FloaterDaily Brief
Tuesday, May 5, 2009Playoffs · 2 games
← May 4CalendarMay 6 →

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

Final · R2 · G1
ATL72
CLE99
Q1 CLE +4; Q2 CLE +5; Q3 CLE +16; Q4 CLE +27
Final · R2 · G2
DAL105
DEN117
Q1 DEN +8; Q2 DEN +3; Q3 DEN +3; Q4 DEN +12
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 · 2007–08May 5, 2008: 2 games. Top scorer: Chris Paul (NOH vs SAS), 30 points.
The lead · Conference semifinals · Game 2 · DAL @ DEN

Denver beats Dallas by 12, moves within two of advancing

Game 2: 117–105. Series: 2–0. Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Dirk Nowitzki scored 35 for Dallas in the loss.

Game flow · DEN margin at each break
Quarter-end scores only (4 points), so swings inside a period don't show.
-20-100+10+20TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0+8+3+3+12DEN AHEAD ↑DAL AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
DAL22332822105
DEN30282831117
Who led
Carmelo AnthonyPoints, last 10 games: 23, 21, 12, 13, 22, 25, 26, 34, 23, 25DEN25 PTS · 5 REB · 5 AST
Nene HilarioPoints, last 10 games: 17, 13, 10, 12, 8, 2, 13, 10, 24, 25DEN25 PTS · 8 REB · 0 AST
Dirk NowitzkiPoints, last 10 games: 29, 34, 30, 19, 14, 20, 12, 31, 28, 35DAL35 PTS · 9 REB · 4 AST
Jason TerryPoints, last 10 games: 13, 22, 23, 12, 16, 10, 10, 19, 15, 21DAL21 PTS · 3 REB · 6 AST
Second story · ATL @ CLE · R2 · G1

Cleveland leads Atlanta wire to wire

Cleveland was ahead at every break and won 99–72. Best quarter: the third, 28–17. LeBron James led Cleveland with 34 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists.

Series tracker · ATL vs CLE
G1 · @ CLECLE99–72Game by game through May 5, winner and final score. Pink = CLE win.
Fantasy angleRecent playoff games against each player's regular-season average.
Heating up
+5.4points, last 3 playoff games vs reg. season avg
Points per game
25.9Reg. season avg31.3Last 3 playoff games

31.3 points a game over his last three playoff games, against 25.9 in the regular season (81 games). Today: 35 points in 40 minutes.

Losing minutes
−21.9minutes, last 3 playoff games vs reg. season avg
Minutes per game
34.3Reg. season avg12.4Last 3 playoff games

12.4 minutes a game over his last three playoff games, against 34.3 in the regular season (61 games). Today: 1 points in 13 minutes.

Cooling off
−7.3points, last 3 playoff games vs reg. season avg
Points per game
18.0Reg. season avg10.7Last 3 playoff games

10.7 points a game over his last three playoff games, against 18.0 in the regular season (52 games). Today: 0 points in 6 minutes.

Top performances

Dirk Nowitzki leads the day with 35

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.
Dirk NowitzkiPoints, last 10 games: 29, 34, 30, 19, 14, 20, 12, 31, 28, 35DAL @ DEN · L
22.7 PPG playoffs to date · +14.3 vs his playoff average before tonight
35 PTS · 9 REB · 4 AST
LeBron JamesPoints, last 10 games: 38, 21, 27, 29, 37, 38, 29, 25, 36, 34CLE vs ATL · W
32.4 PPG playoffs to date · +2.0 vs his playoff average before tonight
34 PTS · 10 REB · 3 AST
Carmelo AnthonyPoints, last 10 games: 23, 21, 12, 13, 22, 25, 26, 34, 23, 25DEN vs DAL · W
24.0 PPG playoffs to date · +1.2 vs his playoff average before tonight
25 PTS · 5 REB · 5 AST
Nene HilarioPoints, last 10 games: 17, 13, 10, 12, 8, 2, 13, 10, 24, 25DEN vs DAL · W
13.4 PPG playoffs to date · +13.5 vs his playoff average before tonight
25 PTS · 8 REB · 0 AST
Josh SmithPoints, last 10 games: 8, 7, 23, 17, 13, 13, 20, 7, 21, 22ATL @ CLE · L
17.0 PPG playoffs to date · +5.7 vs his playoff average before tonight
22 PTS · 6 REB · 2 AST
Jason TerryPoints, last 10 games: 13, 22, 23, 12, 16, 10, 10, 19, 15, 21DAL @ DEN · L
14.7 PPG playoffs to date · +7.3 vs his playoff average before tonight
21 PTS · 3 REB · 6 AST