Blazers Facing Another Opening-Round Defeat

NBA playoffs

Shaquille O’Neal found himself a little more contained, so his teammates did a little more on the offensive end to lead the Lakers to another decisive victory.

O’Neal, who scored 46 points in Game 1, had 30 points along with six rebounds and five assists in Game 2 Sunday as Los Angeles routed the Portland Trail Blazers 107-93.

Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell added 19 and 16 points, respectively, and Nick Van Exel added 13 points to go with nine assists.

The win gave the Lakers a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 series, which moves to Portland for Game 3 Wednesday night. The Blazers, who have made the playoffs for 15 straight seasons, are one loss away from being eliminated in the first round for the fifth consecutive year.

O’Neal and Campbell combined for 66 of their team’s 95 points on Friday night. This time, they had plenty of help.

Jones made all seven of his field goal attempts, and neither he nor Campbell played in the fourth quarter.

The Lakers, who made 36 of their 62 field goal attempts, went ahead for good by outscoring the Blazers 13-2 to start the second half for a 62-53 lead.

Portland (93) - Wallace 9-14 2-3 20, C.Robinson 4-11 3-4 12, Sabonis 2-5 0-0 4, Rider 6-14 4-4 18, Anderson 7-15 3-3 18, Dudley 4-4 0-0 8, Trent 2-5 0-1 4, Augmon 1-2 1-2 3, R.Robinson 0-1 0-0 0, Wingfield 2-2 0-0 4, Butler 1-1 0-0 2, J.O’Neal 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 38-75 13-19 93.

L.a. Lakers (107) - Campbell 5-7 6-6 16, Horry 3-5 0-0 8, S.O’Neal 11-21 8-14 30, Jones 7-7 3-4 19, Van Exel 4-9 3-4 13, Fisher 1-2 2-2 4, Knight 1-1 0-0 2, Kersey 2-3 0-0 4, Rooks 1-2 0-0 2, Scott 0-2 2-2 2, Bryant 1-3 4-4 6, Blount 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 36-62 29-38 107.

Portland 26 25 18 24 - 93

L.A. Lakers 33 16 29 29 - 107

3-Point goals-Portland 4-18 (Rider 2-4, C.Robinson 1-5, Anderson 1-5, Wallace 0-1, J.O’Neal 0-1, R.Robinson 0-1, Sabonis 0-1), Los Angeles 6-13 (Jones 2-2, Horry 2-4, Van Exel 2-4, Fisher 0-1, Scott 0-1, Bryant 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Portland 37 (C.Robinson 10), Los Angeles 41 (Jones 7). Assists-Portland 24 (Anderson 7), Los Angeles 26 (Van Exel 9). Total fouls-Portland 26, Los Angeles 19. Technicals-Los Angeles illegal defense 2. A-17,505 (17,505).

Pistons 93, Hawks 80 Atlanta

After tiring down the stretch in a loss to Atlanta in Game 1, Detroit dominated the final period to even the first-round series 1-1.

The Hawks seemed to be in good shape when they led 65-64 after three quarters.

But Detroit took command with an 11-0 run in which they held the Hawks scoreless for nearly 5 minutes. After Tyrone Corbin’s jumper put Atlanta on top 67-66 with 10:51 remaining, the Hawks didn’t score again until Dikembe Mutombo hit a hook shot with 5:55 left.

Joe Dumars, who had 12 points, made sure the Hawks didn’t rally, hitting three critical shots shown the stretch to give Detroit its first playoff win since May 1, 1992. His final basket, an 18-footer, pushed Detroit to an 84-76 lead with 1:44 remaining that sealed the victory.

Detroit (93) - Hill 7-19 11-13 25, Thorpe 5-9 2-2 12, Mills 3-8 0-0 7, Dumars 5-13 1-1 12, Hunter 5-10 0-0 13, McKie 3-5 0-0 7, Long 4-7 9-9 17. Totals 32-71 23-25 93.

Atlanta (80) - Corbin 5-11 0-0 14, Laettner 8-13 2-2 18, Mutombo 5-9 7-8 17, Smith 10-19 1-3 22, Blaylock 3-12 0-0 7, Henderson 0-1 2-2 2, Recasner 0-3 0-0 0, Lauderdale 0-1 0-0 0, James 0-1 0-0 0, Newbill 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-70 12-15 80.

Detroit 26 19 19 29 - 93

Atlanta 20 20 25 15 - 80

3-Point goals-Detroit 6-16, (Hunter 3-5, McKie 1-1, Dumars 1-4, Mills 1-5, Long 0-1), Atlanta 6-23, (Corbin 4-10, Smith 1-4, Blaylock 1-6, Laettner 0-1, Rcasner 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Detroit 42 (Thorpe 8), Atlanta 41 (Blaylock 9). Assists-Detroit 11 (Hill 3), Atlanta 18 (Blaylock 7). Total fouls-Detroit 20, Atlanta 20. Technicals-Laettner. A-16,378 (16,378).

Heat 104, Magic 87 Miami

As an encore to their rout Thursday, Miami romped for a 2-0 lead in the first-round mismatch.

The Magic pledged to be more physical in Game 2, but that approach worked for only one quarter.

A 22-3 run at the start of the second period gave the Heat a 42-21 lead. They outscored Orlando 36-13 in the quarter, hitting 13 of 19 shots, and led 56-31 at halftime.

Tim Hardaway had 20 points and 11 assists. P.J. Brown scored 11 consecutive Miami points in the first half and finished with 17.

Penny Hardaway scored 26 points for the Magic, but teammate Rony Seikaly had just 10 points and four rebounds.

Orlando again played without forward Horace Grant, sidelined because of a sprained right wrist.

Orlando (87) - N.Anderson 2-6 0-2 5, Strong 6-10 6-7 18, Seikaly 4-7 2-2 10, Shaw 2-5 1-2 7, P.Hardaway 10-20 5-8 26, Schayes 1-4 0-0 2, Wilkins 2-6 2-2 6, Scott 0-2 0-0 0, Armstrong 3-5 3-5 10, McCaskill 1-1 1-2 3, Evans 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-66 20-30 87.

Miami (104) - Mashburn 3-8 1-2 8, Brown 6-8 5-5 17, Mourning 5-8 7-11 17, Lenard 4-9 0-0 11, T.Hardaway 6-16 6-7 20, Askins 1-2 0-0 3, Majerle 6-9 0-0 14, Austin 1-2 6-8 8, Crotty 1-1 0-0 2, Strickland 1-1 0-0 2, W.Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Pinckney 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 35-66 25-33 104.

Orlando 18 13 27 29 - 87

Miami 20 36 24 24 - 104

3-Point goals-Orlando 5-12 (Shaw 2-2, Anderson 1-2, Armstrong 1-2, Hardaway 1-5, Strong 0-1), Miami 9-23 (Lenard 3-5, Majerle 2-4, Hardaway 2-8, Askins 1-2, Mashburn 1-4). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Orlando 39 (Strong 16), Miami 45 (Mourning 9). Assists-Orlando 15 (Shaw 4), Miami 25 (Hardaway 11). Total fouls-Orlando 23, Miami 19. Technicals-Orlando illegal defense 2, Miami illegal defense 2. A-15,200 (15,200).