The Jazz rode a great performance by Carlos Boozer (23 points, 22 rebounds) en route to an 88-86 win over the Lakers. Los Angeles leads the series, 2-1, and has struggled in Utah in recent playoffs. Kobe was just 5 of 24 from the field, but still finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the loss.
Be sure to check out Boozer’s dunk on Pau Gasol at about the 2:00 mark.
Sick.
In other series, the Mavs blew out the Spurs and the Celtics beat the Bulls by 21 in Chicago.
Two more games on TNT, two more double-digit wins. The Heat beat the Hawks, 108-93, to even up the series at 1-1 and the Nuggets beat the Hornets, 108-93 (that’s not a typo, both games had the same final score), to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the series.
Meanwhile, NBA TV had the best game of the night (again) with Orlando’s 96-87 win over Philly to even the series at one apiece. Here are a few random observations from Wednesday night’s action:
– Dwight Howard fouled out with 11 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks, but couldn’t catch a break with the refs. Nice job by Courtney Lee (24 points), Hedo Turkoglu (16 points) and Rashard Lewis (16 points) to pick up the slack and get the win without their big man. Howard’s backup, Marcin Gortat, had six rebounds and two blocks in 18 minutes.
– Lee is looking like the real deal. He might be a little small for a shooting guard, but he’s listed at 6’5″, so who knows. He’s averaging 21 points in two playoff games, can knock down the three and can finish at the rim. Not bad for the #22 pick in the draft.
Kristopher Belman directed this documentary about LeBron’s high school years. The film isn’t solely about him; it’s revolves around his high school team at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. And it looks pretty darn good.
There were three games last night and the best one was on NBA TV, so nobody saw it. The Cavs beat the Pistons (Cavs lead, 2-0), the Lakers beat the Jazz (Lakers lead, 2-0) and the Blazers nipped the Rockets (series tied, 1-1). Here are a few random observations about Tuesday’s action:
– It’s a bad idea by the NBA to schedule both 1/8 matchups on the same night. Moreover, TNT aired both games while the best action (Blazers/Rockets) was relegated to NBA TV. The Jazz made a game of it against the Lakers, but could never quite get over the hump. Deron Williams was outstanding (35 points, nine assists, four rebounds, four steals, two blocks), nailing six threes but turning the ball over seven times. Six Utah players scored in double figures, but when you allow the Lakers to shoot 60% from the field, you’re going to have a tough time winning. (Sorry, I just channeled Hubie Brown’s third-person shtick there for a minute.)
– Where in the world is Jordan Farmar? He played just four minutes last night, and has seen his playing time decline from 20.5 minutes per game in November to 16.1 minutes in April. Year to year, his PER has fallen off a cliff — 15.29 last season vs. 9.93 this season — and he’s being outplayed by Shannon Brown. Farmar is battling some tendinitis, but he’s looking less and less like a future starter and more and more like a career backup.
– Speaking of Brown, he has played at least 14 minutes in each of the last six games, averaging 8.0 points, 2.2 assists and 2.3 rebounds over that span. Brown is really athletic, plays pretty good defense and has an improving offensive game. Interestingly, he was originally drafted by the Cavs, so if he continues to play well, it might come back to bite Danny Ferry in the bum. Mitch Kupchak acquired Brown as part of the Vladimir Radmanovic/Adam Morrison trade a few months ago.
– After dropping Game 1, Portland was in “must-win” mode and they got a much needed victory to tie the series. Brandon Roy came up big (42 points, 7 rebounds) and LaMarcus Aldridge posted a nice game (27 points, 12 boards) after scoring just seven points in Game 1.
– The Rockets will be without Dikembe Mutombo for the remainder of the playoffs (probably forever, actually) after he suffered a knee injury.
– Greg Oden had a nice follow up dunk, but he’s a fouling machine. He had six fouls in 12 minutes. Wowsers.
– The trade that sent Rafer Alston to the Magic hasn’t hurt the Rockets at all. They also acquired Kyle Lowry from the Grizzlies and he and Aaron Brooks are providing good play at the point. The two combined for 33 points, six assist and five boards on Tuesday night.
– The Pistons cut the Cavs’ lead to eight with about four minutes to play, but a Cleveland 9-2 run put the game away. I get confused when I look at the box score and see the Pistons’ best perimeter defender — Tayshaun Prince — only played 26 minutes and wasn’t in any foul trouble. Meanwhile, LeBron goes for 29/13/6 — do you think Prince should get a little more run?
– In other news, there are reports flying that Derrick Rose will win ROY and Jason Terry will win the Sixth Man award. No surprises there.
NBA Troll doesn’t really like LeBron James.
“Sometimes being in the post gets boring,” [LeBron] said with a laugh. “I know it can be easy, but it gets boring down there. I like being on the perimeter shaking and baking it, getting to the cup. It gets boring down there in the post sometimes. That’s why sometimes I don’t go down there, but every now and then, you’ll see me down there.”
The NBA Troll proceeds to go on a rant about why LeBron is “LeFraud.”
I agree that LeBron needs to post up more, and his excuse that it’s “boring” is no excuse at all. If he got a few post up moves, he would destroy people on the block. But LeBron is no fraud. (Do I really have to say this?)
© 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑