The Basketball Diaries

Los Angeles Lakers 120 Utah Jazz 110 (Lakers lead series 2-0)

On the night when Kobe Bryant was given his first ever MVP award, he went out and showed everyone why he got it. Kobe scored 34 points, had 8 rebounds, and handed out 6 assists as the Lakers maintained their perfect playoff record, and more importantly, went up 2-0 on the Jazz.

Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol also had big nights, scoring 19 and 20 respectively (Odom had 16 boards as well) using their length and quickness to get Carlos Boozer in foul trouble, and just abuse Mehmet Okur. Derek Fisher had 22, and hit a big three in the third quarter to give the Lakers their double-digit lead back.

As for Utah, Carlos Boozer didn't get much playing time thanks to all those fouls, but he didn't do much with the time he had, finishing with only 10 points and 5 boards. He also missed seven of his 10 shots.

Deron Williams had 25, 22 in the second half, and gave the Jazz a spark at times, but they were forced to play from behind all night. Plus, Matt Harpring and Kyle Korver could never get going, but role players play better at home, and that's where Utah's going.

Orlando Magic 111 Detroit Pistons 86 (Pistons lead series 2-1)

The Pistons didn't just lose a game on Wednesday night, they may have lost Chauncey Billups as well. Billups strained his right hamstring early in the 1st quarter, and was lost for the game. He's scheduled to undergo an MRI on Thursday, and the Pistons are crossing their fingers.

If Billups is out for a considerable period of time, it could change this series.

Still, we'll have to wait on that announcement, so let's focus on the Magic. Orlando was raining threes on the Pistons, with Rashard Lewis bringing the most thunder. Lewis scored 33 points for the Magic, making eleven of his 14 shots (including 5-for-6 behind the arc), and taking over the game to finish the first half.

Speaking of thunder, Dwight Howard had a ho-hum 20 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks. In defense of his low rebound total, it's hard to get a lot of rebounds when you're swatting away so many shots.