NBA News and Notes May 3

NBA Today

Orlando at Detroit (7:30 p.m EDT). The Pistons, who are in the second round for the seventh straight season, host the Magic in the opener of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Sunday, May 4

Atlanta at Boston (1 p.m. EDT). The Hawks, the playoff team with the worst record, will try to knock off the top-seeded Celtics in Game 7.

STAR

- LeBron James, Cavaliers, compiled 27 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists to lead Cleveland to a 105-88 victory over the Washington Wizards to win their first-round series 4-2.

- Joe Johnson, Hawks, scored 15 points and hit a crucial 3-pointer late in the game as Atlanta forced a Game 7 with a 103-100 victory over top-seeded Boston.

THREE TIMES OUSTED

LeBron James had 27 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for his third career playoff triple-double and the Cavaliers beat the Wizards 105-88 on Friday night to end their contentious series in six games. It was the third consecutive season that the Cavaliers eliminated the Wizards - ending each of those series on Washington's home floor. Cleveland, which reached the NBA finals a year ago, now faces Boston or Atlanta.

BOUNCED

Deron Williams scored 13 of his 25 points in the decisive third quarter, and the Utah Jazz beat Houston 113-91 on Friday night to win the series 4-2 and knock the Rockets out of the playoffs in the opening round for the second straight year. The Jazz were determined to avoid a Game 7 in Houston, site of their embarrassing 95-69 loss in Game 5 on Tuesday. Instead, the Jazz are headed to Los Angeles and open the second round against the Lakers on Sunday.

GOING THE DISTANCE

Atlanta forced an improbable Game 7 with the Boston Celtics as Joe Johnson hit a crucial 3-pointer with 1:07 remaining and the Hawks held on for a 103-100 victory Friday night. The Hawks, just 37-45 during the regular season, have now beaten the Celtics three times in the space of a week to set up a deciding game in a series that was supposed to be a sweep. Game 7 is in Boston on Sunday.

STRONG IN DEFEAT

Tracy McGrady scored 40 points for the Rockets in a 113-91 loss to the Utah Jazz. Utah won the series 4-2 and knocked the Rockets out of the playoffs in the opening round for the second straight year. McGrady is 0-7 in playoff series.

SPEAKING

``I've played 13 years, and I've been here every year for 13 years. This is the first time I've seen this atmosphere like this (in Atlanta). That's the intensity of the playoffs.'' - Boston's Kevin Garnett after the Hawks beat the Celtics 103-100 on Friday night to force Game 7 in their first-round series.

Spurs not a lock when it comes to the point spread

San Antonio won 56 games during the regular season, but that success doesn't necessarily mean the team is a good one on which to bet.

The San Antonio Spurs are a team that can drive an NBA bettor crazy.

During the regular season, the Spurs matched New Orleans for the best record in the Southwest Division at 56-26.

But against the point spread, San Antonio finished under .500 at 38-44.

In the playoffs, it's a similar story for the Spurs, who defeated Phoenix, 4-1, in the first round. Despite dominating the Suns for chunks at a time, San Antonio was only 2-2-1 against the point spread.

That sets the stage for the Spurs' second-round matchup against the Hornets, who split four games (2-2) with San Antonio this season.

Behind the stellar play of guard Chris Paul, New Orleans made it look easy in defeating Dallas, 4-1, in the first round. But the Hornets were only 3-2 against the point spread.

So despite having home-court advantage over San Antonio in the series, New Orleans is listed as the underdog at +120, according to Sportsbook.com.

The Spurs are listed as the favorite at -150.

Yet for tonight's Game 1, Las Vegas oddsmakers have pegged the Hornets as a three-point home favorite.

New Orleans has several positive betting trends working in its favor heading into the series.

The Hornets are 5-0 against the point spread in their last five games as a home favorite between 0.5 and 4.5 points and they are 6-0 against the point spread in their last six home games versus a team with a winning road record.

Unlike New Orleans, San Antonio has a few negative betting trends to overcome.

The Spurs are 1-5 against the point spread in their last six road games, 4-9 against the point spread in their last 13 games as an underdog, and 5-13 against the point spread in their last 18 games as a road underdog.

latimes.com

NBA SHORT SHEET

Western Conference
Second Round
Game One
Series Tied, 0-0
San Antonio at New Orleans, 10:05 ET

San Antonio:
3-11 ATS as a road underdog of 6 points or less
21-9 Under off BB Unders

New Orleans:
23-9 ATS off ATS loss
17-6 Under if the total is between 180 and 189.5

Eastern Conference
Second Round
Game One
Series Tied, 0-0
Orlando at Detroit, 7:35 ET

Orlando:
17-7 ATS as an underdog
6-1 Over at Detroit

Detroit:
8-22 ATS at home revenging SU loss as favorite
13-28 ATS after a game where they made 12+ 3 point shots

Trend Sheet

7:30 PM ORLANDO vs. DETROIT
Orlando is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games
Orlando is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
Detroit is 2-6-3 ATS in its last 11 games when playing at home against Orlando
Detroit is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against Orlando

10:00 PM SAN ANTONIO vs. NEW ORLEANS
San Antonio is 4-7-1 ATS in its last 12 games
San Antonio is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
New Orleans is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
New Orleans is 13-3 ATS in its last 16 games at home

Tips and Trends

Orlando Magic at Detroit Pistons [TNT | 7:30 PM ET]

Magic: Orlando has advanced to the second round for the first time since 1996 and was the first team in the playoffs to move on. The Magic were swept by the Pistons in the first round a year ago but split 4 regular-season meetings, showing some improvement. They will likely need to improve their 3-point shooting after hitting 32 percent (48-of-148) in 5 games against the Raptors. Orlando was 4-2-1 ATS when playing with 3 days of rest or more during the regular season while Detroit is coming off its best 10 quarters of basketball of the postseason.

Road team is 15-5-3 ATS in the last 23 meetings.
Magic are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
The UNDER is 8-1 in Orlando's last 9 road games.

Key Injuries - NONE

PROJECTED SCORE: 91

Pistons (-6, O/U 188.5): Detroit's advantage in this series clearly lies in the backcourt with veterans Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton, who scored a game-high 24 points in the series-clinching win over Philadelphia on Thursday. Billups will have the challenge of holding Orlando's Jameer Nelson in check after he averaged 17.2 points and 4.8 assists vs. Toronto in the first round. Nelson is giving up at least 3 inches to Billups and struggled in their head-to-head matchup last year.

Pistons are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games overall.
The UNDER is 12-4 in Detroit's last 16 games as a favorite.
The OVER is 9-1 in the last 10 meetings at Detroit.

Key Injuries - NONE

PROJECTED SCORE: 97

San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Hornets [TNT | 10 PM ET]

Spurs: One of the keys for San Antonio in this series will be limiting New Orleans perimeter ace Peja Stojakovic. The Spurs have just the man for the job in defensive stopper Bruce Bowen, who helped hold Phoenix point guard Steve Nash in check in the first round. Stojakovic made 61 percent (17-of-28) of his 3-point attempts against the Mavs while averaging 15.8 points per game.

Road team is 6-2 ATS in the last 8 meetings.
The OVER is 6-2 in San Antonio's last 8 games overall.

Key Injuries - NONE

PROJECTED SCORE: 90

Hornets (-3, O/U 183.5): What New Orleans lacks in experience against the defending NBA champs could be made up with depth, as the Spurs are limited offensively beyond Sixth Man of the Year Manu Ginobili, who scored 20 points or more in the first 3 games of San Antonio's first-round series vs. Phoenix before totaling 18 combined in the last 2. The Hornets have their own "microwave" off the bench in Jannero Pargo, as he averaged 14.6 points per game against Dallas in the first round. They will also be looking for quality minutes off the bench from Bonzi Wells and Julian Wright.

Hornets are 21-7 ATS in their last 28 home games.
Hornets are 15-5 ATS this season when playing on at least 2 days of rest.
The UNDER is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.

Key Injuries - NONE

PROJECTED SCORE: 93