NBA Playoffs

vs(From the Associated Press) - Ever since they lost in the NBA Finals, the Orlando Magic have been determined to get back—and, this time, win it all.

Two series down, two to go.

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

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

“Guys are just focused. It’s unbelievable to see,” Carter said. “This is my opportunity for a championship.”

The Magic, who lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in last year’s NBA Finals, are playing better than anyone at the most important time of the season. They have won 14 in a row, the last eight in the playoffs, and 28 of 31.

“We would have to be playing at our absolute, absolute best—like, mistake free—to beat that team,” said Jamal Crawford, who led Atlanta with 18 points. “That team is a great team. They have as good a chance as any to win a championship.”

The Magic are off to the Eastern Conference finals for the second year in a row. They will face either Boston or a rematch with Cleveland, the team they upset for last year’s conference title before losing to the Lakers.

Orlando barely broke a sweat against the Hawks, and Game 4 was more of the same. Atlanta held Dwight Howard to 13 points and eight rebounds, but the Magic had plenty of other options.

“We’re playing for something bigger than ourselves, and we’ve got to do it together,” Howard said.

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

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

“I think our guys pretty well bring it every night,” Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. “If we’re better than you, we’re going to win most of the time.”

Hawks star Joe Johnson finished off a miserable series by scoring only 14 points on 5-for-15 shooting. He was booed by the home crowd at the start of the game and got the same treatment when he went to the bench with 3:51 to play. The fans were still miffed that he said didn’t care if they “showed up or not” after they heckled the team in a 30-point loss on Saturday.

“It doesn’t bother me, man,” said Johnson, who’s last shot was a 25-foot airball as the shot clock ran down. “I’ve got thick skin. I’ve been booed louder than that.”

Orlando didn’t stand pat after losing to the Lakers, trading for Carter in hopes that he would be the final piece needed for a title. So far, so good. The Magic blew through Charlotte in the opening round, then thoroughly dominated the team that finished just behind them in the East.

Atlanta ended the third quarter with a bit of momentum, having sliced a 17-point deficit down to 75-66. Orlando quickly put an end to any thought of a comeback.

Zaza Pachulia picked up two quick fouls trying to guard Howard, then Lewis got open for a 3-pointer. Johnson misfired on a funky, one-handed shot in the lane, and Carter buried a 19-foot jumper with Josh Smith right in his face for an 80-66 lead.

The Hawks called a timeout, but it didn’t matter.

They were done.

This might have been the last game in Atlanta for Johnson and coach Mike Woodson.

Johnson turned down a contract extension before the season to join what could be the greatest free-agent class in NBA history. Woodson’s contract is up, and management hardly gave him a rousing vote of confidence by refusing to even talk about a new deal until after the season.

Johnson sure didn’t help his bargaining position with the way he finished the season. Over his last seven playoff games, he averaged 13.4 points a game on 32 percent shooting.

vs(From the Associated Press) - The Los Angeles Lakers played more like they were trying to avoid a sweep rather than complete one.

NBA Playoffs Results

vs(From the Associated Press) - Maybe all the Orlando Magic needed after a slow start was a slap in the face.

Dwight Howard came back from a bloody nose to finish with 29 points and 17 rebounds, and the Magic beat the Atlanta Hawks 112-98 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Not even a hard hit could slow the Magic’s Superman.

“I’m human. It’s not like I’m built of metal,” Howard said. “They did to me like they did the Wolverine. I bleed. I break bones.”

Not this time.

Vince Carter had 24 points with some big shots late and Rashard Lewis finished with 20 points, leading Orlando’s 19-2 run in the fourth quarter. The perennially poor free-throw shooting Howard also was 13 for 18 from the line.

“Every time I step up there,” Howard said, “just believing it was going in.”

The Hawks avoided embarrassment but not another road playoff loss.

After a 43-point defeat in the opener, the Hawks led early but head home still searching for a way to stop the Magic’s 12-game winning streak. Al Horford led Atlanta with 24 points, and Joe Johnson had 19 points.

Game 3 is Saturday in Atlanta.

“Go home and win. We’ve been pretty good on our floor,” Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. “They took care of their business on their home floor. We’re going to see what we’re made of.”

The Hawks finally drew first blood, it just wasn’t a hard enough hit.

Howard made a layup as he was slapped in the face inadvertently by Horford to start the third quarter, the blood pouring from the Magic center’s nose. Howard shot the free throw—and missed—with plugs in his nostrils, holding back laughter, and then left for about 2 minutes so trainers could stop the bleeding.

“I think he held his composure well,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “He took some hard hits on the offensive end of the floor, that’s led to some frustration and at times retaliation on his part. He got hit damn hard tonight, blows that would have dropped a lot of people, certainly me.”

The Hawks could only stop things temporarily.

The play started an 11-2 run that erased Atlanta’s early nine-point lead and put the Magic ahead 62-59. The topsy-turvy starts by the two centers—Howard had 18 points in the first, and Horford scored 14 points in the second—were merely offsetting.

“He was shooting over our defense and making shots,” Horford said. “I can live with that. He had to earn everything he got.”

Jameer Nelson finished with 20 points and also made a 3-pointer as time expired in the third quarter, a demoralizing blow after Jamal Crawford’s 3-pointer on the other end. It put the Magic ahead by one.

“That was a huge momentum boost for us,” Van Gundy said.

Then they took off.

A flurry of Magic 3-pointers sent the Hawks packing with another loss to their Southeast Division rival, which has won eight of the last nine games in the series, including the playoffs. Carter, Lewis, Nelson and Mickael Pietrus all made one from beyond the arc during the big fourth-quarter spurt that put Orlando ahead by 19.

“We didn’t play our best basketball in the first half but we were still within arm’s reach,” Carter said. “In the second half, we played like the Orlando Magic.”

They had fun with it, too.

Magic players kept their arms in the air with every swish, teasing and pleasing the crowd in celebration. The run gave way to that all-too-familiar look on Atlanta’s bench, with many players draping towels over their heads in shame.

Not even a near-perfect night on free throws for the Hawks (30 for 31) could prevent another loss in Orlando, which moved just two games away in the best-of-seven series from returning to the conference finals.

“I live for it,” Carter said. “Having the opportunity to play for so much, I welcome it.”

NBA Playoffs Results

vs(From the Associated Press) - Stan Van Gundy turned to his assistant coaches on the Orlando Magic bench, unsure what to do with star Dwight Howard finally avoiding foul trouble and his team on his way to a blowout victory.

“Should I give Dwight a rest?” Van Gundy asked. “They said, ‘No. Just let it ride.”’

What a ride it was.

Howard had 21 points and 12 rebounds in one of the most crushing playoff wins in Magic history, a 114-71 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal.

Howard added five blocks and avoided the fouls and frustration that overwhelmed him in the first round, helping the Magic go ahead by as many as 46 points. Vince Carter finished with 20 points as Orlando showed no signs of rust after an eight-day layoff since sweeping Charlotte.

Maybe all Howard needed was some time to cool off.

“I still played about the same amount of minutes,” Howard said, chuckling, because he wasn’t needed much in the fourth. “The first round is over with.”

Josh Smith scored 14 points and Zaza Pachulia had 12 points for a Hawks team that had little playoff poise. Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Thursday night in Orlando, and Atlanta will have to find some way to rally from such a paralyzing defeat.

“It’s embarrassing,” Hawks point guard Mike Bibby said. “They embarrassed us.”

Only a 47-point win in the first round against Boston in 1995 was a larger margin of victory in a playoff game for Orlando. This was just one big Magic highlight reel.

Nothing riled up fans more than when Howard snatched a layup attempt by Smith in the air, pulling down the ball with one hand. He threw the ball upcourt to Jason Williams, who lobbed a pass from just past midcourt for an alley-oop dunk to Mickael Pietrus that was part of 17 straight Magic points in the second quarter.

The arena was roaring so loud that, even after Hawks coach Mike Woodson called timeout and was on the floor pleading with officials for a goaltend, many players couldn’t hear the whistle and continued.

Finally, somebody had to tell the Magic to stop.

“I think the challenge is not to get carried away with the score,” Van Gundy said. “It was one of those nights where everything just snowballed.”

Timeouts might have been Atlanta’s only reprieve.

The Hawks were held to 10 points in the second quarter, and just 11 points in the third. Howard and most of the Magic starters weren’t even needed in the fourth, and Atlanta players covered their heads with towels on the bench in the final minutes.

Fresh off a Game 7 victory against undermanned Milwaukee, the Hawks were outhustled and outmuscled at every step. The little more than 48-hour turnaround didn’t keep them sharp, and they looked more like the team trying to get back in rhythm.

And they could do nothing to stop Howard.

“I didn’t allow anything to throw me off my game,” Howard said, adding that he made it a point not to engage officials about calls. “And I think that’s what I have to do the rest of the series, just not let things take me off my game, just stay free and clear.”

The Magic came out and hit the Hawks where it hurt—literally.

Howard grabbed a defensive rebound and swung his elbow to shake off Smith, hitting Atlanta’s forward in the face. Howard was whistled for a foul, and Smith iced down his cheek on the bench during a break.

The Hawks didn’t know what hit them.

“They made a run,” Pachulia said, “and they never looked back.”

That inside-outside game with Howard in the paint was the biggest reason Atlanta has struggled against its Southeast Division rival for several seasons. The Magic had taken six straight regular-season games in the series until the Hawks won on a buzzer-beating dunk by Smith in their last meeting.

“It was an ugly game for us,” Woodson said of the latest defeat. “I wish I knew what happened.”

Howard and Co. weren’t taking any chances this time.

If the NBA’s two-time defensive player of the year can avoid foul trouble, it could be another quick second-round stint for Atlanta. The Hawks were swept by Cleveland in the conference semifinals last year, and they’ll need to find a way to slow down Howard to have any chance this time.

Van Gundy was already thinking about how his team could put the win behind them.

“I told them that (Wednesday) I will have for them virtually every time in NBA playoff history that a team had a blowout win, came back and lost the next game,” Van Gundy said. “You’ve got to forget what happened.”

vs(From the Associated Press) - Carlos Boozer drove the lane, and his shot was disdainfully blocked by Lamar Odom. The Utah forward grabbed the ball to try another—and Pau Gasol took a turn swatting it.

NBA Playoffs Results

vs(From the Associated Press) - With more than three minutes to go, the Atlanta Hawks began pulling their starters. Al Horford flapped his hands, egging on the already raucous crowd. Joe Johnson clapped for the fans, then dropped his head in what looked more like relief than celebration.

The Hawks were moving on in the playoffs.

What a contrast from the last game in Atlanta.

After keeping their season alive with a gutty win in Milwaukee, the Hawks made sure the Bucks were in no position to duplicate their improbable Game 5 road win. Playoff rookie Jamal Crawford scored 22 points, Horford put up a double-double and Atlanta pulled away for a 95-74 win Sunday that gave the Hawks a 4-3 triumph in the tougher-than-expected series.

Last Wednesday, the favored Hawks squandered a nine-point lead in the final four minutes, bickered among themselves in the closing seconds and left the court to boos from their own fans, down 3-2 in the series.

This time, nothing but cheers.

“We let ‘em down in Game 5,” Josh Smith said. “We enjoyed every minute of this.”

The Hawks can only hope they didn’t expend too much energy in the only first-round series to go the distance.

Third-seeded Atlanta advanced to face No. 2 Orlando in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Magic, who beat the Hawks in three out of four regular-season meetings and have been resting since a sweep of Charlotte last Monday, will host the first two games of the series beginning Tuesday night.

“We’ve got to be more hungry and determined to get over the hump,” Johnson said. “We can’t just beat this team based on talent. We’ve got to play harder.”

They could get away with less than 100 percent against the Bucks, whose hopes of a playoff upset were essentially undone with about two weeks to go in the regular season when Andrew Bogut tumbled to the court and ripped apart his right arm.

The 7-foot center was actually in uniform for the final game, but that was a mere formality—he was done for the year, watching with a large cast on his hand.

“We can’t think about all the ifs,” Carlos Delfino said. “Yes, we missed his presence in the paint. But glory to the guys who kept fighting. We just tried to be as positive as we possibly could.”

Not much to be positive about in the season finale. The Bucks made less than a third of their shots (28 of 86), were blocked eight times and, clearly rattled, threw up at least three airballs. They simply didn’t have enough weapons to cope with an Atlanta team that was fired up and ready to give its best.

Rookie Brandon Jennings led the way with just 15 points, and he needed 18 shots to score that many.

“I think we were missing one piece, and that was Bogut,” Jennings said. “I wanted to walk out sad, but I had to keep my head up because we were down a couple players (Michael Redd also sustained a season-ending injury). We did the best we could.

“We showed a lot of people that the Milwaukee Bucks can actually hang in this league.”

Crawford, appearing in the playoffs for the first time in his 10-year career, looked like a rookie through the first five games of the series. He was at his lowest after a 4-for-18 shooting performance in Game 5, when the Hawks squandered a nine-point lead in the final four minutes to put the Bucks in control of the series.

But Crawford scored 24 points in Game 6, and the Hawks clamped down defensively for an 83-69 win that sent the series back to Atlanta for Game 7.

The decider was no contest. The Hawks led by double figures for nearly all the last three quarters and pushed the margin as high as 24 late in the game.

“We going to Disney World,” the public address announcer screamed to the sellout crowd of 19,241 as the final seconds ticked off.

Crawford hit 8 of 16 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers. Horford worked hard at both ends of the court, finishing with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Mike Bibby scored 15 points and hit several big shots, including an off-balance, one-handed fling from 20 feet that just beat the shot clock. Smith also had 15 despite early foul trouble, and Atlanta romped even though Johnson, its best player, was held to 8 points on 4-for-14 shooting.

“It’s just so much fun,” said Crawford, who had played on dismal teams his entire career until getting traded to the Hawks last summer. “It’s like walking on air.”

The Hawks had plenty of Game 7 experience, having gone the distance in the opening round each of the last two years. For the second year in a row, they got to play the decisive game on their home court.

The result was the same.

After cruising past Miami 91-78 in last year’s Game 7, the Hawks were even more dominant against a Milwaukee team that wasn’t expected to do much in the playoffs. In reality, this series was decided Friday night—Atlanta’s Game 6 win in Wisconsin.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the Hawks can now hope for a better second-round showing than 2009, when they were swept in four straight games by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Horford knows he’ll play a huge role going up against Dwight Howard.

“It’s been a good season,” Horford said, “but there’s more to this team than just this.”

The Bucks, who made the playoffs for the first time since 2006 with a promising nucleus of Jennings, Bogut and John Salmons, can’t wait for next season.

Hopefully, at full strength.

“We made it a tough series,” Delfino said. “To go seven games, I think we did pretty good.”

vs(From the Associated Press) - While the Los Angeles Lakers’ reserves haplessly gave away the lead early in the fourth quarter, the Utah Jazz celebrated every basket with increasing glee, spilling off their bench in anticipation of an upset.

NBA Playoffs Results

vs(From the Associated Press) - Jamal Crawford saw the end to his series-long shooting slump coming, making a promise after the pregame shootaround: It’ll be back tonight.

Crawford then went out and finally played like the NBA’s sixth man of the year in the playoffs, scoring 24 points to help the Atlanta Hawks beat the Milwaukee Bucks 83-69 on Friday night to force a seventh game in the first-round series.

“I felt like I was letting everybody down the first few games, especially the last game,” Crawford said. “I haven’t slept much the last couple of days. Usually in that situation the next game can’t come fast enough.”

Crawford was coming off a miserable 4-for-18 shooting performance in Game 5, and wasn’t much better in the first four games.

Now he’s looking more like the instant-offense threat he was in the regular season, and the Hawks are back from the brink of an improbable first-round exit at the hands of a team that wasn’t expected to do much in the playoffs.

Hawks coach Mike Woodson told Crawford to just keep shooting.

“There’s going to be nights where he just doesn’t put it in the hole,” Woodson said. “But tonight, he was there when we needed him.”

Game 7 is Sunday in Atlanta.

Carlos Delfino scored 20 for the Bucks, who came into the game hoping to finish off their heavily favored opponent but instead went completely flat coming out of halftime and couldn’t pull off a late rally attempt.

Bucks coach Scott Skiles said his team looked “panicky” at times, especially on offense.

“It’s the first time we’ve been in this type of game and we didn’t react nearly as well as we would’ve liked to have reacted, that’s for sure,” Skiles said. “Now we’ve got to find a way to go down there and get another one.”

It was an ugly night for two of the Bucks’ top offensive threats, John Salmons and Brandon Jennings.

Jennings scored 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting, including 1 of 9 from 3-point range. The rookie missed his first six shots and made questionable decisions with the ball after playing well through most of the first five games of the series.

“It’s Game 7 now,” Jennings said. “We worked so hard for this. We’ve got to go in there and know that we can win. We didn’t prepare all year just to get to the playoffs and then just say forget it.”

Salmons finished with eight points on 2-for-13 shooting.

Joe Johnson scored 22 points, and Al Horford had 15 points and 15 rebounds for Atlanta.

The Hawks outscored the Bucks 29-11 in the third quarter to take a 15-point lead, as Milwaukee made only 3 of 17 shots in the quarter.

The Bucks then tried to make a comeback in the last six minutes.

Milwaukee’s Jerry Stackhouse—who brought down the house by singing a soulful rendition of the national anthem before the game—made a 3-pointer, and the Bucks turned it into a four-point play when Kurt Thomas was fouled and hit a free throw.

Two more free throws by Stackhouse cut the lead to seven with 5:14 left, but Johnson hit a jumper and Crawford drove for a layup to put the Hawks back up by 11. Jennings answered with a layup, and Johnson missed a layup.

Jennings then missed a 3-pointer and Salmons got the rebound, but Josh Smith forcefully blocked Salmons’ shot and the Bucks couldn’t rally from there.

“The bottom line today is we brought our hard hats and not our fishing caps,” Smith said. “We established ourselves early. They gave us a fight, but we were just hungry tonight. I haven’t seen us play like this the whole series.”

Milwaukee led by three at the half, and Delfino hit a driving layup to begin the third quarter.

But the Bucks went silent for nearly 8 minutes from there, allowing the Hawks to go on a 19-0 run that included a steal and fast-break slam dunk by Smith, who fired up the crowd by posing and holding his hand to his ear. Smith has been booed relentlessly by Bucks fans after joking early in the series that there wasn’t anything to do in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee wasn’t expected to do much in this series, having lost center Andrew Bogut to a gruesome arm injury near the end of the regular season.

Atlanta took a 2-0 series lead. But then the series shifted back to Milwaukee, the Bucks asserted themselves on defense and won both games—then stole Game 5 in Atlanta with a late run.

“We just realize that we had a bad third quarter,” Thomas said. “We’re still confident as a team. We’ll regroup and we’ll play better on Sunday.”

vs(From the Associated Press) - The Los Angeles Lakers are moving on—battered and bruised, but not beaten.

NBA Playoffs Results

vs(From the Associated Press) - Relying on young and old, the Milwaukee Bucks find themselves one win from an upset that looked improbable just a week ago.

No one is more stunned than the Atlanta Hawks, who figured they would have things all wrapped up by now.

Brandon Jennings scored 25 points, Kurt Thomas drew a crucial charging foul against Joe Johnson and the Bucks stunned the home team with a 14-0 run late in the game, beating the favored Hawks 91-87 on Wednesday night for a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Milwaukee, appearing in the playoffs for the first time since 2006, responded like the seasoned postseason team after getting blown out in the first two games. The third-seeded Hawks, planning for a long run in their third straight playoff appearance, better figure out a way to win on the road or this season will be over much sooner than they expected.

Game 6 is Friday night in Milwaukee.

“The pressure’s not on us,” Jennings said.

Milwaukee center Andrew Bogut is watching the playoffs with a cast on his right hand after taking a gruesome fall late in the regular season, but the 20-year-old Jennings keeps stepping up big with darting moves to the hoop and timely jumpers. The rookie scored 12 straight points early and clinched the victory with two free throws.

Joining him in a duo for the ages is the 37-year-old Thomas, one of the league’s oldest players. Bogut’s replacement doesn’t show up much on the stat sheet—he took only one shot and failed to score—but he came up with perhaps the biggest play of the game when he stepped out to take a charge from Johnson with 2:15 remaining, the Atlanta star’s sixth foul.

“I thought when Joe Johnson came out of the game,” Jennings said, “we had a chance to win it.”

The Hawks appeared to be in control leading 82-73 after Josh Smith’s long jumper with 4:10 remaining. Milwaukee scored the next 14 points while Atlanta was missing seven straight shots. Even though Al Horford finally broke the drought with 19 seconds remaining, then banked in a 3-pointer from the top of the key to finish with 25 points and 11 rebounds, it wasn’t enough to make up for a total collapse.

“This is incredible,” said Jamal Crawford, who had an awful game one day after winning the NBA’s Sixth Man Award. “We had the game won. It just slipped away from us.”

Crawford’s night ended in appropriate fashion—a desperation 3-pointer that missed badly and left him sprawled on the court. He finished 4 of 18 from the field for 11 points. Johnson wasn’t much better, making 6 of 16 for 13 points before fouling out for the first time this season.

“It was a terrible loss,” Johnson said. “It was embarrassing.”

The Bucks ran out the final seconds and celebrated with chest bumps in the center of Philips Arena, while the Hawks straggled to the locker room, hearing nothing but boos from a sellout crowd of 19,304.

“Bye-bye, Woody!” someone shouted at Atlanta coach Mike Woodson, whose contract is up at the end of a season that now finds itself in one loss-and-done mode.

“It’s a tough loss,” Woodson said, “but it’s a seven-game series.”

Atlanta cruised through the first two games at home and fully expected to win at least one game in Milwaukee, which would have set them up to clinch at home in Game 5.

Instead, it’s the gritty Bucks who are on the verge of moving on to face waiting Orlando in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“We feel great,” Thomas said. “Even after the first two games, we felt very confident we would go home and get the job done.”

Milwaukee shot 41 percent from the field but simply outworked an Atlanta team that seemed stunned more and more to find itself in a tough series. John Salmons added 19 points for the Bucks and Luke Ridnour had 15.

“We know we didn’t play well,” Salmons said. “It was an ugly game.”

But it sure looked pretty at the end. The Bucks continually drove to the hoop in the fourth quarter, drawing foul after foul and hitting 15 of 18 free throws. Stunningly, Atlanta never got to the line in the final period.

Marvin Williams had 22 points for the Hawks, who couldn’t overcome the dismal showings by their two leading scorers, Johnson and Crawford.

The Hawks appeared to be taking control in the third quarter with the sort of play that had been missing since the first two games in Atlanta.

Johnson took things into his own hands, driving right around Thomas for a dunk that broke a 50-50 tie and sparked a 17-4 run that took less than 4 minutes. Johnson also hit a couple of jumpers during the spurt, and he got plenty of support from Horford and Williams.

Horford scored six points, including a couple of ferocious dunks set up by passes from Mike Bibby. After the second jam, Bibby backpedaled down the court with a smile on his face, the Hawks appearing to have fun for the first time all night.

Williams scored the other five points in Atlanta’s outburst, including a three-point play that began at the other end with a turnover by Salmons.

The Bucks just wouldn’t go away, even though both replacement centers, Thomas and Gadzuric, ran into foul trouble. Thomas picked up his fourth less than 4 minutes into the third quarter, while Gadzuric was whistled for his fifth before the period was done.

Unlike Johnson, they both managed to make it to the finish.

The Hawks’ frustration showed early.

Zaza Pachulia sent Jennings flying with a hard whack late in the first quarter, drawing an intentional foul. The 6-foot-1 Jennings hopped off the court as though he wanted to go at the 6-11 Pachulia, but Thomas and the officials stepped in to push the rookie guard away. Ridnour jawed a bit with Pachulia before things calmed down.

Early in the second, Johnson doled out another hard foul on Ridnour, who tumbled to the court after taking a bit of a shove with the forearm.

The Bucks dished out some shots of their own. Thomas stepped out to set a pick on Smith, who tumbled to the court and rolled over with a gash over his right eye. He headed to the locker room to get five stitches, but returned to the court late in the period with a bandage covering the wound.

NBA Playoffs Results

vs(From the Associated Press) - As the final seconds ticked down, Dwight Howard was back in his familiar spot on the bench and coach Stan Van Gundy was steamed at his superstar for fouling out again.

Then the buzzer sounded and the Orlando Magic became the first team to advance in the NBA playoffs.

Who needs Howard? Not these deep Magic—at least not in the first round.

Vince Carter scored 21 points, Jameer Nelson added 18 and the Magic showcased their depth and pressure shot-making in a 99-90 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday night to complete a sweep of their first-round series.

Howard was held to six points in his fourth straight game in foul trouble, but the Magic never flinched to accomplish their first four-game sweep in franchise history. Orlando will face the Atlanta-Milwaukee winner in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“If you would have told me that he would have averaged well under 30 minutes for the series and we would sweep, I would have said you’re crazy,” Van Gundy said. “I think it’s a testament to our other guys.”

Howard did grab 13 rebounds, but was limited to 23 minutes before fouling out for the second straight game. The Magic, though, got key contributions and big shots from others.

Rashard Lewis scored 17 points, Matt Barnes added 14 and Orlando held Stephen Jackson to 2-of-11 shooting to overcome Howard’s 22 fouls in the series.

“He and I got into it a little bit,” Van Gundy said about their sideline exchange in the last minute. “It wasn’t a bad argument. My point was he was in the restricted area and he’s got to jump. He’s so frustrated now that what he was trying to say is it wouldn’t matter. But, well, let’s jump and find out. What he did was give them the call.”

Tyrus Thomas scored a career playoff-high 21 points for the Bobcats, whose focus will now immediately turn to nomadic coach Larry Brown’s future with the team.

Brown, who has had 13 pro and college coaching jobs, continues to be the focus of reports for openings around the NBA, including Philadelphia, where his wife and kids live.

But he repeated that he’ll only coach for Bobcats owner Michael Jordan.

“I’m not coaching anywhere but Charlotte,” Brown said. “Now am I going to go home and talk to my wife and kids? I’ll be 70 years old with two young kids. Am I going to talk to them and find out what I need to do and am I going to talk to Michael? Yeah, absolutely.”

Could that mean he’d retire or consider a front office job with another team?

“That’s hypothetical,” Brown said. “I love coaching more than anything, except my family maybe. … I’m really, personally, not ready to step down in terms of my desire to keep coaching.”

Brown was down after the 6-year-old Bobcats again wilted in a close game in their first playoff appearance.

After Charlotte cut Orlando’s lead to one on Tyson Chandler’s two free throws, Mickael Pietrus hit consecutive 3-pointers directly across the floor from Jordan’s seat to put the Magic ahead 83-76 with 5:47 left.

Nelson’s 3-pointer less than a minute later—after Gerald Wallace missed two free throws—put it away for the Magic, whose only previous playoff sweep was a 3-0 victory over Detroit in 1996.

“They’re better,” Brown said. “They know how to play playoff basketball. We haven’t figured it out yet.”

Charlotte’s offensive woes were magnified by Howard’s long absences.

The four-time All-Star’s endless foul trouble entering the game made him the focus of ribbing in the morning shootaround. Teammates told him instead of Superman, his nickname was now “Foul on You.” Howard played along in raising his arm and clenching his fist as if to call a foul.

The joking stopped when Howard was called for two fouls in 16 seconds in the first quarter, the second for tripping. He picked up his third for challenging D.J. Augustin after he had released a reverse layup that turned into a three-point play.

“It’s very tough out there,” Howard said. “There’s a lot of things I feel don’t go my way or our team’s way.”

With Howard on the bench, the Bobcats built a 38-31 lead on the strength of Thomas, who hit his first eight shots in his best performance since being acquired from Chicago in a trade-deadline deal.

Orlando cut the deficit to 45-43 at halftime and took the lead on a run that included Carter’s first made 3-pointer after an 0-for-15 start to the series.

Howard was called for his fourth foul on Raymond Felton’s drive with 6:58 left in the third quarter—and stayed on the bench for nearly 10 minutes.

The Magic hung on, and it could be a while before they play again. The Hawks-Bucks series is tied 2-2.

“We’re going to be well rested,” Howard said before laughing. “I’m going to be well rested.”

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.”

NBA Playoffs Results

vs(From the Associated Press) - High-flying Josh Smith dominated on the inside. Joe Johnson stepped up from the outside when the Hawks needed him.

The result: Atlanta has a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series for the first time in 40 years.

Johnson took control in the fourth quarter to finish off a 27-point effort, Smith finished one assist shy of a triple-double and the Hawks ran away from the pesky but outmanned Milwaukee Bucks for a 96-86 victory in the Eastern Conference playoffs Tuesday night.

Smith played as though he’s still upset about being snubbed for the All-Star game, when teammates Johnson and Al Horford were selected but he stayed home. He’s certainly a player capable of taking control of a series in many ways, as he demonstrated with his 21 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists, not to mention two blocks and two steals.

“There’s nothing he can’t do on the floor,” Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. “We just have to keep him playing at a high level, keep his head in the game and we’ll be just fine.”

That applies to the team as a whole. Woodson was mindful of last season, when Atlanta blew out Miami in its playoff opener—then lost at home and had to go the full seven games.

This time, the Hawks took care of business on their home court. They’ll head to Milwaukee on Saturday night with a commanding lead, the first time they’ve won the first two in a best-of-seven series since the Western Division semifinals in 1970. That team went on to beat Chicago in five games, but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the division finals.

The current Hawks aren’t taking anything for granted, even though they’ve seemed capable of pulling away any time Milwaukee tries to make a run.

“We’re on edge,” said Horford, who teamed with Smith to give the Hawks a big edge in the lane. “We can’t take them lightly. We know it’s going to be tough up there.”

Again, the Hawks’ balance and size advantage on the inside were just too much for the Bucks, who knew they’d face a huge challenge in this series after 7-foot center Andrew Bogut took a hard fall late in the regular season and was done for the playoffs.

All five Atlanta starters reached double figures for the second game in a row, and the two guys on the inside sure took advantage of Bogut’s absence.

Smith had the crowd on its feet with four thunderous dunks and a couple more above-the-rim lay-ins. Horford was nearly as dominant, scoring 20 points, snatching down 10 rebounds and blocking three shots.

“We understand that we’ve got bigger guys down low,” Smith said. “When we miss a shot, we can usually get the putback or pass to a wide-open (Mike) Bibby or Joe. We want to make it easy for those guys.”

When Smith is really on his game, he fires up the home crowd with his gravity defying plays.

“He’s one of those players that can control the game without calling plays for him,” said John Salmons, who led the Bucks with 21 points.

Johnson took over in the fourth quarter. After Milwaukee had closed to single-digit range, he buried four straight jumpers, the last of them a 3-pointer from the corner after snaring a rocket pass from Smith, pushing the Hawks to an 87-74 lead that essentially finished off the Bucks.

“I felt like we were in a drought,” said Johnson, who scored 10 points in the final period and bolstered his all-around effort with six assists, two blocks and a steal. “I just wanted to be aggressive and make plays.”

Johnson also led the defensive effort against Bucks rookie star Brandon Jennings, who followed up a 34-point performance in Game 1 with just nine points on 3-of-15 shooting.

“All season long he’s been playing point guards, so he’s sort of used to it now,” Woodson said. “And Jennings is a tough cover because he is so quick, and he can shoot the outside shot as well as get to the rim.”

The Bucks head home, hoping to turn things around in the next two games. But they’ve led only three times in the series—never by more than two points—for a total of 1 minute, 32 seconds, looking very much like a team making its first playoff appearance since 2006.

“Our preparations have been great, but we’re having trouble taking it onto the game floor,” coach Scott Skiles said. “We knew it would be interesting to see how we would react in this type of environment. They outplayed us in almost every spot up and down the floor. We’ve got three days to get better.”

Ersan Ilyasova came up big off the bench with 13 points and 15 rebounds, but Jerry Stackhouse was the only other Milwaukee player in double figures with 15 points. The Bucks shot only 41 percent (37 of 90).

The Bucks grabbed their first lead of the series, 4-2, on Luc Mbah a Moute’s putback less than 1 1/2 minutes into the game. But Atlanta looked like it was headed for another first-half blitz, pushing out to 22-12 lead on Marvin Williams’ three-point play.

In Game 1, the Hawks led by 20 in the opening quarter and 22 at halftime.

This time, Milwaukee kept it respectable in the early going, ripping off an 8-0 spurt to get right back in the game. But the Hawks scored the final six points of the period in flamboyant fashion. Smith stole the ball in the defensive end and took off, going all the way to the hoop for a thunderous left-handed jam that brought the crowd to its feet.

After Salmons turned it over, the Hawks were running again. Jamal Crawford missed on an attempted slam, but Smith grabbed the rebound and put it back in while stumbling backward with 2 seconds remaining to put Atlanta ahead 28-20.

Milwaukee got off a quick start in the second quarter, starting with a 12-2 run that gave the visiting team another brief lead, 32-30. Again, the Hawks quickly reclaimed the upper hand, scoring the next six points and leading the rest of the period—though never by more than seven. Johnson finished off the half with a driving layup that sent Atlanta to the locker room with a 52-46 lead.

vs(From the Associated Press) - Even without Kevin Garnett, the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat.

Easily.

With the good-humored but hard-playing Glen Davis filling in while the Celtics’ emotional leader served a one-game suspension, Boston rolled to a 106-77 victory Tuesday night that Miami coach Erik Spoelstra called “embarrassing.”

It gave the Celtics a 2-0 lead in their playoff series and Davis a chance to reprise the nickname he hung on himself last year when he replaced the injured Garnett—known as the “Big Ticket”—in all 14 playoff games.

“The `Ticket Stub’ came,” Davis said. “Whenever they need the `Ticket Stub,’ he’ll be there.”

Davis had 23 points and eight rebounds, and Ray Allen heated up in the third quarter and scored 25 points. Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 29.

With Garnett serving a suspension for elbowing Quentin Richardson in Game 1, Davis started and went aggressively to the basket to grab missed shots and draw fouls.

“That’s a case of one man impacting the game simply with his effort. I don’t think they ran one play for him,” Spoelstra said. “You cannot let a man’s effort exceed yours. It’s as simple as that.”

The Heat took a 29-25 lead on a dunk by Jermaine O’Neal. But the Celtics used a 44-8 surge over the next 16 1/2 minutes to go ahead 69-37 with 5:38 left in the third quarter, capped by one of Allen’s five 3-pointers in the period.

“Once the ball started moving and we started getting multiple stops, we were off and running,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said.

The Celtics led by 25 to 33 points the rest of the way.

“Once we opened up Glen Davis (offensively), I thought they started to sink in a little bit more and it opened up Ray,” Paul Pierce said.

Game 3 is Friday night in Miami.

“This is an embarrassing loss,” Spoelstra said. “It is one loss. It is not four losses and what we can control right now is getting our minds right and taking care of the most important game on Friday.”

Tempers stayed under control throughout the game, just three days after a skirmish with 40 seconds left in Boston’s 85-76 victory led to Garnett’s suspension without pay and Richardson’s $25,000 fine. Garnett was hovering over Pierce, who had fallen near the Miami bench after hurting his shoulder.

Garnett held off Richardson as he came up from behind. They then exchanged words before the elbow hit the Heat forward in the face.

Garnett wasn’t allowed in TD Garden, but made a prerecorded appearance on the scoreboard above midcourt during a timeout after the Celtics scored 19 straight points to take a 44-29 lead with 2:56 left in the first half.

He encouraged the fans and when the scoreboard followed with a “Let’s Get Loud” message, they raised their voices.

Richardson was booed almost every time he touched the ball.

“We didn’t think that because Kevin was out it was going to be a walk in the park,” Miami’s Udonis Haslem said.

In the opener, the Heat led 61-47 with 7:03 left in the third quarter. Then Boston outscored them 34-10 to go ahead 81-71 with 1:46 to go in the game.

The Celtics started their spurt a lot earlier Tuesday.

“The first game, I thought we gave it away,” Wade said. “This time they took it. I thought they wanted it more than us.”

Trailing by four after O’Neal’s dunk with 10:10 left in the second quarter, Boston got started on a 3-pointer by Michael Finley. It took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Allen.

Then rarely used Shelden Williams, substituting for Davis, hit a field goal. Davis made two straight baskets, Allen connected on another 3-pointer, Pierce sank two free throws and Allen got a layup. Davis followed with two free throws, giving the Celtics 21 straight points.

Miami finally broke through on a 21-foot jumper by Michael Beasley. That made it 46-31 with 2:07 left in the half.

The Celtics have won the last three games they played against the Heat without Garnett. And Davis has proven to be a very capable replacement.

When Garnett missed last year’s playoffs with a knee injury, Davis averaged 15.8 points and 5.6 rebounds before losing in the second round.

“When I stepped out there today and I saw the lineup, I was like, `This is the same lineup we had going into the playoffs last year that pushed Orlando to seven games with Glen out there,”’ Pierce said. “We all know what he’s capable of.”

Garnett had planned to watch the game at the home of team president Danny Ainge.

“I am the `Ticket Stub’ so I kind of know what (Garnett) wanted to happen tonight,” Davis said. “He told me before the game to make sure that I do what I had to do and be physical, be ferocious, and anything is possible.”

NBA Playoffs Results

vs(From the Associated Press) - They’ve got more depth. They’ve got more size. They’ve got Shaq. And, of course, they’ve still got LeBron James.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a different look this postseason.

“We,” James said, “have the look of a champion.”

Completely healthy and well rested, the Cavaliers took their first step toward an NBA title on Saturday as James scored 24 points and Shaquille O’Neal looked and played 10 years younger in a 96-83 victory over the Chicago Bulls in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference series.

O’Neal, playing for the first time since tearing a thumb ligament on Feb. 25, had 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and three blocks in 24 minutes as the top-seeded Cavs won a testy opener between two teams that obviously don’t care for each other.

“I have no friends in that locker room, except for Danny Green,” said Chicago’s Joakim Noah, who was plagued by foul trouble and booed for much of the game by Cleveland fans. “I don’t really know nobody on that team and I don’t really care. I just want to win.”

The Bulls, who trimmed a 22-point deficit to seven in the fourth quarter before wearing down, will get a chance to even the best-of-seven series Monday night in Cleveland.

Derrick Rose had 28 points and 10 assists for Chicago, which had the misfortune of being the first team to face the Cavs in these playoffs. Cleveland has been rebuilt for a championship, adding starters O’Neal, Antawn Jamison and Anthony Parker to a team that made it to the Eastern Conference finals last year.

After they were eliminated last May by Orlando, the Cavaliers went out and traded for O’Neal, a four-time NBA champion and icon. O’Neal was brought in not only to combat Magic center Dwight Howard but to help James win his first title and deliver Cleveland its first in any major pro sport since 1964.

The Cavs need 15 more wins to get it.

“Everyone knows it’s the first team to 16 wins,” O’Neal said.

Leading 68-46, the Cavs were coasting to an easy win when the Bulls, who have been in playoff mode for the past two weeks as they fought for the No. 8 seed, stormed back. They scored 12 straight and were still within striking distance, down 73-60 entering the fourth.

Chicago cut it to 82-75 on Brad Miller’s basket, but James converted a three-point play with 2:29 left and Mo Williams followed with a 3-pointer to put Cleveland up 94-81.

The comeback may have fallen short, but it gave the Bulls confidence for Game 2.

“We can’t wait to play,” Rose said. “I know I can’t. This is something I live for. I think about it every minute of the day, playing against the best team in the NBA.”

Williams added 19 points and 10 assists, and Jamison, acquired at the trading deadline from Washington, had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Cleveland blocked 12 shots—10 in the second half.

James was his usual MVP self, making plays at both ends. But unlike past postseasons, he doesn’t have to do it alone this time.

O’Neal, who upon arriving in Cleveland promised to “win a ring for the King,” looked remarkably sharp despite missing the Cavs’ final 23 games after undergoing surgery to fix his thumb. He dropped 20 pounds while he was sidelined by watching his diet and swimming.

“This is very vital for me, vital for everybody,” he said. “I wanted to come back extra, extra ready. This is the time we have to be ready.”

Cleveland’s offense ran smoothly while O’Neal was in the middle and he had the game’s signature play early in the third quarter.

Posting up Noah in the foul lane, the 7-foot-1 O’Neal made a quick spin move toward the baseline that faked out the Bulls center, who stumbled forward and nearly fell on his face. O’Neal then delivered a dunk and sprinted back down the floor scowling.

“That’s the patented move I’ve been doing for years,” the 38-year-old O’Neal said. “That’s the ‘Diesel Truck with No Brakes.’ When I get into that mood people get out of the way because they know I’m in the cab and I don’t have any brakes.”

Noah became quick road kill.

“I kind of knew he was going to do it at first, so I tried to take it away,” Noah said. “Then he waited and waited until a good time. He just knows how to use that 350 pounds.”

The teams, which split their two regular-season meetings, traded words and shoves on more than one occasion. Noah, who said the Bulls would “try to shock the world” in the series, got into it with Anderson Varejao. James and Brad Miller were assessed technicals in the first half following a collision, and James and Luol Deng had a discussion after the halftime horn.

Miller had to get medical treatment after taking an elbow from O’Neal, who was playing in his 204th postseason game.

“Just taking an elbow to the damn chin and bleeding,” Miller said. “My foul.”

James, who sat out Cleveland’s final four regular-season games to rest for the playoffs, was on the floor more than three hours before tip getting in some extra work. He’s waited almost one year to spit out the bitterness of coming up short last year and isn’t taking any chances.

Before the game, he conveyed that to his teammates.

“I told them, this is what have all waited for,” he said. “This is why we play hard throughout the regular season and throughout practices—to get to this point. As much as we loved the regular season, we love the postseason even more.”

vs(From the Associated Press) - For one magnificent half, the Atlanta Hawks did nearly everything right. They made shots. They blocked shots. They dunked and defended and did their best to run Milwaukee out of the building.

One half was all they needed Saturday to get off to a good start in the playoffs.

Led by Joe Johnson and getting production from all their key players, the Hawks blitzed the Bucks before halftime, survived a lackluster showing over the final two quarters and held off Milwaukee 102-92 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference series.

“We probably played as good in the first half as we’ve played all year,” Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said. “We jumped them right away.”

The Hawks had mismatches all over the court, taking advantage of the gruesome injury that took out Bucks center Andrew Bogut two weeks ago. The home team never trailed, building a 20-point lead in the first quarter and going to halftime with a 62-40 edge.

Milwaukee made a game of it led by Brandon Jennings, who scored 34 points in his playoff debut. But the rookie didn’t have nearly enough help against the No. 3-seeded Hawks, making their third straight playoff appearance and hoping to break up the expected Cleveland-Orlando duel in the Eastern Conference.

Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Tuesday night in Atlanta.

“When you get ahead by so much, you kind of get lackadaisical,” Hawks guard Mike Bibby said. “Basketball is a game of runs. They made a run at us. The main thing is: We withstood it.”

The short-handed Bucks were making their first playoff appearance since 2006, and that inexperience showed even though Jennings tried to take matters into his own hands. He took 25 shots, making 14 of them, and accounted for more than third of his team’s points.

“Not having Andrew Bogut, I have to go back to playing the way I was at the beginning of the season,” Jennings said. “I have to be more aggressive if we’re going to have any chance to win.”

It’s going to be tough for one man to beat the Hawks, who have a balanced lineup and perhaps the best sixth man in the league, Jamal Crawford. Johnson scored 22 points, Mike Bibby added 19 and the other Atlanta starters also were in double figures. Crawford put up 17 points in the first postseason appearance of his 10-year career.

By comparison, only two other Milwaukee players joined Jennings with double-digit scoring.

Even though Crawford looked a bit nervous after waiting so long to experience the playoffs, he hit three big shots from beyond the 3-point arc.

“It felt really good,” said Crawford, who was bothered by a toe injury late in the season but wasn’t going to let anything stand in the way of this moment. “I was excited, nervous, everything. It felt so good to get it out of the way. It felt so good to make my first shot. I even smiled a little bit. I was like, ‘Wow, it’s really here.”’

The Hawks were nearly perfect in the opening quarter, while Milwaukee looked overwhelmed on the postseason stage. Atlanta made 15 of 23 shots, controlled the boards, blocked three shots and didn’t commit a turnover. The Bucks went 7 of 21 from the field, turned it over four times and appeared totally incapable of stopping Atlanta’s myriad weapons.

Al Horford and Josh Smith both scored eight points in the opening period, and the Hawks made it 32-12 on Crawford’s free throw in the final minute of the quarter before settling for a 34-17 lead. They stretched out the margin as high as 23 points in the first half, shooting an astonishing 62 percent (26 of 42) from the field.

“The first half, we were a little shell-shocked,” Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. “In the second half, we competed harder. We settled down a little bit. In the second half, we played more like ourselves.”

The Bucks made a game of it in the second half, taking advantage of the sleepwalking Hawks to cut the gap to 77-70 late in the third—the closest Milwaukee had been since the opening minutes. But Mike Bibby hit a big 3-pointer from the corner and Atlanta took an 81-70 lead to the final quarter.

Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova both had 3-point attempts that could have cut it to five points late in the game, but neither connected. The Hawks iced it from there as Johnson hit a big jumper with Luc Mbah a Moute right in his face.

“Hey, the first wins are always the toughest ones,” Woodson said.

The Bucks knew the odds were against them. They lost Michael Redd in January to a knee injury, but the biggest blow came with less than two weeks to go in the regular season when Bogut wrenched his right arm in a gruesome tumble to the court, finishing him for the season.

With Bogut out, Jennings was basically a one-man team. He had 20 of Milwaukee’s 40 points in the first half, and reached 30 points with more than six minutes left in the third quarter—before any of his teammates had even reached double figures.

The lightning-quick rookie was the one player who caused matchup problems for the Hawks, easily beating his man off the dribble no matter who the Hawks threw at him—everyone from 6-2 rookie Jeff Teague to 6-foot-10 center Al Horford.

“I’m going to play above my head the whole series,” Jennings said. “There’s no pressure on us.”