Hornets Take Playoff Lead, NBA Scores

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Published on April 21 2016 6:57 am
Last Updated on April 21 2016 6:58 am

Dwyane Wade did not see an offensive outburst like what the Miami Heat have put up in their first two playoff games coming, nor is he counting on it continuing. For now, he's just enjoying it.

Wade scored 28 points, Hassan Whiteside was a franchise playoff-record 8-for-8 from the field and finished with 17 points, and the Heat beat the Charlotte Hornets 115-103 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference first-round series.

The Heat have averaged 119 points in the first two games of the series, which shifts to Charlotte for Game 3 on Saturday night.

"You want to be able to get stops, you want to be able to put some runs together," Wade said. "And we did that. We didn't play a perfect game, by no stretch of the imagination. We've got a lot of things that we can get better at -- that we need to get better at."

Goran Dragic scored 18 points, Luol Deng finished with 16 and Josh Richardson added 15 for Miami, which had 72 points by halftime and never trailed in the second half. Whiteside added 13 rebounds and is now shooting 17-for-19 in the series, his playoff debut.

"As we move on to Charlotte, we can't just bank on our offense," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Kemba Walker scored 29 for Charlotte, needing 29 shots to get there. Al Jefferson had 25 on 12-for-17 shooting off the bench, Courtney Lee added 12 and Jeremy Lin had 11 for Charlotte, which has dropped 12 straight postseason contests.

"That's the reality of playoff basketball,'' Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. "We go home, we're good at home. I feel like we played better today than we did three days ago."


Cavaliers 107, Pistons 90

J.R. Smith looked down at the postgame box score and couldn't believe his eyes.

"We shot 38 3s?" he asked. "Damn."

Yep, and dropped 20 to sink the Pistons.

LeBron James scored 27 points, Smith made seven of Cleveland's NBA playoff record-tying 20 3-pointers, and the Cavs opened a 2-0 lead in their increasingly testy series with a 107-90 victory over Detroit on Wednesday night.

The top-seeded Cavs put away the up-and-coming Pistons in the third quarter, outscoring them 27-15 to protect home-court advantage. They did it with a flurry of six 3s, including two by Smith.

"I'm open, so I shoot the ball," Smith explained. "It's kind of simple for me."

There was nothing easy about their first two wins and the Cavs, favored to win the Eastern Conference and return to the finals, will have their work cut out when the best-of-seven series resumes on Friday night at Detroit.


Clippers 102, Trail Blazers 81

Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were in no hurry to go back into the game. The reserves were rolling and again creating some breathing room.

Paul and Griffin urged coach Doc Rivers to let the second unit keep playing. He agreed, and the bench scored 43 points in the Clippers' 102-81 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night, giving Los Angeles a 2-0 lead in its first-round playoff series.

"Those guys looked like they were in a good rhythm," said Paul, who led the Clippers with 25 points. "We've all been together long enough to know, let them keep rolling, let them keep going until they really need a break. If we come out of the game up six, when we go back in the game, we may be up 10 or up 12. We just need those guys to keep playing with that confidence."

Jamal Crawford, the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year, led the reserves with 11 points and Jeff Green added 10 on a night when the Clippers' starters weren't their usual dominant selves. The bench opened the second quarter on a 12-2 run, stretching a six-point lead to 15.


Wednesday, April 20 Scoreboard
    
Miami 115, Charlotte 103

EASTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND - GAME 2
    
Cleveland 107, Detroit 90

EASTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND - GAME 2
    
Los Angeles 102, Portland 81

WESTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND - GAME 2


Thursday, April 21 Schedule (All Times Central)

Oklahoma City at Dallas, 6 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND - GAME 3

Toronto at Indiana, 6:30 p.m.

EASTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND - GAME 3

Golden State at Houston, 8:30 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND - GAME 3


Friday, April 22 Schedule (All Times Central)

Cleveland at Detroit, 6 p.m.

EASTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND - GAME 3

Atlanta at Boston, 7 p.m.

EASTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND - GAME 3

San Antonio at Memphis, 8:30 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND - GAME 3


Saturday, April 23 Schedule (All Times Central)

Toronto at Indiana, 2 p.m.

EASTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND - GAME 4

Miami at Charlotte, 4:30 p.m.

EASTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND - GAME 3

Oklahoma City at Dallas, 7 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND - GAME 4

Los Angeles at Portland, 9:30 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND - GAME 3


Sunday, April 24 Schedule (All Times Central)

San Antonio at Memphis, noon

WESTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND - GAME 4

Golden State at Houston, 2:30 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND - GAME 4

Atlanta at Boston, 5 p.m.

EASTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND - GAME 4

Cleveland at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.

EASTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND - GAME 4