News from April 20. The 1996-97 NBA season has ended and the first ax of many has fallen. Philadelphia fired GM Brad Greenberg and head coach Johnny Davis. Was 85, Cle 81 - at Cle Chris Webber (Was) had 23 points and 17 rebounds. Rod Strickland (Was) had 19 points, 9 assists, and 5 turnovers. Gheorghe Muresan (Was) had 12 points and 8 rebounds including 6 offensive. Terrell Brandon (Cle) had 28 points. Bob Sura (Cle) had 10 points and 11 assists. Uta 113, Sac 109 - at Sac Karl Malone (Uta) had 18 points and 6 rebounds. John Stockton (Uta) had 17 points including 6-9 FG and 14 assists. Shandon Anderson (Uta) had 14 points. Olden Polynice (Sac) had 19 points including 7-11 FG and 9 rebounds. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (Sac) had 34 points including 11-16 FG and 5-7 3-pointers. Brian Grant (Sac, sprained left knee), Billy Owens (Sac, strained lower back), and Mitch Richmond (Sac, bruised right quadricep) did not play. Mil 120, Cha 100 - at Mil Vin Baker (Mil) had 31 points including 13-13 FG and 8 rebounds. Ray Allen (Mil) had 21 points, 6 assists, and 6 turnovers. Armon Gilliam (Mil) had 23 points including 10-11 FG and 5 rebounds. Glen Rice (Cha) had 21 points. Rafael Addison (Cha) had 18 points. Mil shot 60.5% (52-86) FG and Cha shot 46.3% (37-80) FG. Muggsy Bogues (Cha, strained right hamstring), Dell Curry (Cha, left calf strain), and Matt Geiger (Cha, stiff back) did not play. Det 124, Ind 120 OT - at Ind Grant Hill (Det) had 38 points including 14-21 FT, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Lindsey Hunter (Det) had 30 points including 3-3 3-pointers. Terry Mills (Det) had 24 points on 9-14 FG and 6-11 3-pointers and 7 rebounds. Rik Smits (Ind) had 29 points and 10 rebounds. Reggie Miller (Ind) had 27 points including 5-6 3-pointers. Joe Dumars (Det, sore hamstrings) did not play. Por 100, LAL 96 - at Por Clifford Robinson (Por) had 18 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Kenny Anderson (Por) had 18 points and 5 rebounds. Isaiah Rider (Por) had 20 points. Elden Campbell (LAL) had 29 points and 11 rebounds. Shaquille O'Neal (LAL) had 24 points and 7 rebounds. NJ 108, Atl 92 - at NJ Kendall Gill (NJ) had 23 points on 6-17 FG and 11-13 FT, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists. Tony Massenburg (NJ) had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Jim Jackson (NJ) had 25 points including 10-16 FG and 5-7 3-pointers, 10 rebounds, 12 assists, and 6 turnovers. Kerry Kittles (NJ) had 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals. Christian Laettner (Atl) had 13 points and 9 rebounds. Alan Henderson (Atl) had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Sam Cassell (NJ, pulled left hamstring) and Chris Gatling (NJ, ear infection) did not play. Hou 103, SA 99 - at SA Charles Barkley (Hou) had 24 points and 14 rebounds. Hakeem Olajuwon (Hou) had 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Clyde Drexler (Hou) had 18 points and 7 rebounds. Dominique Wilkins (SA) had 18 points. Carl Herrera (SA) had 19 points and 14 rebounds. Mario Elie (Hou, tendinitis both knees) and Monty Williams (SA, sprained right foot) did not play. Tor 125, Bos 94 - at Bos Doug Christie (Tor) had 27 points and 5 assists. Damon Stoudamire (Tor) had 32 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. Reggie Slater (Tor) had 21 points. Popeye Jones (Tor) had 17 points including 7-9 FG and 12 rebounds. Antoine Walker (Bos) had 21 points including 7-22 FG, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 6 turnovers. Todd Day (Bos) had 22 points including 4-8 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. Carlos Rogers (Tor, strained right hamstring), Rick Fox (Bos, sore right heel), and Eric Williams (Bos, bruised right knee) did not play. Final Stats Leaders Scoring .............. Michael Jordan (Chi) 29.6 points FG percentage ........ Gheorghe Muresan (Was) 59.9% FG FT percentage ........ Mark Price (GS) 90.6% FT 3-pointer percentage . Glen Rice (Cha) 47.1% 3-pointers Rebounds ............. Dennis Rodman (Chi) 16.1 rebounds Assists .............. Mark Jackson (Ind) 11.4 assists Steals ............... Mookie Blaylock (Atl) 2.7 steals Blocks ............... Shawn Bradley (Dal) 3.4 blocks Playoff Standings 1st Round 2nd Round 3rd Round Finals (Best of 5) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) 1 Utah (0) _ 8 LA Clippers (0) |_ _____________ _____ _ _____________ | 4 LA Lakers (0) ___| |_ _____________ _ 5 Portland (0) _ _____________ | | | 2 Seattle (0) _____ | | 7 Phoenix (0) |_ _____________ _____| | _ _____________ | 3 Houston (0) ___| | 6 Minnesota (0) |_ ___________ _ ___________ | 1 Chicago (0) __ | 8 Washington (0) |_ _____________ ____ | _ _____________) | | 4 Atlanta (0) _____| | | 5 Detroit (0) |_ _____________ _| _ _____________ 2 Miami (0) _____ | 7 Orlando (0) |_ _____________ _____| _ _____________ 3 New York (0) ___| 6 Charlotte (0)