SCOREBOARD
Monday, April 30
Cleveland at Washington (7 p.m. EDT). The Cavaliers are one game away from sweeping a playoff series for the first time in franchise history.
STARS
Sunday
– Baron Davis, Warriors, scored 33 points and Golden State rallied to defeat Dallas 103-99.
– Amare Stoudemire, Suns, scored 27 points with a career playoff-high 21 rebounds, and Phoenix posted a 113-100 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
– Vince Carter, Nets, scored 27 points to lead New Jersey to an easy 102-81 win over Toronto.
SWEEP
Chicago swept defending NBA champion Miami out of the playoffs, beating the Heat 92-79 Sunday in Game 4 of their first-round Eastern Conference series. It was the first time the Bulls won a postseason series since the Michael Jordan era.
HAND OUT
Suns guard Steve Nash had 23 assists, one shy of the NBA playoff record, to help Phoenix to a 113-100 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. Magic Johnson and John Stockton share the mark. Johnson did it for the Lakers against Phoenix in 1984 and Stockton had his 24 against the Lakers for Utah four years later.
UPSET-MINDED
Golden State is one win from becoming the third team in league history to knock off a No. 1 seed in the opening round after a come-from-behind 103-99 victory over Dallas on Sunday night. The Warriors are up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series. Only the Denver Nuggets (1994) and the New York Knicks (1999) have won as a No. 8 seed and both did it in the old best-of-five format.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Kobe Bryant led the Los Angeles Lakers with 31 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, but scored only three points in the fourth quarter as Phoenix downed L.A. 113-100 Sunday for a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.
SPEAKING
“This is a great feeling. We’re someplace we’ve never been before. The guys made it a goal at the beginning of the season to get back to this spot, and it worked out that we played them in the first round.” – Chicago forward Luol Deng after the Bulls beat Miami 92-79 Sunday and swept their first-round Eastern Conference series.