Nba Playoffs | featured news

The Orlando Magic are playing like a team that will settle for nothing less than its first NBA championship....

The Los Angeles Lakers played more like they were trying to avoid a sweep rather than complete one....

Steve Nash scored 20 points and played with a right eye that was swollen shut as Phoenix swept San Antonio for the first time in five tries.

Rajon Rondo had 29 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists, and the Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 97-87 on Sunday to even the Eastern Conference semifinals a

Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher hit back-to-back 3-pointers during an 8-2 run in the final minute and the Lakers held on for a 111-110 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night that put Los Angeles on the verge of sweeping the Western Conference playoff series....

Rashard Lewis scored 22 points and the backups helped Orlando pull away early with Dwight Howard on the bench as the Magic romped to another playoff blowout, moving to the brink of their second straight sweep with a 105-75 victory over the Hawks on Saturday.

The Phoenix Suns would be thrilled to finally beat the Spurs in the playoffs by any margin. But a sweep? That would be especially sweet. Phoenix is one win away from ending years of playoff misery against San Antonio, taking a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals with a 110-96 victory Friday night, putting the Spurs in a historically irreparable hole.

"I think it's safe to say that may have been the best fourth-quarter performance I have ever seen in a playoff game," Suns forward Grant Hill said.

LeBron James scored 21 of his 38 points in the first quarter to help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat Boston 124-95 on Friday night, handing the Celtics their worst home playoff loss ever and taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals.

Showing no ill-effects of an elbow problem that was the talk of Cleveland during the long layoff, James finished with eight rebounds and seven assists. The 21 points in a quarter was a franchise postseason record.

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.

Los Suns ganaron. That means the Suns won. Amare Stoudemire had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Channing Frye made 5 of 6 3-pointers, and Phoenix, wearing its orange "Los Suns" jerseys in part to protest Arizona's new anti-immigration law, pulled away for a 110-102 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night, taking a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals....