Rockets 92, Trail Blazers 76
HOUSTON — Ron Artest scored 27 points, Yao Ming had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Houston reached the second round for the first time since 1997, beating Portland in Game 6 on Thursday night.
Aaron Brooks scored 13 points and Shane Batter tied a career playoff high with nine rebounds as the Rockets won for the first time in their last seven first-round series. They lost Game 6s the last two seasons, both to Utah.
Houston put this one away with a big second quarter and moves on to play the top-seeded Lakers on Monday night at the Staples Center. The Lakers won all four meetings in the regular season.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 points and Brandon Roy had 22 for the Blazers, who were making their first playoff appearance since 2003. Portland improved 13 games from last season and reached its highest win total since 1999-2000.
But the Blazers were the youngest team in the playoffs and their inexperience showed. They lost Game 1 in Portland, then dropped all three games in Houston, going out meekly in the finale.
The last three games of the series had been decided by a total of eight points, but the Rockets turned this one into a rout before halftime.
The Rockets led 21-19 heading to the second quarter, a key stat since the team leading after the first won the previous eight meetings.
Yao went out for his regular rest for the start of the second quarter and the Rockets took control with a 13-2 run.
The Rockets led 52-37 at halftime after shooting 50 percent (11-of-22) in the second quarter and holding the Blazers to 37 percent shooting (7-for-19).
The Blazers cut the lead to 13 early in the fourth quarter, but Yao muscled in a layup and Brooks hit a 3-pointer to make it 81-63.
Magic 114, 76ers 89
PHILADELPHIA — Playing without suspended center Dwight Howard and injured guard Courtney Lee, Orlando made 12 of its first 19 shots and rolled to its second victory in Philadelphia to eliminate the 76ers in Game 6.
Rashard Lewis scored 29 points, Rafer Alston added 21, and Howard recorded a double-double in blog and Twitter posts from his hotel room.
He wrote on a postgame blog: “im soo proud man. yall have no clue.”
Thankfully for Orlando, the Magic’s shooting was more accurate than Howard’s grammar. The Associated Press
