Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks win: NBA Play-offs Round-up
Atlanta Hawks versus Orlando Magic, 84-81
The Philips Arena witnessed the Atlanta Hawks going through to the NBA semi-finals as they overpowered the Orlando Magic with 84-81 on Thursday night in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Hawks’ retribution came after a year as they had suffered a defeat from Orlando Magic last year. Joe Johnson posted 23 points and helped the Hawks to come out victorious in 6th game of their first round play-offs series.
The Atlanta Hawks won the best of seven series with 4-2 and successfully went ahead one step further for the NBA title.
The Hawks now will meet the top seeded Chicago Bulls in their next round matchup on Monday night in Chicago.
Even Dwight Howard’s 25 points was not enough for the Orlando as his team fell three points short and lost the game in a bitter fashion. Hedo Turkoglu scored 15 and Jameer Nelson gathered 11 points for the Orlando Magic.
Jamal Crawford was the second best scorer for the Hawks as he scored 19 points while Al Horford and Marvin Williams added 10 points each in the Hawks’ victory.
The Hawks led the match from start and never looked back. They kept the pressure on the Orlando until winning it in the end with 84-81.
Los Angeles Lakers versus New Orleans Hornets, 98-80
The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the New Orleans Hornets with 98-80 and wrapped up the best-off-seven first round series winning it with 4-2 at New Orleans Arena, in New Orleans.
Kobe Bryant silenced the New Orleans’ crowd with his brilliant 24 points and helped his team to advance further into next round.
This dazzling performance made the Lakers’ Head Coach Phil Jackson overjoyed when he stated about his current roster has the, "potential to be as good as any team I've coached with the Lakers."
Pau Gasol scored 16, Andrew Bynum added 18 and Lamar Odom posted 14 points for the Lakers.
Trevor Ariza gathered 12, Carl Landry scored 19, and Chris Paul added 10 while Marco Belinelli had 11 points for the New Orleans Hornets.
The Lakers started the game with pretty confidence as they took the early lead in the first quarter 18-16 and stretched it further into the next half of the game. The Lakers were leading 40-34 as they entered into the 3rd quarter and kept their thrust upon the Hornets until the end and finished-off the match in style at 98-80.
Dallas Mavericks versus Portland Trail Blazers, 103-96
The Dallas Mavericks also won their Game 6 against the Portland Trail Blazers with 103-96 at Rose Garden, in Portland and qualified into the next round.
Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki posted match's highest 33 points and 11 rebounds against the Blazers and booked a place versus the Los Angeles Lakers in the semi-finals best-of-seven series.
Shawn Marion added 16 and Jason Terry scored 22 points for the Dallas Mavericks.
Despite the Blazers’ three players were well determined to stop the Mavericks’ hammering, but proved no good in the end. The Blazers’ Gerald Wallace scored 32, LaMarcus Aldridge added 24 and Wesley Matthews’ 19 points were also overwhelmed by the Mavericks’ furious attacking ball play. Brandon Roy also scored 9 points for the Blazers.
The Blazers started their game with confidence as they were able to take the lead 19-27 at the end of the first quarter. The Mavericks came back in the very next quarter and snatched the lead from the Blazers and left them behind 52-43 and ended the quarter with great energy.
The second half of the game was all dominated by the Dallas Mavericks as they finished the match 103-96 and proved their valour.
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