Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers win – NBA Playoffs First Round Game 3 Roundup (Part-3)
Atlanta Hawks 88 – Orlando Magic 84
Jamal Crawford came off the bench and racked up a game-high 23 points to spearhead Atlanta Hawks to an electrifying 88-84 victory over the Orlando Magic at the Philips Arena on Friday night. Joe Johnson finished off with 21 points
and 5 assists and supplied a magnificent support to the home team, who are now leading the best-of-seven games first round series 2-1.
Orlando’s big man Dwight Howard was the highlight of the night. In yet another monstrous effort, he notched up 21 points and gathered 15 rebounds.
Hawks romped to a 9-2 run in the opening minutes of the first quarter, however Magic responded with three blistering blows from downtown. The first quarter ended at 25-25. Crawford and Johnson keyed the Hawks in the second quarter
and smashed the Orlando with 13 points to grab a comprehensive 51-42 lead, going into the halftime.
The Magic strived to retaliate in the third quarter as Howard upped the ante. Hawks hung tough, but a Dwight inspired Magic managed to cut down the deficit to 66-62 before entering the final period.
Orland snatched the lead early on in the fourth quarter on the back of two blows from beyond the arc; however Crawford’s charge down the stretch proved to be the game changer. Crawford scored 11 points of his 23 in the final 12
minutes to marshal Hawks to an exciting victory.
Los Angeles Lakers 100 – New Orleans Hornets 86
At the New Orleans Arena on Friday night, the All-Star Kobe Bryant got back into his scoring groove as he racked up a game-high 30 points and clutched 6 rebounds to power Los Angeles Lakers to a brilliant 100-86 victory over the
New Orleans Hornets. The Lakers ruptured the best-of-seven games series tie and took 2-1 lead in the post-season.
All of the Hornets starters, except Marco Belinelli scored double figures, however they fell short to overpower the brilliance of Bryant and the Lakers defence. Bryant headed out aggressively and scored 10 points of his 30 in the
first quarter to spearhead the visiting Lakers to a 30-23 lead. Andrew Bynum carried the action with the superstar Kobe in the second quarter that helped Lakers to seal 9 points advantage as the game progressed into the second half.
The Hornets had the better in the third quarter, but only just as they slashed the halftime deficit by only two points. The Lakers entered the final frame with a 75-68 advantage. They assailed with two successive blows from downtown
early on in the last period and the Hornets never came close after that.
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