FloaterDaily Brief
Friday, April 23, 2004Playoffs · 2 games
← Apr 22CalendarApr 24 →

2 games, none went to overtime. Every winner was ahead or tied at every quarter break.

Final · R1 · G3
IND108
BOS85
Q1 IND +3; Q2 IND +13; Q3 IND +16; Q4 IND +23
Final · R1 · G3
LAL91
HOU102
Q1 HOU +6; Q2 HOU +13; Q3 HOU +12; Q4 HOU +11
Bars under each score: who led after each quarter, from the winner's side. winner ahead behind behind in a 10+ point comeback tied
On this day · 2002–03Apr 23, 2003: 3 games. Top scorer: Tracy McGrady (ORL @ DET), 46 points.
The lead · First round · Game 3 · LAL @ HOU

Houston stays alive against Lakers

A 102–91 win in Game 3 cuts the first round deficit to 2–1. Steve Francis led Houston with 27 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists.

Game flow · HOU margin at each break
Quarter-end scores only (4 points), so swings inside a period don't show.
-20-100+10+20TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0+6+13+12+11HOU AHEAD ↑LAL AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
LAL2320192991
HOU29271828102
Who led
Steve FrancisPoints, last 10 games: 17, 9, 11, 18, 10, 33, 5, 18, 18, 27HOU27 PTS · 9 REB · 7 AST
Cuttino MobleyPoints, last 10 games: 26, 17, 15, 11, 21, 22, 15, 10, 9, 21HOU21 PTS · 5 REB · 5 AST
Shaquille O'NealPoints, last 10 games: 23, 17, 17, 28, 10, 23, 25, 20, 7, 25LAL25 PTS · 11 REB · 3 AST
Kobe BryantPoints, last 10 games: 25, 28, 12, 33, 8, 45, 37, 16, 36, 21LAL21 PTS · 7 REB · 6 AST
Second story · IND @ BOS · R1 · G3

Steady Indiana beats Boston

Leads at every break, then a 108–85 final. Al Harrington led Indiana with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 1 assist.

Series tracker · IND vs BOS
G1 · @ INDIND104–88G2 · @ INDIND103–90G3 · @ BOSIND108–85Game by game through Apr 23, winner and final score. Pink = IND win.
Fantasy angleRecent playoff games against each player's regular-season average.
Heating up
+8.9points, last 3 playoff games vs reg. season avg
Points per game
8.4Reg. season avg17.3Last 3 playoff games

17.3 points a game over his last three playoff games, against 8.4 in the regular season (64 games). Today: 12 points in 34 minutes.

Losing minutes
−15.2minutes, last 3 playoff games vs reg. season avg
Minutes per game
23.9Reg. season avg8.7Last 3 playoff games

8.7 minutes a game over his last three playoff games, against 23.9 in the regular season (82 games). Today: 2 points in 8 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+9.4minutes, today vs reg. season avg
Minutes per game
18.6Reg. season avg28Today

28 minutes today, against 18.6 a game in the regular season (81 games). Line: 5 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists.

Top performances

Steve Francis leads the day with 27

Sparkline: points in his last 10 games, tonight in pink. Black tag: most points in a game this season to date, or in his career when his whole career is in our box scores (after 5+ games). Plus/minus: points tonight against his average before tonight.
Steve FrancisPoints, last 10 games: 17, 9, 11, 18, 10, 33, 5, 18, 18, 27HOU vs LAL · W
21.0 PPG playoffs to date
27 PTS · 9 REB · 7 AST
Shaquille O'NealPoints, last 10 games: 23, 17, 17, 28, 10, 23, 25, 20, 7, 25LAL @ HOU · L
17.3 PPG playoffs to date
25 PTS · 11 REB · 3 AST
Kobe BryantPoints, last 10 games: 25, 28, 12, 33, 8, 45, 37, 16, 36, 21LAL @ HOU · L
24.3 PPG playoffs to date
21 PTS · 7 REB · 6 AST
Cuttino MobleyPoints, last 10 games: 26, 17, 15, 11, 21, 22, 15, 10, 9, 21HOU vs LAL · W
13.3 PPG playoffs to date
21 PTS · 5 REB · 5 AST
Al HarringtonPoints, last 10 games: 16, 8, 12, 17, 20, 14, 22, 14, 12, 19IND @ BOS · W
15.0 PPG playoffs to date
19 PTS · 9 REB · 1 AST
Jonathan BenderPoints, last 10 games: 16, 10, 2, 15, 0, 9, 11, 3, 11, 19IND @ BOS · W
11.0 PPG playoffs to date
Season high19 PTS · 4 REB · 0 AST