Miami Heat finish first-round sweep of Pacers
The Heat moved on to the Eastern Semifinals, where they await the winner of the first round match between the Milwaukee Serial Head and the eighth seeded Orlando.
Kelly Olynyk's layup gave the Heat a permanent lead by the fifth minute of the second quarter, and Miami continued to lead by up to 13 points in completing its first Indiana playoff sweep.
Goran Dragic beat Miami with 23 points, while Tyler Herro added 16 and Olynyk 11. Victor Oladipo led the Pacers with 25 points and Myles Turner scored 22 points and 14 rebounds. TJ Warren added 21 for Indiana.
Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 31 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, and All-Star teammate Khris Middleton caught fire late to push Milwaukee over the eighth seeded Orlando to claim an impressive 3-1 lead in the first round of the Eastern Conference series playoff.
It was the most competitive competition the Magic have been since their game 1 was upset. Orlando held out until the fourth quarter when Milwaukee opened with a 20-5 blitz opening a 102-83 lead. Middleton scored 13 of his 21 points during the stretch, including three from 3 points.
Magic center Nikola Vucevic closed with 31 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists. Markelle Fultz added 15 points (including three buckets in the third quarter), seven assists and five rebounds. Orlando also made 18 triples, a necessary counterattack to a stingy Bucks defense that focuses on protecting the rim.
LeBron James scored 30 out of 10 points on 12 shots and also had 10 assists and 6 rebounds to assist l. a. Lakers steamroll Portland in game 4 of a playoff series of the first round of the Western Conference.
Anthony Davis had 18 points, five rebounds and five assists in 18 minutes before leaving within the third quarter thanks to back spasms as l. a. took a 3-1 lead in the best of seven series. Portland star Damian Lillard started within the third quarter with a right knee injury and scored only 11 points in 27 minutes.
Kyle Kuzma scored 18 points and Danny Green added 14 because the Lakers achieved the dominant victory, flush by flush. Dwight Howard had 13 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 12 for l. a. . Jusuf Nurkic scored 20 points and 13 rebounds and CJ McCollum scored 18 for the Trail Blazers.
Dennis Schroder converted a key turnover into a layup and Oklahoma City tied his first-round series at the Western Conference with Houston with a win in game 4.
Schroder scored 30 points from the bench to lead the Thunder, while Chris Paul added 26 points, six rebounds and three stolen balls. James Harden led Houston with 32 points, 15 assists and 4 stolen balls and Eric Gordon added 23 points. Houston attempted an NBA record of 58 pitches after the three-point season, converting 23.
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