Basketball, Nba Playoffs First Round | featured news

Sure, basketball is a team sport, but NBA games are often won and lost by individual matchups. Here are five to watch in the first round of the playoffs....

After a total of seven overtimes in the first six games, the Celtics made an early night of it as they beat Chicago in regulation in their first-round Eastern Conference series.

Dwight Howard had 24 points and a career playoff-high 24 rebounds, a dominating performance that powered the Magic to a 91-78 victory over the Sixers on Tuesday night and gave Orlando a 3-2 series lead.

Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge helped the Blazers stave off elimination on Tuesday.

The Denver Nuggets tonight tied an NBA All-time Record set in 1956 for the largest margin of Victory in a Playoff game when they beat the New Orleans Hornets by 58 points! This is an astonishing feat.

Mike Bibby scored 15 points, Pachulia had 12 points and 18 rebounds, and Atlanta frustrated an ailing Dwyane Wade to beat the Miami Heat 81-71 Monday night, tying the first-round Eastern Conference series at two games apiece.

LeBron James had 36 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 99-78 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, sweeping the Eastern Conference first-round series.

Erick Dampier and the Dallas Mavericks slapped around the San Antonio Spurs with tight defense, the return of Dirk Nowitzki’s shooting touch and the energy of their home crowd, turning it into an 88-67 victory Thursday night and a 2-1 lead in their first-round series.

Paul Pierce scored 24 points, Rajon Rondo added 20 and the defending champions beat the Chicago Bulls 107-86 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Players refuse to play after a mishap involving the Atlanta Hawks' real-life mascot "Spirit."