News from April 25. The 1996 NBA Playoffs have begun! David Robinson (SA) was named as the winner of the 1996 IBM Award. The award is determined by a computerized rating that measures a player's overall contributions to a team. It was the third straight year that Robinson has won the award. Grant Hill (Det) finished 2nd, Karl Malone (Uta) finished 3rd, Michael Jordan (Chi) finished 4th, and Alonzo Mourning (Mia) finished 5th. Rich Manning (Van) underwent successful surgery to remove a bone spur from his right ankle. Hou 87, LAL 83 - at LAL Hakeem Olajuwon (Hou) had 33 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals. Clyde Drexler (Hou) had 21 points and 7 rebounds. Mark Bryant (Hou) had 12 points including 5-7 FG and 5 rebounds. Cedric Ceballos (LAL) had 22 points and 12 rebounds. Eddie Jones (LAL) had 19 points including 5-8 3-pointers. Magic Johnson (LAL) had 20 points on 4-11 FG and 10-12 FT, 13 rebounds, and 5 turnovers. Anthony Peeler (LAL, strained right calf) did not play. Houston leads the series 1-0. Uta 110, Por 102 - at Uta Karl Malone (Uta) had 33 points on 14-21 FG and 5-15 FT and 9 rebounds. Jeff Hornacek (Uta) had 30 points including 10-13 FG and 4-4 3-pointers. John Stockton (Uta) had 11 points and 23 assists. Bryon Russell (Uta) had 12 points including 4-5 FG in 12 minutes. Clifford Robinson (Por) had 21 points on 6-17 FG and 7-10 FT. Arvydas Sabonis (Por) had 26 points including 16-20 FT and 6 rebounds. Rod Strickland (Por) had 27 points including 9-11 FT, 7 rebounds, and 12 assists. Uta shot 57.6% (38-66) FG and Por shot 45.6% (31-68) FG. Uta shot 29-48 FT and Por shot 32-45 FT. Utah leads the series 1-0. NY 106, Cle 83 - at Cle Charles Oakley (NY) had 17 points. Patrick Ewing (NY) had 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. John Starks (NY) had 21 points including 6-9 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Hubert Davis (NY) had 15 points on 5-6 3-pointers. Michael Cage (Cle) had 9 points including 4-6 FG and 8 rebounds. Terrell Brandon (Cle) had 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Dan Majerle (Cle) had 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. NY shot 17-22 3-pointers and Cle shot 8-21 3-pointers. New York leads the series 1-0. Atl 92, Ind 80 - at Ind Grant Long (Atl) had 13 points including 4-11 FG and 14 rebounds. Christian Laettner (Atl) had 14 points and 6 rebounds. Steve Smith (Atl) had 27 points including 10-15 FG and 4-6 3-pointers. Mookie Blaylock (Atl) had 12 points including 4-11 FG, 9 assists, and 3 steals. Derrick McKey (Ind) had 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Rik Smits (Ind) had 19 points and 9 rebounds. Ricky Pierce (Ind) had 13 points including 3-10 FG and 5 assists. Atlanta leads the series 1-0. Playoff Standings First Round 2nd Round 3rd Round Finals 1 Seattle (0) _____ 8 Sacramento (0) |__ __________ __ __ __________ | 4 LA Lakers (0) ___| |__ __________ __ 5 Houston (1) __ __________ | | | 2 San Antonio (0) _ | | 7 Phoenix (0) |__ ___________ __| | __ ___________ | 3 Utah (1) _______| | 6 Portland (0) |__ __________ __ __________ | 1 Chicago (0) ____ | 8 Miami (0) |__ ___________ __ | __ ___________ | | 4 Cleveland (0) __| | | 5 New York (1) |__ __________ __| __ __________ 2 Orlando (0) ____ | 7 Detroit (0) |__ ___________ | __ ___________ __| 3 Indiana (0) ____| 6 Atlanta (1)