Nba Playoffs, Basketball | featured news

Remember how bad Dwyane Wade and his Miami teammates looked in Game 1 of the playoffs? They were that good in Game 2.

The Orlando Magic built a big lead and avoided another meltdown — barely.

Andre Iguodala waited for the clock to tick down, took a few dribbles to his right and let go a high-arching jumper. Swish! The Magic were stunned, their fans silenced. For the Philadelphia 76ers, it was the sweet sound of stealing home-court advantage.

Getting a postseason road victory for the first time since their NBA finals run in 2006, the Mavericks rode Josh Howard's 25 points and a clutch fourth quarter to start the playoffs with a 105-97 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

There are plenty of far-reaching playoff scenarios facing NBA teams heading into tonight's season finales, which find six of the eight Western Conference seeds still up for grabs.