The Basketball Diaries

Los Angeles Lakers 111 Utah Jazz 104 (Lakers lead 3-2)

As good as this series has been at times, it's also been incredibly boring. In each of the first five games of this series, the team that takes the lead halfway through the first quarter holds onto it for the rest of the game. The Lakers jumped out to an early lead to start the game yesterday, and they never trailed, not even for a second.

The Jazz tied the game a few times, but never capitalized on an opportunity to actually take the lead from the Lakers.

Kobe Bryant said his back felt better before last night's game, but you could tell watching him play that it's still bothering him. He was much more passive last night, and even though he finished with 26 points, not a single one came in the fourth quarter. Instead it was Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol scoring all the points at the end, as Odom finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Pau dropped in 21 with six boards and eight assists.

"I just had to pick my spots," he said. "I knew I wasn't 100 percent healthy, so I wanted to get us off to a good start, give us an emotional boost. Then in the third quarter, there were moments where I had to pick it up, and I was able to do that. And in the fourth quarter, Lamar [Odom] and Pau [Gasol] took it from there."

Boston Celtics 96 Cleveland Cavaliers 89 (Celtics lead 3-2)

The way this game started, I had a feeling that Boston was finally going to give one up at home, as LeBron James came out hitting his shots and giving the Cavs a 14-point lead at times in the first half. Unfortunately for Cleveland, LeBron's scoring touch disappeared in the second half, and the Celtics took advantage.

Kevin Garnett scored 26 points and had 16 rebounds, and Paul Pierce had 29, but the man who made it all work was Rajon Rondo who finished with 20 points and 13 assists for Boston.

"This momentum, and what we did here tonight," Garnett said, "we've got to figure a way to carry this on the road."

LeBron would finish with 35 for Cleveland, easily his highest scoring game of the three played in Boston, but only 15 came in the second half. Also not helping matters was the fifteen missed free throws for Cleveland, and the fact that they hit two three pointers in the opening minutes, and only went 1-for-14 from there out.

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Cleveland Cavaliers 88 Boston Celtics 77 (Series tied 2-2)

LeBron James can do it all. If you need him to put your team on his back in the fourth quarter, he can do that. If you need him to distribute the ball to his teammates, he can do that as well, as he handed out 13 assists last night. If you need him to deliver an emphatic dunk on Kevin Garnett, he can do that, and did in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter (I'm currently looking for video).

And most importantly, if you need someone who knows when and how to put his mother in her place, LeBron can do that. Which he did during the second quarter when she started saying something to Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce after a hard foul. It was though he'd forgotten that Mother's Day was but 24 hours beforehand when he told her to "Sit down and shut up."

"I told her to sit down, in some language I shouldn't have used," James said. "Thank God today wasn't Mother's Day. All I could think about is her. ... I know my mother. It's fine, we're good."

Doesn't this all seem familiar, though? No, not the stuff about LeBron's mom, but James struggling in the first two games of a playoff series, then going home and getting back on track. Last year he did the same thing against a heavily favored Pistons team, and now he's doing it against the heavily favored Celtics. The Pistons were good at home, the Celtics are good at home.

If he goes and scores Cleveland's last 25 points in game five to get the Cavs the win, the NBA would probably be better served to hire new writers.

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San Antonio Spurs 110 New Orleans Hornets 99 (Hornets lead 2-1)

Yep, so the Spurs are definitely too old and slow to stop the Hornets. Chris Paul had another great night for New Orleans, scoring 35 points and 9 assists, while David West had 23 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to push the Spurs to the brink of elimination.

Tony Parker seemingly answered every basket by Chris Paul with one of his own, and joined Manu Ginobili with 31 points on the night. The key difference in this game for San Antonio was that, while they still weren't able to really stop Paul, the role players hit their shots. Bruce Bowen had 12 points, all on three-pointers, and Michael Finley finished with 11 point of his own.

The Hornets, meanwhile, didn't get much from anybody but CP3 and David West. Peja Stojakovic only had 8 points, while Tyson Chandler was the only other Hornet in double digits with 12.

Boston Celtics 89 Cleveland Cavaliers 73 (Celtics lead 2-0)

I'm guessing that after this game was over, LeBron James showered as quickly as he could, and ran to the airport. Anything to get the hell out of Boston. James struggled from the field again on Thursday, going only 6-of-24 from the field. That brings him to 8-of-42 in the series.

Despite his horrible shooting, LeBron did manage to score more points than anybody on the Celtics, with 21, but I doubt that's of much consolation. Paul Pierce had 19, Ray Allen 16, and Kevin Garnett 13, but it was enough for Boston to get a pretty easy victory.

Still, given the way Boston played on the road in the last series, there's no way you can say that the Cavs are done in this series. Plus, you gotta figure LeBron's shots will start falling at some point. They have to, right?

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Boston Celtics 76 Cleveland Cavaliers 72 (Celtics lead series 1-0)

This one was not pretty. While Kevin Garnett scored 28 points, nobody else really did much. Paul Pierce had 4 points while making two of his fourteen shots. Ray Allen went scoreless, but in his defense, he only took four shots. LeBron at least hit double digits with 12 points, but eight of those came at the free throw line, as he also struggled from the field at going two for eighteen.

Yeah, this one was what you might call a defensive struggle.

Sam Cassell managed to have a good night, as somehow always happens in the playoffs. The NBA's only alien scored 13 points, making some big shots to help the Celtics come back after the Cavs took a lead while KG was on the bench. Rajon Rondo had 15, but most of them were scored in the first half.

Zydrunaus Ilgauskas scored 22 points for Cleveland, but didn't help out much during the second half.

Still, this is only the first game of what could be a long series. I don't think LeBron is going to shoot this badly, nor do I expect it from Pierce or Allen, so it's hard to get a real read on how it's going to go. If the Cavs can stay within four points in Boston, with LeBron stuggling to get anything going, it's entirely possible they can steal a game in Beantown like they did in Detroit last season. Seemed to work for them last season.

The Basketball Diaries

Los Angeles Lakers 109 Utah Jazz 98 (Lakers lead series 1-0)

The Lakers continue to roll, as they improved to 5-0 in the postseason this year after finishing the season winners of eight of their last nine. Soon to be named MVP, Kobe Bryant, scored 38 points, grabbed 6 boards, and handed out 7 assists. He spent the majority of the afternoon at the free throw line, where he made 21 of 23 shots. "You've got to be able to knock those free throws down. They're open looks," said Bryant. "It's my responsibility to knock them down." Hell, most of this game seemed to be spent at the free throw line, as the Jazz and Lakers combined for 76 free throws, with 31 of them coming in the fourth quarter alone. It doesn't exactly make for the most exciting basketball.

Boston Celtics 99 Atlanta Hawks 65 (Celtics win series 4-3)

It was a nice story that the Atlanta Hawks were able to take the Celtics to a full seven games in this series, but anybody who thought that they actually had a chance to win in Boston should be beaten. With a big stick. Kinda like the beating the Celtics gave the Hawks on Sunday. Kevin Garnett had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Celtics, who won their four home games by an average of 25 points per game. "I really had no doubt in my mind how we were going to come out," Paul Pierce said. "You kind of saw it from the guys after Game 6 on the plane, there wasn't a lot of talking. We knew that we let a couple of games get away in Atlanta and I knew we were just going to take care of business."

The Basketball Diaries

Washington Wizards 88 Cleveland Cavaliers 87 (Cavs lead series 3-2)

Although I have no real rooting interest in this series, I'm happy that the Wizards were able to pull off the victory over Cleveland on Wednesday night to extend this series at least one more game. Not because of the quality of basketball being played-it's really not that great-but because with every game these two teams play, there's a chance there will be a huge fight. Fights are fun! Anyway, Caron Butler put the Wizards up with 3.9 seconds left by driving to the hole on LeBron and making the layup. LeBron had a chance to win the game for Cleveland, but his short jumper at the buzzer didn't find it's mark, and now we're going back to D.C. for a game six. "I was messing with LeBron before the play started," Butler said. "I told him, 'Miss this shot, make it interesting and let's take this thing back to D.C.'"

Boston Celtics 110 Atlanta Hawks 85 (Celtics lead series 3-2)

Boy, I'm happy I finally took the time to watch a game of this series. I never really planned to, but after the Hawks won the last two games back in Atlanta, I figured I should probably start paying attention. Yeah, back in Boston it doesn't quite work that way. The Celtics beat the Hawks down like they should, and while the Hawks hung around for a few minutes in the first quarter, the game was never really close. "We still haven't won a road game, guys," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "We have to do it again. We have to do it on the road now. We have to go in there and play like tonight." Please do, I really don't want to watch two more of these games.

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Atlanta Hawks 97 Boston Celtics 92 (Series tied 2-2)

Just what in the hell is going on here? First the Pistons and Sixers split their first four games, and now the Celtics and Hawks as well? I don't know how it's happened, because I've only seen like 5 minutes of this series, but I guess this means I have to start paying attention now. Joe Johnson had 35 points, 20 of which came in the final quarter, and Joe Smith had 28 points and 7 blocks. "We took care of our home court," Johnson said. "Now we've got to go up to Boston and somehow steal one." Considering that Atlanta lost the first two games in Boston by an average of 21 points, I don't see that happening. Then again, I didn't see them winning two games in this series, nobody did.

Los Angeles Lakers 107 Denver Nuggets 101 (Lakers win series 4-0)

While I thought that this series would be more entertaining, it became apparent from the first two games that the Nuggets were dead. They'd already quit on themselves and their coach before the first tip-off, and the Lakers finished them off officially on Tuesday night. It wasn't a blowout this time, but the Lakers followed the same formula they used in the first three games. Come the 4th quarter, let Kobe dominate. Kobe scored 14 points over the final five and a half minutes to lead the Lakers, and finished with 31 on the night. Pau Gasol also had another big game, contributing 21 of his own. To their credit, the Nuggets didn't lay down last night, but it was a little too late to try and make a stand in this series.

Orlando Magic 102 Toronto Raptors 92 (Magic win series 4-1)

The Magic advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in 12 years on Tuesday night, and they did it the same way they did for most of this series. A lot of Dwight Howard. Howard had his third 20-20 game of the series, finishing with 21 points and 21 rebounds. "There was a different demeanor from him," Stan Van Gundy said of his young center. "Dwight is a fun-loving guy and he likes to fool around. There are a lot of times during the year, not bad, but a lot of times during the year where I've got to try to bring him back to being serious when we're preparing. I did not have to say one word, from the start of preparation for this series all the way through."

The Basketball Diaries

Lakers 122 Nuggets 107 (Los Angeles leads 2-0)

In case you weren't already aware, Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player on the planet. When you combine the greatest player on the planet with a defense as porous as the Denver Nuggets, you're going to get quite the show, and Kobe put one on Wednesday night. After scoring 20 points in the 1st quarter to get warmed up, he finished up with 24 more in the 4th, 19 of which came during a 4:19 span. Oh, and he also managed to hand out 10 assists as well. "Tonight, the way he was going, we probably could have put 10 people on the court and probably wouldn't have been able to stop him," said Nuggets star Allen Iverson. Seriously, watching Kobe in that 4th quarter, I swore I was watching Michael Jordan again. It was phenomenal.

Pistons 105 Sixers 88 (Series tied 1-1)

Something told me that after the way the Pistons let game one of this series slip away, they weren't going to make the same mistake twice. They started the game with an early lead, and just kept building on it from there. The big difference between this game and the first one being that Detroit actually looked like they were taking things seriously again. "We were focused, really locked in on what we had to do," Billups said. "We got off to a quick start and we never let up. All five starters played good, and we all shot the ball well. That makes us tough." Rip Hamilton had 20, and Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, and Tayshaun Prince all had 16 to lead the Pistons.

Celtics 96 Hawks 77 (Boston leads 2-0)

One of the more common mistakes in watching a playoff series is assuming that when the home team takes the first two games, the series is over. More often than not, the team that's down 0-2 goes home and wins a game or two and turns it into a series again. Rest assured, this is not one of those series. This thing is done. It's been over since the regular season started, and quite frankly, the Celtics probably view this whole thing as nothing more than a glorified scrimmage to get ready for the second round.

The Basketball Diaries

Philadelphia 76ers 90 Detroit Pistons 86

So as I was saying, Sixers in four! Okay, I didn't say that but I did say that the Pistons generally always give at least one game away during a playoff series, and they gave this one away on Sunday afternoon. Detroit blew a 15-point lead and let one slip away as the Sixers stole away home-court advantage thanks to Andre Miller's 20 points and Willie Green's 17. Rasheed Wallace scored 24 points for Detroit, but he missed a pretty easy layup that could have tied the game in the closing seconds, and he wasn't deflecting any blame afterward. "I'm going to put this one on me," Wallace said. "There's no excuses. The last bunny, that was a bucket I should've made. I'm going to take this one on the chin." I'm willing to bet Detroit romps in game 2.

Los Angeles Lakers 128 Denver Nuggets 114

People talk about how Tracy McGrady has never won a playoff series in his career, but I mean, at least he's not Pau Gasol. Not only had Gasol never won a playoff series, before Sunday, he'd never won a playofff game. My how things change when you're playing alongside Kobe Bryant. Gasol scored 36 points, grabbed 16 boards, handed out 8 assists, and swatted 4 shots on Sunday as the Lakers took game one against the Nuggets. "It feels amazing, it feels great. I had a blast out there," the 7-foot Spaniard said after shooting 14-of-20 from the floor and 8-of-8 from the foul line. "We did a pretty good job, we can do better. We're happy with the win, I'm happy with the win. Hopefully there will be many more." Kobe didn't have a bad day either, scoring 18 of his 32 points in the final 8 minutes.

Boston Celtics 104 Atlanta Hawks 81

Well, at least Atlanta kept it interesting for a little while. Unfortunately for Atlanta, Kevin Garnett was playing in his first playoff game in four years, and he wasn't about to let them enjoy themselves. KG scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Ray Allen had 18 points, and Rajon Rondo had 15 points and 9 assists as the Celtics grabbed the first of what should be four straight wins in this series.

Elsewhere...

• Magic 114 Raptors 100

NBA Playoff Previews: Boston vs. Atlanta

With the NBA playoffs beginning on Saturday, that means Foul Balls is allowed to start enjoying basketball again. So throughout the day today, I will be previewing each of the eight first round matchups.

Why You Should Watch This Series: Because you're a Celtics fan? If you're an Atlanta fan you should probably just skip it so you can still just be happy you've made the playoffs. This series will be by far the most boring of any in the first round this year.

Why Boston Will Win This Series: Probably because they're the best team in the NBA and they have Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce. Not to mention that Rajon Rondo has blossomed playing alongside those three. Not only is it impossible for defenses to stop this team from scoring, but it's damn near impossible to score against them, as KG will not allow his team to slack off on the defensive end.

Why Atlanta Will Win This Series: Because Boston's plane crashes on the way to Atlanta for Game 3. Really, that's the only way it could happen.

Who Will Win This Series: Boston 4-0.

The Basketball Diaries

Unfortunately for Aaron Gray, the reason he's on the bench is because that's the only way he knows how to play defense.

Boston Celtics 106 Chicago Bulls 92

I write this recap with full disclosure: Now that baseball season has begun, I don't plan on watching another Bulls game this season. This means that I didn't watch this game, but I'll bet I can tell you what happened anyway. The Celtics were led by Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce as they toyed with the Bulls and their feeble attempts to stop any of them. Am I way off? I do see that Tyrus Thomas had a nice game, leading the Bulls with 24 points, and even impressed Garnett with his play. "Tyrus has a lot of potential. Obviously, that's no secret. It's all going to be about what he wants to do in this league, if he's able to listen and follow direction and have a work ethic." Well, 0-for-3 ain't bad!

Denver Nuggets 126 Phoenix Suns 120

The Suns and Nuggets met in another defensive slugfest for the second consecutive night, but this time it was the Nuggets who prevailed and moved back into the Western Conference's final playoff spot. Allen Iverson had 31, Carmelo Anthony had 25, Kenyon Martin had 18, and J.R. Smith finished with 17 points to lead the Nuggets. Of course, just because they've won their 9th straight game at home, and 9th in their last 12 games overall, the Nuggets realize that they still can't relax in the ultra-competitive west. "One loss and you're back down the totem pole," J.R. Smith said. "We can't be too excited about this. We've got to just keep playing our game."

San Antonio Spurs 116 Golden State Warriors 92

The reason the Nuggets moved back into the playoffs? The Spurs dominated the Warriors on Tuesday night in San Antonio to pick up their 8th straight win. Tony Parker led the way with 26 points, but Tim Duncan added 17 and 12 rebounds while Manu Ginobili dropped in 16 more to help pace San Antonio. "On offense Tony did another great job running the show for us and distributing and scoring," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. "Timmy was great in the hole. I thought everybody really contributed and knocked down shots and moved the ball well." The win puts San Antonio in a virtual tie with New Orleans for first in the west, but since the Hornets have played two less games, they're still ahead on percentage points.

Elsewhere...

• Hornets 98 Magic 97
• Sixers 108 Nets 99
• Bucks 119 Knicks 115 OT
• Pistons 94 TWolves 90
• Kings 99 Rockets 98

The Basketball Diaries

Philadelphia 76ers 121 Chicago Bulls 99

Seriously, do any of you out there really think the Bulls have any shot at still making the playoffs? I know they beat the Hawks on Tuesday night, but you can't honestly believe they're going to magically stop sucking do you? If you do, it's obvious you didn't see last night's game. The Bulls got blown out of the gate by the streaking Sixers, and never recovered. A couple of hours later they laid shattered on the floor. Actually, that's not true. They would actually have to give a shit for that to happen. Instead they all went out for ice cream afterwards. Aaron Gray bought for everybody, what a guy.

Boston Celtics 117 Phoenix Suns 97

I have to admit, I was kind of excited about this game. The Celtics are the Celtics, and the Suns finally seem to have adjusted to having Shaq on the team. So I figured this game was going to be very entertaining, and it was, but only if you are a Celtics fan. For the second straight game, the Suns lost to an Eastern Conference powerhouse as Kevin Garnett scored 30 points and Paul Pierce had 27 as Boston relatively coasted through the game. "I couldn't have imagined it a year ago," Pierce said, thinking back to the seven-for-one trade that bought Garnett out of Minnesota over the summer. "The whole face of the Celtics turned around when the trade happened with this guy. Everyone talks about MVP, and they talk about numbers, but this guy has changed the whole culture around here."

New Orleans Hornets 100 Cleveland Cavaliers 99

Chris Paul has long referred to his teammate David West as the "17-foot Assassin." If the Cavaliers didn't know why he does that, they found out on Wednesday night. Paul dished off his 20th assist of the night to West, and David drained a 17-footer with .6 seconds left to give the Hornets a road victory in Cleveland. "We knew we were going to have a chance to get the ball to Chris Paul and let him create," Scott said. "We knew we were going to get a good look at it. If we got the shot, we didn't want to leave a lot of time on the clock. It was .6 when David nailed it. It worked to perfection."

Elsewhere...

• Hawks 115 Bucks 96
• Raptors 89 Pistons 82
• Nets 124 Pacers 117
• Knicks 103 Heat 96 OT
• Rockets 97 TWolves 86
• Spurs 97 Clippers 88
• Wizards 104 Sonics 99
• Kings 107 Grizzlies 106 OT
• Bobcats 108 Lakers 95

The Basketball Diaries

Detroit Pistons 110 Phoenix Suns 105 OT

The Suns had recently seemed to figure it out, winning their last seven games, but they couldn't figure out how to stop Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups on Monday night. Sheed kept the Pistons out front early with a barrage of three-pointers, finishing the night 5-of-9 behind the arc for 23 points, while Billups scored 9 of his 32 during overtime to lead Detroit to victory. Also stepping up were rookie guards Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo as the Pistons had to make do without both Rip Hamilton and Juan Dixon. "This game is another vindication for the young guys," said Billups. "I have an unbelievable amount of confidence in those guys." Amare Stoudemire led Phoenix with 33 points.

Philadelphia 76ers 95 Boston Celtics 90

They've been doing it under the radar, but the Sixers have been playing very good basketball as of late. Something tells me their win over the Celtics on Monday night may help garner more attention, as the Sixers have now won 12 of their last 15 games and are over .500 for the first time this season. The key last night was a 19-0 run in the fourth quarter after facing a double-digit deficit. Andre Iguodala, who led Philly with 28 points, is pleased with the win but doesn't feel the Sixers have accomplished anything yet. "It shows how hard we've worked to get back," said Iguodala. "But I think we still have to have that mentality like we're a team that's still under .500 and still fighting. It's not over yet. We've gotten to a point where we want to be, which is over .500, but we still don't have an 'X' by our name" to signify a playoff berth.

Elsewhere...

• Heat 78 Bucks 73
• Nets 106 Knicks 91
• Nuggets 120 Grizzlies 106
• Rockets 108 Kings 100
• Sonics 97 Blazers 84
• Lakers 123 Warriors 119 OT
  

Basketball Diaries

San Antonio Spurs 102 Chicago Bulls 80

I'd like to thank the Bulls for accomodating my college basketball viewing schedule by getting their asses kicked early, and allowing me to stop paying attention. The Spurs destroyed the Bulls on Thursday night, using a 22-4 run in the 2nd quarter to open up a 53-33 lead. They never let it go. Hell, they built on it. At one point late in the 3rd the Spurs were up 74-47. I checked the score during a commercial break in the college tournament, and thought I'd stumbled onto UCLA-Mississippi Valley State on accident. Needless to say, the Bulls deserved the boos they heard last night. Their play in the game very much mirrored my attitude towards watching it on television. None of us wanted to be there.

Boston Celtics 94 Dallas Mavericks 90

And the Celtics sweep Texas. Dirk Nowitzki managed to score 24 points and grab 19 rebounds for the Mavericks, but it wasn't enough to overcome Boston's big trio. Paul Pierce scored 22, Ray Allen had 21, and Kevin Garnett had 20 points. Both Pierce and Garnett also finished with 13 rebounds. The win made the Celtics the first team to go 6-0 against the three Texas teams in a season since the Milwaukee Bucks in the 99-2000 season. They're also the first team to go 3-0 on a Texas road trip since the Kings in 2001. Which is all just a lot of words saying that the Celtics are the best team in the NBA. By far.

Los Angeles Lakers 106 Utah Jazz 95

The Jazz' 19-game win streak at home came to an end on Thursday night thanks to Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Kobe scored 27 points, and Lamar Odom added 21 and 12 rebounds as the Lakers came out of the gate on fire. They made nine of their first ten shots and had a 24-point lead in the 2nd quarter. Carlos Boozer had 23 points and 15 rebounds for the Jazz in a losing effort.

The Basketball Diaries

Boston Celtics 94 Houston Rockets 74

It would have been a bit more poetic had the Celtics been able to manage 96 points so that they could have ended the Rockets 22-game winning streak with a 22-point victory, but the point is still the same anyway. As has been known all along, the Rockets streak was amazing, but it still didn't make them the best team in the NBA. That title has belonged to the Celtics all season, and they let the Rockets know all about it. Paul Pierce led the way with 20 points, while Kevin Garnett had 22 and 11 boards. Leon Powe also had a big game off the bench, dropping 21 points of his very own. That means in two nights the Celtics have beaten the Spurs and Rockets, and they'll look to sweep Texas on Thursday night. As for how the Rockets feel about the streak ending? "It's not disappointing," Tracy McGrady said. "It's a hell of a team over there. They outplayed us. I've never seen a defense like that. I mean, if they play defense like that, night in and night out, the NBA is in trouble because that was defense at its finest." And Tracy would know. He only managed 8 points on 4-of-11 shooting.

Los Angeles Lakers 102 Dallas Mavericks 100

For a while on Tuesday night, it looked like the Lakers were going to get an easy win in Dallas. Kobe Bryant scored 20 of his 29 points in the first half, as Los Angeles built a 25-point lead in the middle of the 3rd quarter. That's when Kobe stopped scoring, and the Mavs went on a run and got to within a last second Dirk Nowitzki jumper to win the game. Unfortunately, after Dirk fumbled the inbound pass and got two Lakers in the air on a ball fake, he dodged both and took an impossible shot that caromed harmlessly off the backboard. Had he just jumped into the Lakers, he's got three free throw attempts to win the game.

Chicago Bulls 112 New Jersey Nets 96

I had the option of watching one game on Tuesday night: Rockets/Celtics or Bulls/Nets. Which one do you think I chose? I hear the Bulls tried to blow another huge lead but actually held on to win a game that has huge playoff implications. Well, as huge an implication can be when a team is still 27-40. Luol Deng had 20 points, and Drew Gooden had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Ben Gordon also came up big in the 4th quarter as he scored 10 of his 17 points in the final frame.

Elsewhere...

• Pistons 136 Nuggets 120
• Heat 112 Bucks 106
• Kings 122 Warriors 105
• Suns 111 Blazers 98

The Basketball Diaries

New Orleans Hornets 108 Chicago Bulls 97

So how do the Bulls respond after blowing an 18-point lead during a 40-point 4th quarter against the Sixers on Friday night? By blowing an 11-point lead against the Hornets, of course! Chris Paul literally carved the Bulls up during the 4th quarter as the Hornets outscored the Bulls 33-13 in the final frame. Paul finished the game with 37 points and 13 assists. "It was all Chris Paul," said Tyson Chandler, who finished with eight points. "The little man was all over the floor. It was incredible. It's one of the best performances I've seen from him yet. He, at least to me, made his bid [Monday night] to consider him the MVP." Ben Gordon scored 31 points for the Bulls, but he was guarding Chris Paul, so he gave up more than he got. Only 16 games to go.

Boston Celtics 93 San Antonio Spurs 91

The Celtics have played well against the West all season, but you have to figure a three-game road trip through Texas against the Spurs, Rockets, and Mavs isn't going to be easy. Even for them. It sure didn't look easy on Monday night as the Spurs jumped out to a 22-point lead in the first half as Boston played it's 2nd straight game without Ray Allen. The Celtics fought back though, led by Paul Pierce's 22 points, Rajon Rondo's 20, Sam Cassell's 17, and Kevin Garnett's 21. "A lot of teams may have buckled," said Rajon Rondo, who scored 20 points for the Celtics. "But we knew we had to execute. Continue to get stops on defense and we knew the game would change for us, and it did." Manu Ginobili led San Antonio with 32, but the Spurs have lost 6 of their last 7 games, and have fallen to 6th place out West.

Orlando Magic 104 Cleveland Cavaliers 90

The Magic buried the Cavaliers in a three-point barrage on Monday night. The Magic converted on 14 of their 32 3-point attempts to help overcome a bad shooting night everywhere else, led by Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu who drained three each. Lewis finished with 21 and Turkoglu 18. Of course, the reason those guys were open is one Dwight Howard, who didn't make any 3-pointers of his own, but did manage to finish with 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic. "The main focus is to get the ball inside to Dwight," Lewis said. "Obviously he demands so much attention and they can't guard him 1-on-1. They try to clog the paint and they leave us wide open out on the wing, so we take what they give us." LeBron finished with 30 points for Cleveland, but the rest of his team still sucks, so they lost.

Elsewhere...

• Pacers 110 Knicks 98
• Hawks 105 Wizards 96
• TWolves 99 Clippers 90
• Grizzlies 98 Bobcats 80
• Jazz 96 Raptors 79

The Basketball Diaries

Boston Celtics 90 Detroit Pistons 78

And with that, the Celtics become the first team in the NBA to clinch a playoff spot, and with only 23 games left to play. Kevin Garnett scored a season high 31 points to lead the Celtics past the Pistons in a matchup between the only two teams in the East worth anything. The win also gave Boston a victory in the season series against Detroit, taking two of the three meetings. "It was good to beat them in the regular season and win the series, but this is a team we're probably going to see in the playoffs," said Paul Pierce, who scored 15 points. "They'll be a better team by then." Chauncy Billups led Detroit with 23 points.

Houston Rockets 117 Indiana Pacers 99

When the Rockets found out they were going to be without Yao Ming for the rest of the season, I made no secret of the fact I thought it meant they had no chance of making the playoffs in the West. Well, all Houston's done since Yao went out is go 4-0 and extend their win streak to a franchise record 16 straight. Tracy McGrady had 25 points, and Rafer Alston added 21 to propel the Rockets. "It's all about confidence," McGrady said. "We have great chemistry and guys know their roles here. We all are playing so well, we just can't really count on one guy."

Denver Nuggets 126 Phoenix Suns 113

So that Shaq trade still isn't working out very well. Carmelo Anthony had 30 points and 13 rebounds, Allen Iverson had 31 points and 12 assists, and just about everybody in a Denver Nuggets uniform dropped in 20 points against the reeling Suns in Denver on Wednesday night. "Guys like Carmelo and A.I. are going to get theirs," Shaquille O'Neal said. "But when J.R. Smith comes out and shoots those wild shots that he was making, then they are a hard team to beat."

Elsewhere...

• Magic 122 Wizards 92
• Bobcats 118 Warriors 109
• Raptors 108 Heat 83
• Cavs 119 Knicks 105
• Hornets 116 Hawks 101
• Bucks 118 Sonics 106
• Grizzlies 100 Nets 93
• Jazz 105 TWolves 76
• Clippers 116 Kings 109 2OT

The Basketball Diaries

Chicago Bulls 113 Indiana Pacers 107

On Tuesday the Bulls were supposed to have a day off, but instead they chose to hold practice since newcomers Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes hadn't had a chance to practice with the team since coming over from Cleveland. It made a bit of a difference. Hughes scored 29 points, while Gooden had 10 points and 15 rebounds as the Bulls got their first win since shipping Ben Wallace to Cleveland Hughes and Gooden joined the team. "Our chemistry is starting to come together a little bit," Chicago coach Jim Boylan said. "There's a lot of things that go into changing a team ... but at the end of the day, it's basketball and they do what they do out there."

Boston Celtics 92 Cleveland Cavaliers 87

Well, the Cavs traded for Ben Wallace and Wally Sczerbiak because they thought it would give them a better chance against the Celtics and Pistons in the East. Their first chance to prove it came on Wednesday night, and if early returns are to be believed, the trade did nothing for them. Kevin Garnett had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Ray Allen had 22 points to lead the Celtics. LeBron scored 24 points for the Cavs, but did so on 7/24 shooting from the field. "When you have an off-shooting night like this, it's tough to pull a game out," said James. "Especially against the best team in the league." I like to call it The Ben Wallace Effect.

New Orleans Hornets 120 Phoenix Suns 103

If I'm a Hornets fan, I'm hoping my team gets a first round matchup with the Suns in the playoffs. The Hornets and Suns faced each other for the fourth time this season on Wednesday night, and for the fourth time this season the Hornets sent the Suns home with a loss. Chris Paul had 25 points and 15 assists to help shake New Orleans out of a three-game losing streak. "We match up with them pretty well," said Hornets forward David West, who scored 27 points. "C.P. and our guards have an advantage over their guards with their speed and ability to get up and down the floor. ... It just happens that Phoenix is one of those teams that we feel confident against." The Suns are now 2-3 since trading for Shaq.

Elsewhere...

• Hawks 123 Kings 117
• Sixers 101 Magic 89
• Raptors 107 TWolves 85
• Knicks 113 Bobcats 89
• Jazz 103 Pistons 95
• Nuggets 138 Sonics 96
• Blazers 82 Clippers 80

The Basketball Diaries

Denver Nuggets 124 Boston Celtics 118

Finally, the Celtics have fallen to a Western Conference opponent. Kevin Garnett played for the first time since January 25th, and he played like somebody who hadn't played in a month. KG scored only 4 points for the Celtics on 2-of-7 shooting. Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson showed no such rust for Denver, scoring 29 and 28 points respectively. "Winning this game puts a lot of pressure on us, because if you can beat a team like this, then you can beat all the other teams," Iverson said. "We have enough talent to scare some people, but we just have to bring it night in and night out."

Utah Jazz 119 Golden State Warriors 109

The Utah Jazz exploded on the Warriors on Tuesday night. Utah scored 77 points in the first half as neither the Jazz or the Warriors seemed to remember how to play defense after the All-Star layoff. Deron Williams had 29 points and 12 assists for the Jazz, both Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur had double doubles, and Andrei Kirilenko had 18 points as Utah completed a season sweep of the Warriors. "The only good thing about the game tonight for us is that this is the last time we have to play in Utah," Golden State coach Don Nelson said.

Orlando Magic 103 Detroit Pistons 85

It seems Dwight Howard left his Superman costume in New Orleans, because he was far from the man of steel on Tuesday night. The reigning slam dunk champion scored only 8 points for Orlando, but that didn't stop them from ending the Pistons 10-game win streak. Orlando hit 65% of their three-pointers, making 13 of the 20 they attempted. Also, just because Dwight was contributing on offense, that doesn't mean he didn't sway the game in the Magic's favor. "Dwight had eight points and eight rebounds, and there's been other nights when he's gone 20-20, but this might have been his best game of the season," he said. "In the third quarter, he made it virtually impossible for Detroit to get any offense going inside. He changed every shot."

Elsewhere...

• Rockets 93 Cavaliers 85
• Knicks 113 Wizards 100 OT
• TWolves 104 Sixers 88
• Spurs 85 Bobcats 65
• Kings 104 Blazers 95
• Sonics 108 Grizzlies 101
• Lakers 122 Hawks 93

The Basketball Diaries

Boston Celtics 98 San Antonio Spurs 90

Boston's dominance over the Western Conference (16-0) continued on Sunday with a win over the Spurs, and they beat the defending champs without Kevin Garnett. In the seven games the Celtics have played without Garnett, they're 5-2 so maybe they'd be willing to trade him. John Paxson should give them a call. Anyway, Paul Pierce scored 35 points, Ray Allen had 19, and Rajon Rondo had 12 assists and 11 rebounds to lead Boston. "I just have to give credit to the whole bench being ready, turning the game around," Pierce said, also praising Rondo for leading the team in rebounds three times since Garnett went out. "Every time he leads the team in rebounds, we win. So keep crashing the boards, Rondo."

Phoenix Suns 108 Washington Wizards 107

There's still no Shaquille O'Neal in Phoenix, but it isn't really slowing the team down. Amare Stoudemire is manning the middle just fine, as he scored 31 points to lead the Suns on Sunday, including two free throws in the final seconds to ice the game. Amare also had 13 rebounds and 4 blocks. "I just focus in on the game and what the game brings forth," Stoudemire said. "Each year I try to improve on something, last year was my jumper, this year it's defense."

Detroit Pistons 113 Charlotte Bobcats 87

The Pistons had an easy time extending their winning streak to eight games on Sunday with a blowout win over the Bobcats. After taking control in the first quarter, outscoring Charlotte 29-13, the Pistons just cruised from there. Tayshaun Prince scored 21 points, 14 of which came in that first quarter, and Richard Hamilton had 18 to lead Detroit. "We've got things rolling right now, especially at home," said Prince, who hit four of Detroit's eight first-half 3-pointers. "They were doing a lot of doubling, and we were getting a lot of good looks outside. We just had to be ready to knock them down."

Elsewhere...

• Lakers 104 Heat 94
• Nets 101 Mavs 82
• Raptors 105 TWolves 82
• Nuggets 113 Cavs 83