2008 NBA Playoffs - Day Eight - April 26

Here at About.com, we'll be following each day of the 2008 NBA Playoffs - nothing too in-depth with these posts, but a bit of a recap that gives a couple of brief sentences or so, the final results, as well as links to the boxscore.

Boston Celtics 93, Atlanta Hawks 102 @ Atlanta / Box Score

So, what happened?!?! Well, the Celtics bench only scored 11 points and they're usually better than that. Ray Allen shot 5-for-14 and Paul Pierce only went 5-for-13 from the floor. And, oh yeah, the Hawks were just better last night, led by Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, and the rookie showing up big time in the postseason with a double-double, Al Horford. While this is a shock, the Hawks do have a pretty good corp of youngsters and two of the Big Three for the Celtics had horrible shooting nights. The baskets just drained the Hawks' way. Oh, and there's no truth to the rumor that there are now a lot of bandwagon Hawks fans, so rest easy, Mike Bibby. Celtics lead series 2-1.

Orlando Magic 106, Toronto Raptors 94 @ Toronto / Box Score

Yesterday, the Magic ended up with an impressive 10 blocks for the game. Even more impressive? Eight of them were from Dwight Howard alone. Wow. Add 19 points and 16 rebounds and is there any denying that Howard is right up there when the argument for best current big man is being argued? Nope. Magic lead series 3-1.

Los Angeles Lakers 108, Denver Nuggets 84 @ Denver / Box Score

Going up against the Lakers is hard enough, but when Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson shoot a combined 10-for-38, it's just not going to help the situation. And now the Nuggets find themselves against the wall and the real prospect of Melo not getting past the first round of the playoffs yet again. Lakers lead series 3-0.

Houston Rockets 82, Utah Jazz 86 @ Utah / Box Score

The second quarter was the demise for the Rockets in this game, getting outscored 25-15 and losing by only four points. Looks like Melo won't be the only one not being able to personally getting past the first round of the NBA Playoffs as it seems Tracy McGrady will soon be playing golf. Jazz lead series 3-1.

Photo: Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images