Posted by Dave as Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors at 5:30 PM CDT on April 20th, 2008
They probably won’t shock the world, but in this weekend’s playoff viewing, the game that means the most to me is the one at 8:30 EST tonight. The Pistons are down 20-16 against the 76′ers right now; here’s the finals from earlier today.
Toronto Raptors 100, Orlando Magic 114: The Magic were blowing out the Raptors early, and then Toronto snuck its way back in, only to fall apart in the final seven or eight minutes. Anthony Parker led all Raptors in scoring with 26 points, and Chris Bosh struggled, scoring 21 but going only 4-11 from the field. Dwight Howard had a monster game, getting 25 points and grabbing 22 boards. The Magic were 13 of 29 from beyond the arch.
Denver Nuggets 114, Los Angeles Lakers 128: Denver had a ten point lead early on, but that defense that’s struggled all year long struggled again today. The Lakers shot 50 percent from the field, 45 percent from three-point land. Pau Gasol had 36 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists, and Kobe Bryant did his Kobe Bryant thing, scoring 32 points and having a remarkably high one assist. ‘Melo and AI both scored 30 points and Linas Kleiza had 23 off the bench.