Nba Playoffs, Nba Playoffs First Round | featured news

Kobe Bryant followed his worst shooting game in years by scoring 38 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 108-94 win over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night and a 3-1 series lead.

Erick Dampier and the Dallas Mavericks slapped around the San Antonio Spurs with tight defense, the return of Dirk Nowitzki’s shooting touch and the energy of their home crowd, turning it into an 88-67 victory Thursday night and a 2-1 lead in their first-round series.

Paul Pierce scored 24 points, Rajon Rondo added 20 and the defending champions beat the Chicago Bulls 107-86 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Players refuse to play after a mishap involving the Atlanta Hawks' real-life mascot "Spirit."

Chauncey Billups leads Denver with 31 points in a 108-93 victory over New Orleans on Wednesday night.

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.

Brandon Roy scored 42 points and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Houston Rockets 107-103 on Tuesday night to even their playoff series at one game apiece. Aaron Brooks led a late charge and finished with 23 points for Houston, which has not made it out of the first round since 1997. Von Wafer came off the bench to add 21.

Utah kept coming, relentlessly closing within six points time and again. The Lakers never let their lead get away. Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, Pau Gasol added 22 and Lamar Odom had 19 off the bench in a 119-109 victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night, giving Los Angeles a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 first-round Western Conference playoff series.

The Detroit Pistons couldn't contain LeBron James again. And this time, they didn't stop his teammates until it was too late.