News from April 29. The NBA suspended Dwight Howard (Orl) for 1 game for throwing an elbow at Samuel Dalembert (Phi) during Tuesday's Phi-Orl game. Detroit picked up their 09-10 option for Will Bynum. New Orleans activated Ryan Bowen and placed Tyson Chandler (swollen left ankle) on IL. Atlanta activated Randolph Morris and placed Othello Hunter on IL. Den 107, NO 86 at Den Keynon Martin (Den) had 15 points including 7-9 FG, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Carmelo Anthony (Den) had 34 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals. J.R. Smith (Den) had 20 points including 5-8 3-pointers. Chauncey Billups (Den) had 13 points including 3-9 FG, 5 rebounds, and 11 assists. David West (NO) had 24 points and 9 rebounds. Chris Paul (NO) had 12 points including 5-16 FG, 6 rebounds, 10 assists, and 3 steals. James Posey (NO) had 18 points including 1-6 3-pointers. Den shot 51.4% (37-72) FG and NO shot 38.2% (29-76) FG. Denver takes the series 4-1 and advances to the 2nd round where they will face Dallas. Atl 106, Mia 91 at Atl Josh Smith (Atl) had 20 points and 8 rebounds. Joe Johnson (Atl) had 25 points including 12-15 FT, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Flip Murray (Atl) had 23 points including 9-15 FG and 5 rebounds. Dwyane Wade (Mia) had 29 points including 10-13 FT. Michael Beasley (Mia) had 18 points and 5 rebounds. Atl leads the series 3-2. Playoff Standings 1st Round 2nd Round 3rd Round Finals (Best of 7) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) 1 LA Lakers (4) ____ 8 Utah (1) |_ 1 LA Lakers (0) _ _ | 4 Portland (2) _____| |_ __ 5 Houston (3) _ | | | 2 Denver (4) __ | | 7 New Orleans (1) |_ 2 Denver (0) ___| | _ 6 Dallas (0) | 3 San Antonio (1) __| | 6 Dallas (4) |_ _ | 1 Cleveland (4) ____ | 8 Detroit (0) |_ 1 Cleveland (0) _ | _ | | 4 Atlanta (3) ______| | | 5 Miami (2) |_ __| _ 2 Boston (3) _______ | 7 Chicago (2) |_ ____| _ 3 Orlando (3) _| 6 Philadelphia (2) First Round Schedule (Central times) *if necessary Thursday, April 30 Game 6: Boston at Chicago 6:00 pm TNT Game 6: Orlando at Philadelphia 6:30 pm NBATV Game 6: Portland at Houston 8:30 pm TNT Friday, May 1 Game 6: Atlanta at Miami 7:00 pm ESPN Saturday, May 2 *Game 7: Philadelphia at Orlando 7:00 pm TNT *Game 7: Chicago at Boston 7:00 pm or 7:30 pm TNT *Game 7: Houston at Portland 8:00 pm or 9:30 pm TNT Sunday, May 3 *Game 7: Miami at Atlanta 12:00 pm ABC Second Round Schedule (Central times) *if necessary Sunday, May 3 Game 1: Dallas at Denver 2:30 pm ABC Tuesday, May 5 Game 2: Dallas at Denver 9:30 pm TNT Saturday, May 9 Game 3: Denver at Dallas 4:00 pm ESPN Monday, May 11 Game 4: Denver at Dallas 8:30 pm TNT Wednesday, May 13 *Game 5: Dallas at Denver TBA TNT Friday, May 15 *Game 6: Denver at Dallas TBA ESPN Sunday, May 17 *Game 7: Dallas at Denver TBA ABC ---- 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