Eastern Conference:

Boston 75 - Orlando 83

Dwight Howard had a 20-20 game for a win to force Game 7. (Yahoo! Images)

Series tied 3-3

• Dwight Howard made a promise to win this game, and the series. And for tonight, at least, he’s made good on it. Howard powered the Orlando Magic to a win over the Boston Celtics to force Game 7 at Boston. He finished with 23 points and 20 rebounds, and added 3 blocks. Rashard Lewis added 20 points for the Magic. Hedo Turkoglu scored only 7 points on 3-13 shooting.
• The Celtics were led by Rajon Rondo’s 19 points, 16 rebounds, and 4 steals, but he finished with only 6 assists to 5 turnovers. Paul Pierce had 17 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, and Kendrick Perkins had 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. Ray Allen had a poor shooting night for Boston, scoring only 5 points on 2-11 shooting. Stephon Marbury, who sparked the Celtics to their Game 5 win, went scoreless in 8 minutes with 2 fouls.
• There was a huge disparity at the line, with the Celtics only attempting 13 to the Magic’s 31, caused by Boston having 28 fouls to Orlando’s 15. Orlando wasn’t able to capitalize too much though, making only 17-31, but the foul trouble that they put the Celtics through was enough for them to pull off a win, despite shooting poorly (only .366 compared to the Celtics’ .416, which wasn’t too good either).
• Dwight Howard carried the Magic on his shoulders in this game, and they head into Boston feeling a bit more confident about their chances. However, they have no room for error. Third Quarter Collapse, an Orlando Magic blog, has a great analysis that suggests Howard’s demand for touches may be better served if the Magic involve him in more pick-and-roll situations. It’s no secret that Howard is a great dunker, but his post play has been suspect. He’ll have to stop jacking up awkward hook shots and pass better out of a double team too. It’ll be interesting to see if Stan Van Gundy can adjust to allow Howard to flex his offensive prowess.
• The Celtics have now gone 7 games in their first two series for the second straight year, but this is a veteran team that is also 32-0 in a series after leading it 3-2 (which they had done here). With their Game 7 experience, I doubt that the Celtics will be fazed by the upstart Magic. I’m looking forward to the results of this one very much - I expect both teams to come out strong, the Celtics boosted by being on their home court, and the Magic out to prove that they can hang with the other contenders.

*****

Western Conference:

LA Lakers 80 - Houston 95

Luis Scola led the Rockets to a Game 6 win over the Lakers. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

Series tied 3-3

• When the Houston Rockets lost Yao Ming to a foot injury after Game 3, the results of this series were heavily in favor of the LA Lakers. When the Lakers crushed the Rockets by 40 in Game 5, it seemed only a matter of going through the motions for them to advance and face the Denver Nuggets. But these Rockets aren’t giving up. Led by Luis Scola’s 24 points and 12 rebounds and Aaron Brooks’ 26 points, the Rockets defied the odds and forced a Game 7 in LA. Carl Landry provided a huge spark off the bench for Houston, scoring 15 points on 6-6 shooting and adding 9 rebounds. Ron Artest had 14 points on 6-17 shooting.
• Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 32 points, but he did it on 11-27 shooting. Pau Gasol had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Jordan Farmar had 13 points off the bench, in what was the best support the Lakers team could offer their star guard. Lamar Odom added 8 points and 14 rebounds, but fouled out.
• The Rockets built up a huge lead at the half, and it was enough to escape a furious rally by LA in the third quarter. Again, in all of Houston’s playoff games, the team who led at the end of the first quarter went on to win the game, and it was no different in this one. The Rockets led the Lakers 27-15 after 12 minutes of play.
• The pressure is now on the Lakers to finish off the Rockets in Los Angeles, just as the pressure is on Boston to finish off the lower-seeded Orlando Magic in the East. Who would have thought that the best team in the West would have difficulty with a Rockets team missing its star center? Kobe Bryant will want to come out even more aggressively in the next game, but the Rockets, who essentially have nothing to lose, will be playing hard as well.
• Aaron Brooks has been a key component of most of Houston’s wins, and he and Luis Scola will have to continue their stellar play if they are to knock off the Lakers. The Rockets have shown that they can beat LA on the road, so the results of this series aren’t so clear-cut yet.