Both the lower seeds (Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks) were able to upset their top opponents last night. The Atlanta Hawks ran behind Joe Johnson’s 34 point outburst to drop the Bulls 103-95. The Dallas Mavericks came back from a 16 point deficit with seconds remaining and recorded the 96-94 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers:
The Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers will all be moving onto the second round of the playoffs. The Hawks Joe Johnson was the difference maker as he scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the 84-81 victory over the Orlando Magic. The Dallas Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki put his team on his back in the 106-96 victory. Dirk scored 33 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds as the Mavericks look to erase the memories of previous playoff performances. The Lakers were in total control throughout the entire game as they defeated the New Orleans Hornets 98-80. The Lakers used their size inside (Bynum 18 & 12) and also Bryant’s outside presence (24 points) to get a total team effort in the victory:
The Atlanta Hawks made a valiant effort to overcome a 20 point lead by the Miami Heat in the 4th quarter. Unfortunately for the Hawks, LeBron James (34 points) and the Heat had the No. 2 seed in their sights. They would not let the lead slip away as they defeated the Hawks 98-90. The Heat clinched the No. 2 spot putting Boston at No.3 and the Hawks will remain in the 5 spot:
Ty Lawson hit his first 10 3 point attempts en route to a 37 point performance for the Denver Nuggets. Behind Lawson, the Nuggets easily defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 106-130. Lawson became the first player in NBA history to hit his first 10 3 point attempts according to ESPN:
Lawson’s 3′s:
Highlights from around the NBA:
The Boston Celtics Captain Paul Pierce recorded his 6th career triple double (18 pts, 10 boards & 12 assists) to lead Boston over the Indiana Pacers 99-88. The win was also Boston’s 13th in a row:
