Hawks and Magic advance as Lakers sweep out Nuggets

In the National Basketball Association East the Boston Celtics were upset for the second game in a row by Atlanta, whilst in the West the Los Angeles Lakers beat Denver 107-101 Monday, completing a first-round National Basketball Association playoff sweep.

The Celtics, who posted the best regular-season record in the NBA, were upset for the second game in a row by Atlanta, the worst team to make the playoffs as Joe Johnson scored 20 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter to spark the Hawks past Boston 97-92, leveling their Eastern Conference first round best-of-seven series at two wins each.

"I just wanted to try to be the aggressor," Johnson said. "I knew that we were down by 10. Somebody had to step up. If I'm going to be the All-Star on this team, I have to step up. And I did."

Josh Smith had 28 points and seven blocks while Mike Bibby scored 18 points for the Hawks, who answered an 11-0 Boston run with a 19-6 burst to reclaim the lead at 84-79, a Johnson 3-pointer ending the key run on the way to victory.

"Everybody said we were going to get swept," Atlanta's Marvin Williams said. "When nobody expects you to win, it's easy. We knew what we could do. We've got the best team in the NBA at 2-2."

Orlando became the first team to reach the second round of the NBA playoffs, with Dwight Howard scoring 21 points and grabbing 21 rebounds to lead the Magic past Toronto 102-92 for a four games to one victory in their series.

Howard that lifted the Magic into the second round for the first time since 1996 when Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway were stars for the club.

"It feels great," Howard said. "We have worked extremely hard this year and to finally get over the hump and out of the first round means a lot to us."

But the East stunner came in Atlanta, where the Hawks trailed 75-65 entering the fourth quarter but outscored the Celtics 32-17 in the final 12 minutes thanks to Johnson and Smith, who combined for Atlanta's last 34 points.

"It's unbelievable," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "I cannot be more proud. To see where we started and where we are, this is so great for this franchise."

The Celtics claimed a home-court edge throughout the NBA playoffs with a 66-16 record while the Hawks had the worst record of any playoff team at 37-45.

But after two blowout victories at home, the Celtics find themselves coming back to Boston level with game five Wednesday and game six Friday at Atlanta.

"We have to find our team chemistry quick," Boston guard Sam Cassell said. "Game five is not going to be easy just because we are at home. The Hawks have confidence and think they can beat us so we're going to step it up back in Boston."

Celtics guard Rajon Rondo was mindful that last season's regular-season winner, the Dallas Mavericks, was ousted in round one by Golden State.

"You don't want what happened with Dallas last year," Rondo said. "We didn't expect this. But it's part of it. We have to move on."

The Boston-Atlanta winner will face either Cleveland or Washington in the second round. The Cavaliers lead Washington 3-1 in that series and host game five on Wednesday.

Ray Allen led the Celtics with 21 points while Kevin Garnett added 20 points and Paul Pierce added 18.

"(Johnson) just got hot," Allen said. "Defensively, we didn't do a great job when he got into our paint."

Johnson scored 10 consecutive Atlanta points to keep the Celtics at bay down the stretch, the last of the run being a free throw for a 91-87 Atlanta lead with 39.7 seconds remaining after James Posey's 3-pointer had pulled Boston within three.

"It was an incredible performance," Atlanta's Al Horford said. "I'm happy for our team, but especially for him. He's one of those All-Stars that everybody forgets about or doesn't give credit to. He's a killer."

At Orlando, it was the superb performance by Howard that led the way to the first Magic playoff victory since the 1996 Eastern semi-finals.

"It is just an incredible feeling," Howard said. "I can't explain it because we've done something that hasn't been done in a while."

The Raptors led 50-49 at half-time but the Magic outscored Toronto 25-18 in the third quarter and held off the Canadian club in the final quarter to capture the clincher.

Orlando will next face the winner between Detroit and Philadelphia in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Philadelphia and Detroit are level at 2-2 in their series with game five Tuesday at Detroit.

Jameer Nelson added 19 points while Rashard Lewis contributed 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic.

"(Howard) is a phenom," Raptors forward Chris Bosh said. "He's probably the best center in the league. He is always on the offensive boards. He's always on the defensive boards. He's just always a threat."

Howard had three games in the series with at least 20 points and rebounds in the same game.

"He has been incredible," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said.

Bosh led Toronto with 16 points while T.J. Ford and Carlos Delfino each added 14 for the Raptors.

Kobe Bryant scored 31 points and Pau Gasol added 21 to spark the Los Angeles Lakers past Denver 107-101 Monday, completing a first-round playoff sweep.

Bryant hit 12-of-24 from the field, including scoring nine consecutive Laker points in a key stretch late in the fourth quarter, and Lamar Odom added 14 points for the Lakers, the top seeds in the West.

"They did a good job in the third quarter denying me," Bryant said. "We made our adjkustmentsz, they made theirs and we made them pay in the fourth."

The Nuggets became the first 50-win team ever swept out of the playoffs in the first round, the Lakers taking the best-of-seven series in four games to book a second-round Western Conference date with either Utah or Houston.

"In the West there are no easy matchups," Bryant said. "We're looking forward to whoever we face."

The Lakers were also looking forward to a rest before the next round.

"It's extremely important to relax, get home, rest a little bit, get some treatment and get ready for the second round," Bryant said.

J.R. Smith scored a playoff career-high 26 points to lead the Nuggets while Allen Iverson added 22 points and Carmelo Anthony scored 21.

"I feel like me and my teammates gave everything they had and put everything on the line," Iverson said. "You have to accept that when guys give everything they had. We gave everything we had. We just got beat by a better team."

Denver went out in the first round for the fifth season in a row.

"Defense has to be the focus for next year," Iverson said. "We know we can score the ball. All it is is looking at yourself in the mirror and figuring out what you can do to make your team better."

A Linas Kleiza jumper with 2:23 to play in the third quarter gave the Nuggets their first lead at 73-71 to cap a 10-0 Denver run, but the Lakers reclaimed the lead at 79-77 entering the fourth quarter.

The game was level at 90-90 when Bryant put the Lakers ahead on a 3-pointer with 4:27 to play, then drove for a layup that lifted the Lakers ahead 95-90.

Smith answered with a 3-pointer and a steal for a layup plus a free throw to put Denver on top 96-95.

Bryant answered with a jumper to put the Lakers ahead 97-96, his last of nine consecutive Laker points in a row after 17 minutes with a basket from the field, and Luke Walton added a 3-pointer to put the Lakers ahead 100-96 with 2:37 remaining.

Bryant added a bank-shot from the baseline that gave the Lakers a 103-98 edge but Marcus Camby answered with a 3-pointer to pull the Nuggets within two with stars Iverson and Anthony having fouled out.

Spanish big man Gasol responded with his first basket of the second half to lift the Lakers' lead to 105-101 and the Lakers hit free throws in the final seconds to finish off Denver.