Bulls KO Pacers from playoffs; Magic, Lakers win

Published 2:18 am Wednesday, April 27, 2011

CHICAGO (AP) — Derrick Rose scored 25 points, Luol Deng added 24 and the Chicago Bulls finally played like a top seed, knocking off the Indiana Pacers 116-89 in Game 5 to wrap up their first-round playoff series Tuesday night.

The top-seeded Bulls can breathe a little easier after getting a dominant performance by their MVP candidate and an emphatic win that came on the heels of four dramatic games.

They can also turn their attention to the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they’ll meet Atlanta or Orlando.

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Rose seemed just fine after spraining his left ankle in Game 4, hitting 8 of 17 shots. He dominated in the early going and came up big in the third after the Pacers pulled within four. He scored 10 points over the final six minutes, and Chicago ended the quarter on a 23-8 run to blow the game open.

Joakim Noah added 14 points and eight rebounds, and the Bulls won a playoff series for the first time since they swept Miami in the first round in 2007 even though Carlos Boozer scored just two.

Danny Granger scored 20 for the Pacers. Tyler Hansbrough added 14 points and 11 rebounds, but the Pacers trailed the entire way and committed 21 turnovers.

Magic 101, Hawks 76

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jason Richardson scored 17 points and J.J. Redick added 14 to help the Magic stay alive in the playoffs with a victory over the Hawks.

The win kept alive the Magic’s hopes of becoming the ninth team in NBA history to win a playoff series after trailing 3-1. If they can win Game 6 Thursday in Atlanta, they would host the decisive Game 7 on Saturday.

Magic center Dwight Howard battled foul trouble throughout the night and had just one field goal, finishing with 8 points and 8 rebounds. Orlando didn’t need his offense, though, as it broke out of a series-long shooting slump with 11 3-pointers.

Josh Smith scored 22 points to lead Atlanta, which shot below 40 percent for just the second time this series.

Lakers 106, Hornets 90

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kobe Bryant scored 19 points and threw down two stirring dunks on a sprained left ankle, and the Lakers pushed the Hornets to the brink of first-round playoff elimination with a victory in Game 5, taking a 3-2 series lead.

Andrew Bynum had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Pau Gasol added 16 points as the two-time defending NBA champions roared back from a slow start in a pivotal game for their threepeat hopes with another dramatic playoff performance by Bryant, who injured his ankle in Game 4.

Trevor Ariza scored 22 points and Chris Paul had 20 points and 12 assists for the seventh-seeded Hornets, who have lost three of four since their stunning Game 1 victory.

Game 6 is Thursday in New Orleans.