FloaterDaily Brief
Sunday, May 9, 2004Playoffs · 2 games
← May 8CalendarMay 10 →

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

Final · R2 · G3
SAS81
LAL105
Q1 LAL +12; Q2 LAL +10; Q3 LAL +17; Q4 LAL +24
Final · R2 · G3
DET64
NJN82
Q1 NJN +18; Q2 NJN +9; Q3 NJN +14; Q4 NJN +18
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 · 2002–03May 9, 2003: 2 games. Top scorer: Kobe Bryant (LAL vs SAS), 39 points.
The lead · Conference semifinals · Game 3 · DET @ NJN

New Jersey stays alive against Detroit

An 82–64 win in Game 3 cuts the conference semifinals deficit to 2–1. Richard Jefferson led New Jersey with 30 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

Game flow · NJN margin at each break
Quarter-end scores only (4 points), so swings inside a period don't show.
-25-15-5+5+15+25TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0+18+9+14+18NJN AHEAD ↑DET AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
DET1325141264
NJN3116191682
Who led
Richard JeffersonPoints, last 10 games: 12, 11, 18, 21, 20, 17, 13, 8, 19, 30NJN30 PTS · 8 REB · 5 AST
Kerry KittlesPoints, last 10 games: 14, 9, 0, 20, 16, 11, 10, 15, 6, 17NJN17 PTS · 5 REB · 2 AST
Ben WallacePoints, last 10 games: 4, 15, 17, 7, 13, 7, 9, 13, 8, 15DET15 PTS · 24 REB · 4 AST
Richard HamiltonPoints, last 10 games: 24, 6, 21, 18, 17, 27, 18, 15, 28, 15DET15 PTS · 5 REB · 0 AST
Second story · SAS @ LAL · R2 · G3

Lakers lead San Antonio wire to wire

Lakers were ahead at every break and won 105–81. Best quarter: the third, 33–26. Shaquille O'Neal led Lakers with 28 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists.

Series tracker · SAS vs LAL
G1 · @ SASSAS88–78G2 · @ SASSAS95–85G3 · @ LALLAL105–81Game by game through May 9, winner and final score. Pink = LAL win.
Fantasy angleRecent playoff games against each player's regular-season average.
Heating up
+4.8points, last 3 playoff games vs reg. season avg
Points per game
21.5Reg. season avg26.3Last 3 playoff games

26.3 points a game over his last three playoff games, against 21.5 in the regular season (67 games). Today: 28 points in 36 minutes.

Losing minutes
−19.0minutes, last 3 playoff games vs reg. season avg
Minutes per game
27.2Reg. season avg8.2Last 3 playoff games

8.2 minutes a game over his last three playoff games, against 27.2 in the regular season (81 games). Today: 6 points in 12 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+13.4minutes, today vs reg. season avg
Minutes per game
10.8Reg. season avg24.2Today

24 minutes today, against 10.8 a game in the regular season (58 games). Line: 16 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assists.

Top performances

Richard Jefferson leads the day with 30

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.
Richard JeffersonPoints, last 10 games: 12, 11, 18, 21, 20, 17, 13, 8, 19, 30NJN vs DET · W
18.3 PPG playoffs to date · +13.7 vs his playoff average before tonight
30 PTS · 8 REB · 5 AST
Shaquille O'NealPoints, last 10 games: 23, 25, 20, 7, 25, 17, 12, 19, 32, 28LAL vs SAS · W
20.0 PPG playoffs to date · +9.1 vs his playoff average before tonight
28 PTS · 15 REB · 5 AST
Kobe BryantPoints, last 10 games: 45, 37, 16, 36, 21, 18, 31, 31, 15, 22LAL vs SAS · W
23.8 PPG playoffs to date · −2.0 vs his playoff average before tonight
22 PTS · 6 REB · 6 AST
Kerry KittlesPoints, last 10 games: 14, 9, 0, 20, 16, 11, 10, 15, 6, 17NJN vs DET · W
13.6 PPG playoffs to date · +4.0 vs his playoff average before tonight
17 PTS · 5 REB · 2 AST
Manu GinobiliPoints, last 10 games: 10, 4, 6, 15, 5, 12, 10, 11, 15, 17SAS @ LAL · L
12.1 PPG playoffs to date · +5.7 vs his playoff average before tonight
17 PTS · 4 REB · 2 AST
Devin BrownPoints, last 10 games: 19, 6, 11, 3, 0, 0, 1, 8, 1, 16SAS @ LAL · L
4.3 PPG playoffs to date · +14.0 vs his playoff average before tonight
16 PTS · 7 REB · 1 AST