The Dallas Mavericks were able to put away the playoff fixture Spurs, to win their first series since their Finals run in 2006. The young Portland Trailblazers were able to hold on and stave off elimination by winning over the Houston Rockets, while the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic win their games to get within 1 win of the next round.

Eastern Conference:

Chicago Bulls 104 - Boston Celtics 106 (OT)

Boston leads series 3-2

• The Boston Celtics had great games from its starters in winning another close game versus the upstart Chicago Bulls. Led by Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce, the Celtics held the Celtics to .400 shooting, but it still nearly wasn’t enough. Another member of the Celtics Big 3, Ray Allen, fouled out with less than 6 minutes left in regulation. But Paul Pierce was there to save the day for the Cs, scoring 12 points after Allen left. Pierce finished with 26 points and 7 rebounds. Rondo also had a strong game, with his usual near-triple-double line of 28-8-11, while Kendrick Perkins had 16 points, 19 rebounds, and 7 blocks. Glen Davis added 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting for the Celtics, who only got 5 points from their bench.
• The Bulls had a chance to tie late, but Brad Miller flubbed two free throws (the second intentionally) after being fouled late. Despite the poor shooting from main scorers Ben Gordon (6-21, 26 points) and John Salmons (5-15, 17 points), the Bulls were still able to keep the game close with strong contributions off the bench from Kirk Hinrich, who had 19, and starting center Joakim Noah, who had 11 points and 17 rebounds. Star rookie guard Derrick Rose had 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, but also had 6 assists.
• The Bulls will look to tie the series with the next game on their floor. While the Celtics have shown their biggest weakness (their thin bench), and the Bulls have been a surprise, this series reminds me of the Boston-Atlanta series last year. The eighth-seeded Hawks brought the eventual champs to 7 games, and gave many people doubts as to the real strength of the Celtics and their highly touted Big Three. However, it may be a similar case to last year, when the Celts had trouble with the young, athletic Hawks. This year’s Bulls may not have a high-flying talent like Josh Smith, but they’ve got a lot more offensive options (Gordon, Rose, and Salmons) and a decent scorer off the bench (Hinrich). I’ve a feeling that it’s all part of the growing pains for a team that has to adjust to the loss of its defensive anchor, and one of its best players. The two Bulls victories have been close (decided on clutch shots), but the Cs have routed them once already. I’ll give the Celtics the advantage because of that one game, and because I believe they’re still adjusting to the loss of KG and Leon Powe (who added some decent bench output), but boy is this series fun to watch!

Philadelphia 76ers 78 - Orlando Magic 91

Orlando leads series 3-2

• Dwight Howard had 24 points and a career playoff-high 24 rebounds, and Rashard Lewis has fully rounded back into form with 24 points, to lead the Magic to a 3-2 series lead over the Philadelphia 76ers, despite a poor game from Hedo Turkoglu and the loss of Courtney Lee to an injury from an inadvertent elbow from Howard.
• It was the usual suspects for Philly, as the two Andres led the team. Andre Iguodala had 26 points, and Andre Miller added 17. Willie Green added 16 points for the Sixers.
• The Sixers wins both came on clutch shots (similar to how the Bulls have won two over the Celtics), and all that tells me is that this is still Orlando’s series to lose. Not to take anything away from Philly’s comebacks and those clutch shots, but the Magic’s carelessness has cost them. These Sixers are a wake-up call, if anything, that they can’t take days off in the playoffs. With ‘Shard and Hedo showing signs of life in the past two games, I believe they can close this series out by the next game. IF they don’t get sloppy and allow the Sixers a close one.

Western Conference:

Dallas Mavericks 106 - San Antonio Spurs 93

Dallas wins series 4-1

• Long live the Spurs. With this loss, San Antonio has been eliminated from the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2000. Another piece of trivia (c/o Yahoo Sports), “only twice in the [Tim] Duncan era have the Spurs been eliminated on their home court, and both have came courtesy of Dallas.”
• I guess I don’t really have much to say for this one. The Spurs once again had monster games from Duncan and Tony Parker (30 and 26 points, respectively) but had little help from anyone else. On the Mavericks’ side, it was the potent combination of offensive output from both Dirk Nowitzki (31 points and 9 rebounds), Josh Howard (17 points and 8 rebounds), and Jason Terry (19 points off the bench) that led them to this win. And when even Erick Dampier (11 points and 12 rebounds) joins in on the scoring fun, you know you’ve got a pretty good game.
• So far though, it seems that Josh Howard has been the X-factor for the Mavs. He’s scored in double digits in all wins (shooting 28-for-55 or .509), and was held to 7 points (3-for-8) in their lone loss. The Mavs now wait for the winner of the Denver-New Orleans series (I’m going for Denver on that one), and what will potentially be a very different match up. It also remains to be seen how Howard holds up - as far as I know, he’s still ailing from an injury, but if his stellar performance continues, then these Mavs are a force to be reckoned with.

Houston Rockets 77 - Portland Trailblazers 88

Houston leads series 3-2

• Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge had big games for the Blazers, scoring 25 points apiece, as Portland staved off elimination with a solid win over the Rockets.
• Yao Ming had 15 points and 12 rebounds and Luis Scola had 21 points and 6 rebounds, but decent performances from the rest of the Rockets team weren’t enough. Aaron Brooks shot only 6-for-20 for 13 points, Ron Artest is still in a slump (10 points), and Shane Battier, who had big games in Houston’s previous two wins, only had 4 points. In the Rockets’ wins, Battier has scored 7, 14, and 16, and taken more than 5 shots each. In the two losses, he’s only scored 3 and 4, and taken only 2 and 3 shots. Yao has also got to get back to his dominating Game 1 form. So far, Luis Scola’s consistent scoring has allowed him to be the Rockets’ leading scorer in this series, and while Scola’s consistency has been key for the Rockets, I feel that Yao has to take a bigger part in the offensive load. The coaching staff and his teammates have to figure out a way to get Yao better involved in the offense instead of chucking up bad shots (calling Aaron Brooks and Ron Artest) to be able to complement Scola’s consistent output better. Alternatively, since Scola seems to be having his way with the Blazers, why don’t the Rockets let him work his magic inside all the time? I mean, if the Blazers’ defense can’t stop the Argentinian, then by all means, let him go ahead and score at will.
• It’s clear that ALL of the Rockets (or, at least most of them) have to be playing their best if they hope to triumph over this Portland team. As it should be. The playoffs isn’t supposed to be a place for teams who don’t bring their A-game, and these two teams are taking it to each other. After a humiliating Game 1 loss, Portland has gone on to win one game and keep the other two (games played at Houston) close before winning this one. The Rockets have to watch out - the young Blazers seem to be getting better by the game. If the Rockets can’t close the series out in their next home game, they’ll have a difficult time ousting the Blazers at the Rose Garden.