LeBron, Cavaliers complete sweep of Pistons
Cavaliers 99 at Pistons 78
LeBron James made 3-pointers from every angle, drove into the lane for dunks and leaned into low post moves. He was just getting warmed up – 2 hours before tipoff – and his regular routine provided another demonstration of greatness. James had 36 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 99-78 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, sweeping the Eastern Conference first-round series.
It was just the third time in NBA history a team has swept a first-round series by winning every game by double figures, the others being the 1980 Boston Celtics and 2004 Indiana Pacers.
The Cavaliers will now wait for the winner of the Atlanta Hawks-Miami Heat series, which the Heat lead, 2-1, heading into Monday night’s Game 4 in Miami.
Bulls beat Celtics to tie series in double OT
Celtics 118 at Bulls 121
Another playoff thriller between Chicago and Boston, and this one went to the Bulls. Ben Gordon scored 22 points, hitting the tying 3-pointer in the first overtime, and the Bulls beat the Celtics 121-118 in double overtime Sunday to tie their first-round series at two games apiece. The teams split two tight games in Boston, before the Celtics blew out the Bulls in Game 3. This time, they stretched the drama into a second overtime. Derrick Rose added 23 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
[youtube width=”400″ height=”243″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkyA-pUtnmA[/youtube]
Turkoglu’s three put Magic on top to tie series 2-2
Magic 84 at 76ers 81
Hedo Turkoglu answered the Philadelphia 76ers’ late-game heroics with a big shot of his own. Turkoglu nailed a 3-pointer over Thaddeus Young with 1.1 seconds to lift the Orlando Magic to an 84-81 victory over Philadelphia on Sunday, evening their Eastern Conference first-round series at two games apiece. Dwight Howard had 18 points and 15 rebounds, and every Magic starter scored in double figures. Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis each scored 17. Andre Miller led the Sixers with 17 and Young had 15.
Rockets down blazer to take 3-1 lead.
Trail Blazers 88 at Rockets 89
Yao Ming would rather not think about how close the Houston Rockets are to finally escaping the first round of the playoffs. Yao had 21 points and 12 rebounds and the Rockets took a 3-1 lead in their playoff series with Portland, beating the Trail Blazers 89-88 on Sunday night. Luis Scola scored 17 points and Shane Battier added 14 points and six assists for the Rockets, who snapped a six-game losing streak in Game 4s, coinciding with their 0-6 record in first-round series since 1998.