News from April 21. Dwight Howard (Orl) was named as Defensive Player of the Year. Howard received 105 of 119 possible 1st place media votes. Total position votes Player Points 1st 2nd 3rd Dwight Howard (Orl) ...... 542 105 4 5 LeBron James (Cle) ....... 148 4 36 20 Dwyane Wade (Mia) ........ 90 3 20 15 Shane Battier (Hou) ...... 71 2 17 10 Ron Artest (Hou) ......... 54 1 13 10 Chris Paul (NO) .......... 49 1 9 17 Kobe Bryant (LAL) ........ 43 2 6 15 Kevin Garnett (Bos) ...... 31 1 6 8 Chris Andersen (Den) ..... 10 0 2 4 Rajon Rondo (Bos) ........ 8 0 2 2 Tim Duncan (SA) .......... 7 0 1 4 Raja Bell (Cha) .......... 4 0 1 1 Anderson Varejao (Cle) ... 3 0 1 0 Andre Iguodala (Phi) ..... 3 0 1 0 Ronny Turiaf (GS) ........ 2 0 0 2 Trevor Ariza (LAL) ....... 1 0 0 1 Marcus Camby (Den) ....... 1 0 0 1 Grant Hill (Pho) ......... 1 0 0 1 Joel Pryzbilla (Por) ..... 1 0 0 1 Hedo Turkoglu (Orl) ...... 1 0 0 1 Leon Powe (Bos) is out 4 to 6 months with a torn left ACL and torn meniscus. Dikembe Mutombo (Hou) suffered a strained left knee during Tuesday's Hou-Por game. He will undergo further tests on the knee, but says that it is the end of his career. Scottie Reynolds (guard, Villanova, junior) and Ricky Rubio (guard, Spain, 18-years-old) declared themselves eligible for the NBA draft. Cle 94, Det 82 at Cle LeBron James (Cle) had 29 points including 13-17 FT, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists. Maurice Williams (Cle) had 21 points and 7 assists. Delonte West (Cle) had 20 points and 5 turnovers. Rodney Stuckey (Det) had 14 points including 5-15 FG and 6 assists. Richard Hamilton (Det) had 17 points and 3 steals. Cle shot 32-43 FT and Det shot 13-16 FT. Cle leads the series 2-0. LAL 119, Uta 109 at LAL Pau Gasol (LAL) had 22 points including 9-11 FG and 6 rebounds. Kobe Bryant (LAL) had 26 points including 9-10 FT, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists. Lamar Odom (LAL) had 19 points including 8-9 FG. Carlos Boozer (Uta) had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Deron Williams (Uta) had 35 points including 6-11 3-pointers, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, and 7 turnovers. LAL shot 60% (45-75) FG and Uta shot 49.4% (39-79) FG. LAL leads the series 2-0. Por 107, Hou 103 at Por LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) had 27 points including 11-19 FG, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Brandon Roy (Por) had 42 points including 10-12 FT and 7 rebounds. Steve Blake (Por) had 10 points and 5 assists. Ron Artest (Hou) had 19 points including 1-8 3-pointers and 5 rebounds. Aaron Brooks (Hou) had 23 points including 9-12 FG and 4-5 3-pointers and 5 assists. Von Wafer (Hou) had 21 points. The series is tied 1-1. Playoff Standings 1st Round 2nd Round 3rd Round Finals (Best of 7) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) 1 LA Lakers (2) ____ 8 Utah (0) |_ __ _ | 4 Portland (1) _____| |_ __ 5 Houston (1) _ | | | 2 Denver (1) __ | | 7 New Orleans (0) |_ __| | _ | 3 San Antonio (1) __| | 6 Dallas (1) |_ _ | 1 Cleveland (2) ____ | 8 Detroit (0) |_ __ | _ | | 4 Atlanta (1) ______| | | 5 Miami (0) |_ __| _ 2 Boston (1) _______ | 7 Chicago (1) |_ __| _ 3 Orlando (0) _| 6 Philadelphia (1) First Round Schedule (Central times) *if necessary Wednesday, April 22 Game 2: Philadelphia at Orlando 6:00 pm NBATV Game 2: Miami at Atlanta 7:00 pm TNT Game 2: New Orleans at Denver 9:30 pm TNT Thursday, April 23 Game 3: Boston at Chicago 7:00 pm TNT Game 3: San Antonio at Dallas 7:30 pm NBATV Game 3: LA Lakers at Utah 9:30 pm TNT Friday, April 24 Game 3: Cleveland at Detroit 6:00 pm ESPN Game 3: Orlando at Philadelphia 7:00 pm ESPN2 Game 3: Portland at Houston 8:30 pm ESPN Saturday, April 25 Game 3: Denver at New Orleans 12:00 pm ESPN Game 4: San Antonio at Dallas 3:00 pm TNT Game 3: Atlanta at Miami 5:30 pm TNT Game 4: LA Lakers at Utah 8:00 pm ESPN Sunday, April 26 Game 4: Boston at Chicago 12:00 pm ABC Game 4: Cleveland at Detroit 2:30 pm ABC Game 4: Orlando at Philadelphia 5:30 pm TNT Game 4: Portland at Houston 8:00 pm TNT Monday, April 27 Game 4: Atlanta at Miami TBA Game 4: Denver at New Orleans TBA *Game 5: Utah at LA Lakers TBA Tuesday, April 28 Game 5: Dallas at San Antonio TBA Game 5: Chicago at Boston TBA Game 5: Houston at Portland TBA *Game 5: Philadelphia at Orlando TBA Wednesday, April 29 *Game 5: New Orleans at Denver TBA *Game 5: Detroit at Cleveland TBA *Game 5: Miami at Atlanta TBA Thursday, April 30 *Game 6: LA Lakers at Utah TBA *Game 6: Portland at Houston TBA *Game 6: Boston at Chicago TBA *Game 6: Orlando at Philadelphia TBA Friday, May 1 *Game 6: San Antonio at Dallas TBA *Game 6: Denver at New Orleans TBA *Game 6: Cleveland at Detroit TBA *Game 6: Atlanta at Miami TBA Saturday, May 2 *Game 7: Utah at LA Lakers TBA *Game 7: Houston at Portland TBA *Game 7: Chicago at Boston TBA *Game 7: Philadelphia at Orlando TBA Sunday, May 3 *Game 7: Dallas at San Antonio TBA *Game 7: New Orleans at Denver TBA *Game 7: Detroit at Cleveland TBA *Game 7: Miami at Atlanta TBA ---- Patricia Bender pbender@eskimo.com For NBA stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/index.html For Mavs stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs.html