Nba Playoffs, Basketball | featured news

The Mavericks shoved Phil Jackson one loss further toward retirement and the two-time defending champion Lakers one loss closer to playoff elimination.

As if things weren't already looking bleak for the Lakers, there's a good chance they will have to play Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinals series against the Mavericks without forward Ron Artest.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points, Shawn Marion added 14 and the Dallas Mavericks stunned the erratic Los Angeles Lakers 93-81 in Game 2 on Wednesday night, taking a 2-0 second-round lead over the two-time defending champions with consecutive road wins.

Newly crowned MVP Derrick Rose scored 25 points, Joakim Noah added 19 points and 14 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Atlanta Hawks 86-73 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday night to tie the series.

Kevin Durant scored 26 points, James Harden led an outburst by Oklahoma City's bench with 21, and the Thunder evened their series with Memphis by beating the Grizzlies 111-102 in Game 2 on Tuesday night.

LeBron James scored 24 of his 35 points in the second half, Dwyane Wade added 28 and the Miami Heat used a late 14-0 run to pull away and beat the Boston Celtics 102-91 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Tuesday night.

Joe Johnson scored 34 points and the Atlanta Hawks beat Derrick Rose and the top-seeded Chicago Bulls 103-95 on Monday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Television viewership for the NBA playoffs is up nearly a third from last season.

wyane Wade scored 38 points, James Jones set a Miami postseason record with 25 points off the bench, and the Heat struck first in their Eastern Conference semifinal series by beating the Boston Celtics 99-90 on Sunday.

Zach Randolph had 34 points and 10 rebounds, Marc Gasol added 20 points and 13 boards, and the Memphis Grizzlies overpowered the Oklahoma City Thunder inside for a 114-101