 101-96 win in Game 3, the matchup between the NBA’s youngest scoring champion and the 2008 MVP never materialized this time around.

Instead, both superstars were on the bench for the entire fourth quarter while lineups of mostly reserves toiled away with little more than the final margin at stake. Bynum was the only Lakers starter to play in the fourth, as Bryant, Gasol, Derek Fisher(notes) and Ron Artest(notes) stayed on the sidelines.

Bryant considered it a chance for extra healing time on his aching right knee, which has required a “boatload of treatment” lately.

It was the Lakers’ largest playoff loss since Boston’s clinching 131-92 victory in Game 6 of the 2008 finals. Oklahoma City held a 50-43 rebounding edge and shot 20 more free throws—finishing 42 of 48—while leading by as many as 29.

“The only thing that did cross my mind was, `Wow! We’re up on the Lakers by 29,’ and a big part of me thought that. You don’t expect that,” Brooks said.

Oklahoma City grabbed the lead early and pulled away with a 12-0 run late in the first quarter. Westbrook had the first six points in the rush and Bryant headed to the bench for his first rest of the game while Oklahoma City surged to a 27-14 lead.

The Lakers were never within single digits again.

“It was a great feeling but we know we’ve still got work to do,” Westbrook said.

The Thunder are still fighting against history. Only three of 52 eighth-seeded teams have ever pulled an upset against a No. 1 seed, and Jackson is 44-0 when his team wins Game 1 of any playoff series.

But who expected Oklahoma City, the youngest team in the league, to make it this far in the first place? The team won only 23 games last season and made no significant free-agent acquisitions before its 27-win improvement.

Now, they’re guaranteed at least the chance to extend their season until Game 6 on Friday night back on their home court—and maybe beyond.

“You have to be ready right now,” said James Harden(notes), who had 15 points.