The Orlando Magic and the Houston Rockets wrested home court advantage from their higher seeded opponents in the NBA Playoffs’ second round.

Eastern Conference:

Orlando 95 - Boston 90

Orlando leads series 1-0

• Dwight Howard returned from his one-game suspension with 16 points and 22 rebounds in leading the Orlando Magic to a win over the Boston Celtics. The Magic led by as many as 28 points, and was able to withstand a late charge by the defending champs to steal home court advantage.
• Howard had plenty of help in this game. Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis, the other two members of Orlando’s own “Big Three,” had 15 and 18 points, respectively. The Magic also got solid contributions from J.J. Redick, who iced the game with four straight free throws in the closing minutes, and Mickael Pietrus, who scored 17 points off the bench.
• Redick and Pietrus have been filling in well for the injured Courtney Lee, who had been a consistent scorer early in the series against Philadelphia. If they can keep up the solid play even when Lee returns (he’s expected to miss at least the first two games of this series), then Orlando’s depth will be bolstered.
• Boston’s Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo both shot poorly, each shooting 2-for-12 and scoring only 9 and 14 points respectively. Rondo shot 12 free throws in the third period, and made 10, as the Celtics fought to keep up with the Magic before their late run that made the game closer. Paul Pierce had 23 points and 5 rebounds, while Glen Davis had 12 points and 5 rebounds before fouling out. Kendrick Perkins added 6 points, 16 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Of note for the Celtics are Brian Scalabrine, who had an efficient 10 points and 4 rebounds (and a +22 while he was on the floor), and the oft-maligned Stephon Marbury, who scored 8 points and added 3 assists in a little under 9 minutes of play.
• The Magic may have stolen home court advantage, but they shouldn’t get complacent on the defending champs. The Celtics also came back from a 24-point deficit and won Game 4 last season in the Finals versus the Lakers. Even without Garnett, and even with the fatigue of the first round series over Chicago weighing down on them, this is still a formidable team. Orlando has to take care of business and avoid another lapse like they had in this game’s fourth quarter if they hope to dispatch Boston early. The Celtics aren’t out of it till the final buzzer sounds.

*****

Western Conference:

Houston 100 - LA Lakers 92

• The Houston Rockets overpowered the LA Lakers in Game 1 of their semifinal match up, led by Yao Ming’s 28 points and 10 rebounds, and Ron Artest’s 21 points and 7 assists. The Rockets also got 19 points from Aaron Brooks, and 10 points and 8 rebounds from Luis Scola.
• The Lakers shot poorly from the field (.443 versus .479 for Houston), from long range (only 2 three pointers made on 18 attempts), and from the line (only 12-19, versus the Rockets’ 25-29 performance). Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 32 points on 31 attempts, and Pau Gasol added 14 points and 13 rebounds.
• No doubt that Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant will not allow their team to play this poorly again. They will have to adjust to the Rockets’ defense, and get more out of Andrew Bynum, who only 10 points (on 10 shots) and 3 rebounds in his match up versus the Rockets’ Yao.
• The Rockets, on the other hand, have to be getting a huge confidence boost with this win on the road. If they can continue their stellar defense and if Artest continues to complement Yao Ming nicely (i.e. not be a headcase and jack up tons of ill-advised long range shots), then the Rockets have a chance to pull off a series upset. Aaron Brooks will also be key, as he has the skills to be the third scorer that will complement Yao and Artest. I think the Rockets will want to get more production from their bench, however. Kyle Lowry and Carl Landry combined for only 13 points off the bench. The Lakers’ Lamar Odom nearly matched that with 9 points.
• Von Wafer also played only 8 minutes (after averaging 17 minutes in the Portland series), and missed both shots he took. I believe that the Rockets bench has a slight advantage over the Lakers, who count on only Odom and Sasha “The Machine” Vujacic, and, to some extent, Shannon Brown, for bench production. The team whose bench plays well in this series may be the x-factor in a series with a pretty even match up of starters (Kobe vs Artest, Bynum/Gasol vs Yao/Scola, Ariza vs Battier, Fisher vs Brooks).