News from April 23. Dikembe Mutombo (Hou) was named as the winner of the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, as selected by the Pro Basketball Writers Association. Sacramento fired interim coach Kenny Natt and assistants Rex Kalamian, Jason Hamm, Randy Brown, and Bubba Burrage. Boston activated Brian Scalabrine and placed Leon Powe (torn ACL, out for playoffs) on IL. Ater Majok (forward, UConn, freshman), Stephen Curry (guard, Davidson, junior), Greivis Vasquez (guard, Maryland, junior), Ty Lawson (guard, UNC, junior), and Wayne Ellington (guard, UNC, junior) declared themselves eligible for the NBA draft. Dal 88, SA 67 at Dal Josh Howard (Dal) had 17 points and 8 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) had 20 points and 7 rebounds. J.J. Barea (Dal) had 13 points and 7 assists. Tony Parker (SA) had 12 points including 5-14 FG. Fabricio Oberto (SA) had 10 points. Dal shot 47.2% (34-72) FG and SA shot 32.1% (25-78) FG. Dal leads the series 2-1. Bos 107, Chi 86 at Chi Paul Pierce (Bos) had 24 points including 9-15 FG and 4-8 3-pointers. Glen Davis (Bos) had 14 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks, and 6 steals. Rajon Rondo (Bos) had 20 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals. Ray Allen (Bos) had 18 points including 3-4 3-pointers. John Salmons (Chi) had 14 points. Ben Gordon (Chi) had 15 points. Bos shot 48.1% (38-79) FG and Chi shot 37.5% (30-80) FG. Bos leads the series 2-1. Uta 88, LAL 86 at Uta Carlos Boozer (Uta) had 23 points and 22 rebounds including 5 offensive. Deron Williams (Uta) had 13 points including 7-12 FG and the game winning jumper with 2.2 seconds left, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists. Ronnie Brewer (Uta) had 12 points including 4-12 FG and 7 rebounds. Pau Gasol (LAL) had 20 points including 4-10 FT and 9 rebounds including 5 offensive. Kobe Bryant (LAL) had 18 points including 5-24 FG, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Lamar Odom (LAL) had 21 points on 10-17 FG and 14 rebounds including 5 offensive. LAL leads the series 2-0. 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 (1) |_ __ _ | 4 Portland (1) _____| |_ __ 5 Houston (1) _ | | | 2 Denver (2) __ | | 7 New Orleans (0) |_ __| | _ | 3 San Antonio (1) __| | 6 Dallas (2) |_ _ | 1 Cleveland (2) ____ | 8 Detroit (0) |_ __ | _ | | 4 Atlanta (1) ______| | | 5 Miami (1) |_ __| _ 2 Boston (2) _______ | 7 Chicago (1) |_ __| _ 3 Orlando (1) _| 6 Philadelphia (1) First Round Schedule (Central times) *if necessary 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 7:00 pm TNT Game 4: Denver at New Orleans 7:30 pm NBATV Game 5: Utah at LA Lakers 9:30 pm TNT Tuesday, April 28 Game 5: Chicago at Boston 6:00 pm TNT Game 5: Philadelphia at Orlando 6:30 pm NBATV Game 5: Dallas at San Antonio 8:30 pm TNT Game 5: Houston at Portland 9:00 pm NBATV 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