San Antonio Spurs Barged into the 2nd Round

Once again, the San Antonio Spurs are dominating, crushing the 2nd seeded Dallas Mavericks back to the ground. George Hill was as spectacular scoring 21 points, 10 came from the fourth quarter. Manu Ginobili lead the Spurs with 26 points. The Dallas Mavericks came out flat, staring at a 22 points deficit 19-41. But the never say die attitude by Dork Nowitzki and a great game by Rodrigue Beaubois saw the Mavs starting to trim the lead and even lead on a three pointer by Nowitzki, 57-56 but Ginobili responded with a three on his own as the Spurs regain the lead and Tim Duncan finished of a lay-up for a 61-57 lead. The Mavs keep fighting back but the Spurs never give the lead as they withstood every Mavs run down the stretch with the help of George Hill. Dirk Nowitzki scored 33 points, Caron Butler had 25 points and Rodrigue Beaubois finished with 16 points for the Mavs. The San Antonio Spurs will face the Phoenix Suns in the 2nd round.

Los Angeles Lakers Mastered Oklahoma City Thunder

That's what the defending champs play as the Lakers outclassed the young Oklahoma Thunder. Pau Gasol made his presence felt in the paint scored 25 points and Andrew Bynum added 21 points. Defense was the key for this Laker win. Kobe Bryant on the speedy Russell Westbrook turned be a good matchup for the Lakers. Bryant shuts down the source of the offense by the Thunder, limiting Westbrook with 15 points but committed 8 turnovers. Kevin Durant has also a sub-par performance with only 17 points to show. The laker superstar Kobe Bryant limited for 13 points but made his presence felt with his defense on Westbrook. The defending champs will try to end the series with a win in Oklahoma on game 6.

Magic Sweeps Bobcats

The Orlando Magic, last year's Eastern Conference champions outclassed the Charlotte Bobcats with a series-ending win 99-90. Having a deep roster and firepower on its lineup, the Magic was on the verge of a close fight, until timely jumper by Vince Carter and 3 pointers by Michael Pietrus and Jameer Nelson gives the Magic lead for good. Vince Carter carried the Magic with 21 points and Nelson added 18 points. They are the first team in the playoffs that clinch themselves to the the second round.

Spurs Down Mavs For a 3-1 Lead

It was a miserable night by Tim Duncan on his 34th birthday and Manu Ginobili having a hard time at all times, but the Spurs came up with a needed support from other players as they are one step away to put the series closed. The name of George Hill came to he rescue for the Spurs scoring 29 points and leading the way for a go-ahead 92-89 win over the 2nd seed Dallas Mavericks taking a commanding lead of 3-1 in the series, winning the last three. Game 5 is set on Tuesday night in Dallas.

Spurs Hold Off the Mavericks

The San Antonio Spurs, behind the 25 point performance by Tim Duncan,won over the Dirk Nowitzki-led Dallas Mavericks, 94-90. It was a good start for the Spurs as they lead mostly in the first half and had even lead 39-30. But the Mavs started to pull up their strings. Entered JJ Barea, Dallas made their stride in the 3rd quarter and even lead 70-59 on a basket by Barea. But the Spurs keep fighting back behind Manu Ginobili, suffering from a broken nose after he was hit by the elbow of Dirk Nowitzki. Dallas still managed to grab the lead 81-80 on a jumper by Nowitzki. But Tony Parker made successive jumpers down the stretch capped with a lay-up on a feed by Ginobili. The Spurs will try to lead the series 3-1 withe a victory over the Mavs in Game 4.

Bulls Survives Cavs in Game 3

The Chicago Bulls survive a late-rally by the Cavaliers, winning game 3 with the slimmest of margin, 108-106. It was a great game for the Bulls right from the very start as they lead the Cavs mostly on double digits. Derrick Rose and Kirk Hinrich combined for 58 points for the Bulls setting their game into a new level. Luol Deng added 20 points and Joachim Noah finished with points. The Bulls enjoyed the game leading the Cavs, until Lebron James and Mo Williams took over and saw the Bulls lead trimmed down to a one-point lead. 106-105. But that could be their last effort as they fall short. James finished with a game-high of 39 points. Game 4 is set for the Bulls to win and tied the series 2-2 at the United Center.

Spurs Takes Game 2, Series tied 1-1

The old reliables of the San Antonio Spurs came up big in stealing homecourt advantage of the second seed Dallas Mavericks in route to road victory 102-88 over the Mavs. Tim Duncan, in his old form, finished with 25 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, Manu Ginobili added 23 points on 4 of 6 shooting in the arc and Toni Parker had 16 points and 8 assists as they managed hold off the Mavericks. But it was Richard Jefferson that set the tone of the game for the Spurs scoring 17 of his 19 points in the first half. Jason Terry lead the Mavs with game-high 27 points coming from the bench. The series will shift to the homecourt of the Spurs in Games 3 and 4

Lakers Hang on to Beat the Thunder

The Oklahoma Thunder made a great effort but is still short as the Lakers hang tough on their way of gaining a two-to-nothing advantage in their series. Kobe Bryant scored 39 points overcoming another good performance by Kevin Durant. It was a struggle for the Durantula in the endgame as he was clobbered by the suffocating defense of Ron Artest. With the scored stand at 94-92, the Thunder has a chance of grabbing the lead with a three pointer but Durant missed the 3 pointer and Pau Gasol grabbed the rebound and fouled. He made only one out of two free throws. IN the ensuing play, the Jeff Grenn attempted a three pointer that could have tied the game in regulation. but the attempt falls short.

Utah Jazz Steals Homecourt Advantage

The undermanned Utah jazz, behind Deron Williams 33 points, 14 assists and Carlos Boozer's own double-double with 2o points and 15 rebounds outlasted the Denver Nuggets-led Carmelo Anthony, 114-111. It was a see-saw battle from the start through finished. Without Kirilinko and Okur, the Jazz will try to grab 3-1 lead securing homecourt advantage in games 3 and 4.