» HEAT CLINCH, LAKERS GO UP 3-1 VS BLAZERS
ORLANDO, Fla. _ A day after Kobe Bryant's birthday, a date that includes both of the numbers he wore, the Los Angeles Lakers honored him by wearing a jersey he helped design and by ruthlessly crushing the spirit of their opponent.
The Portland Trail Blazers never had a chance in this one.
The Lakers won, 135-115, taking a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.
LeBron James scored 30 points on 10-for-12 shooting with 10 assists and six rebounds, making four of five three-pointers. Anthony Davis finished with 18 points with five assists and five rebounds. Battling a stifling defensive effort, Portland guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum combined to attempt only five three-pointers, making three.
Nods to Bryant were everywhere on Monday. Before the Lakers-Trail Blazers game, Houston Rockets star Russell Westbrook walked into the arena wearing a gold Bryant jersey with purple shoes. His teammate, James Harden, wore a Tshirt honoring Bryant and shorts with "Bryant" written across the front.
Coaches, team staff and many players wore Bryant's shoes. Davis and Rob Pelinka, the Lakers general manager and president of basketball operations, wore the same colorful design with gold accents. Lillard wore shoes with the number 8 on his left heel and the number 24 on his right heel. JR Smith wrote "WWKD" on one shoe and "shoot" on the other.
Davis and James entered the building wearing a version of Bryant's jersey. — Tania Ganguli, Los Angeles Times
OKC evens series with Rockets
The Thunder evened the series 2-2 with a 117-114 win against the Rockets in Game 4.
After tying his playoff career high with 29 points in Game 3, Dennis Schroder responded with 30 points in Game 4.
He converted a tough layup that put OKC ahead by three points with 36 seconds left, and then made two clutch free throws when Houston was forced to foul.
The Thunder closed in the final four minutes with Danilo Gallinari at center and Luguentz Dort at power forward.
It's the same small-ball group Billy Donovan went with in overtime of Game 3.
Chris Paul scored 14 points in the third quarter to withstand Houston's 8-of-8 start from 3-point range in the quarter. — Joe Mussatto, The Oklahoman
Heat finishes off emphatic fourgame sweep of Pacers
The Miami Heat is moving on to the second round of the NBA playoffs after a statement series victory against the Indiana Pacers.
The Heat completed a four-game sweep of the Pacers on Monday with a 99-87 win in Lake Buena Vista. Miami won its four games by a combined 42 points and trailed in the series' fourth quarters for a total of just 11 seconds. None of the games were closer than nine points.
With the 4-0 series win, the No. 5seed Heat advances to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2016. Miami, which missed the playoffs for the third time in five years last season, will likely face the Milwaukee Bucks, who took a 3-1 series lead on the Orlando Magic earlier Monday at Walt Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
To finish off the sweep, Miami had to gut out its ugliest win yet with All-Star post player Bam Adebayo setting the tone with 14 points, 19 rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block.
It all started in the first quarter, when Jimmy Butler checked out with a left shoulder strain after just six minutes. The All-Star wing went back to the locker room and didn't return until the second half, and still the Heat managed to build a 48-42 halftime lead. — David Wilson, Miami Herald
Magic can't hold off Bucks in fourth quarter, fall in Game 4
The Orlando Magic knew the importance of staying close to the Milwaukee Bucks in the first quarter.
It was a four-minute stretch of the fourth quarter that ultimately hurt the Magic, who are now on the brink of postseason elimination.
Khris Middleton scored eight of his 21 points during a decisive 16point run as the Bucks turned away the Magic for a 121-106 victory in Game 4 on Monday.
The Bucks now hold a 3-1 lead the best-of-seven series. Game 5 is Wednesday at 4 p.m. at AdventHealth Arena at Disney World. It will be broadcast on Fox Sports Florida and NBA TV.
Nikola Vucevic continued his stellar postseason play with 31 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Magic. Terrence Ross finished with 19 points while Markelle Fultz had 15 points and Evan Fournier and Gary Clark scored 12 apiece.
Vucevic and Clark combined for 10 of Orlando's 18 3-pointers.
Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 31 points and 15 rebounds to lead Milwaukee, which outscored Orlando 42-20 in the paint.