PORTLAND, Ore. — It was touch-and-go for a while, but in the end, the Mavericks’ ability at the free-throw line allowed them to defeat the Trail Blazers 103-96 in Game 6 on Thursday night and advance to the Western Conference semifinals against the Lakers.
Dirk Nowitzki hit eight free throws in the waning seconds to allow the Mavericks to hold off the Blazers, who were again making a furious fourth-quarter comeback.
A Jason Kidd 3-pointer and a midrange jumper by Terry put the Mavs up five, 91-84, with 4:04 left after Portland had pulled within one.
Having blown a 23-point second-half lead in their Game 4 loss at Portland, the Mavericks saw the Trail Blazers whittle a 17-point Dallas advantage to just three, 86-83, after a putback by Gerald Wallace with 5:51 left to play.
Lakers 98, Hornets 80
NEW ORLEANS — Kobe Bryant scored 22 of his 24 points in the first three quarters, then let his teammates take over to wrap up the series in six games.
Andrew Bynum added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Pau Gasol chipped in 16 points for the two-time defending champions, who led by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter.
The performance left coach Phil Jackson saying his squad has the “potential to be as good as any team I’ve coached with the Lakers.”
Chris Paul, who helped the Hornets split the first four games with two sensational performances, wasn’t able to deliver the Hornets a third victory. He had only seven points before hitting a 3-pointer with 4:02 to go and finished with 10 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.
“Once we started missing shots, the lane became filled with Laker jerseys, and to ask Chris to bail us out of a game like that is unfair,” Hornets coach Monty Williams said. “They’re the champs and they know how to put the pedal to the metal — and they did.”
Hawks 84, Magic 81ATLANTA — Joe Johnson scored 23 points and came up with a huge offensive rebound to help Atlanta win the series 4-2.
With Atlanta clinging to a one- point lead and the clock running down, Marvin Williams missed a clinching 3-pointer. But Johnson swatted the ball to Jamal Crawford, who was fouled and made both free throws with 8.2 seconds left.
“I just wanted to make a play,” said Johnson, who bounced back from a dismal five-point effort in Game 5. “The play was a pick-and-roll for Al (Horford) and Jamal, but we didn’t come up with what we wanted. I just crashed the glass and tried to somehow get a hand on it. I did.”
The Hawks face the Bulls next.
