FloaterDaily Brief
Monday, May 11, 2009Playoffs · 2 games
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2 games, none went to overtime. Biggest comeback: DAL trailed DEN by 11 after the first quarter and won 119–117.

Final · R2 · G4 · Box score
Cavs84
Hawks74
Q1 CLE -7; Q2 CLE +2; Q3 CLE +5; Q4 CLE +10
Final · R2 · G4 · Box score
Nuggets117
Mavs119
Q1 DAL -11; Q2 DAL -10; Q3 DAL -5; Q4 DAL +2
On this day · 2007–08May 11, 2008: 2 games. Top scorer: Kobe Bryant (Lakers-Jazz), 33 points.
May 11 in other seasons202620252024202320222021201720162015201420132012201120102007200520042003200220012000199919971996
The lead · Conference semifinals · Game 4 · Nuggets-Mavs

Dirk Nowitzki scores 44 as Dallas beats Denver

Carmelo Anthony goes for 41 points

Game flow · DAL margin at each break
-20-100+10+20TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0-11-10-5+2DAL AHEAD ↑DEN AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
Nuggets34292727117
Mavs23303234119
Who led
Dirk NowitzkiPoints, last 10 games: 30, 19, 14, 20, 12, 31, 28, 35, 33, 44DAL44 PTS · 13 REB · 3 AST
Josh HowardPoints, last 10 games: 15, 25, 7, 17, 28, 17, 15, 0, 14, 21DAL21 PTS · 11 REB · 2 AST
Carmelo AnthonyPoints, last 10 games: 12, 13, 22, 25, 26, 34, 23, 25, 31, 41DEN41 PTS · 11 REB · 3 AST
Chauncey BillupsPoints, last 10 games: 13, 36, 31, 16, 17, 13, 6, 18, 32, 24DEN24 PTS · 2 REB · 7 AST
Second story · Cavs-Hawks · R2 · G4

Cleveland closes out Atlanta in four

Cleveland won Game 4, 84–74, to take the conference semifinals series 4–0. LeBron James led Cleveland with 27 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.

Series tracker · Cavs-Hawks
G1 · @ CLECLE99–72G2 · @ CLECLE105–85G3 · @ ATLCLE97–82G4 · @ ATLCLE84–74
Lead changes
Cavs-Hawks8
Nuggets-Mavs2
The night in charts
Nuggets-Mavs combined for 236, 78 more than any other game
Points by game
Nuggets-MavsNuggets 117, Mavs 119
236
Cavs-HawksCavs 84, Hawks 74
158
DAL won the closest game by 2
Closest finishes
Nuggets-MavsNuggets 117, Mavs 119
+2 DAL
Cavs-HawksCavs 84, Hawks 74
+10 CLE
DAL erased a 11-point hole
Biggest comebacks, at quarter breaks
Nuggets-MavsDAL won · Nuggets 117, Mavs 119
11 pts
Cavs-HawksCLE won · Cavs 84, Hawks 74
7 pts
JR Smith shot 7-of-10 for the night's hottest hand
Hottest shooting · min 10 FGA
JR SmithDEN · 19 PTS, 1 REB, 1 STL
70% (7-10)
DirkDAL · 44 PTS, 13 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL
56% (14-25)
WestCLE · 21 PTS, 6 AST, 4 REB, 1 STL
54% (7-13)
MeloDEN · 41 PTS, 11 REB, 5 STL, 3 AST
52% (15-29)
Josh SmithATL · 26 PTS, 8 REB, 1 AST
50% (8-16)
Final · Nuggets-Mavs
Nuggets 117Mavs 119
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Nuggets34292727117
Mavs23303234119
The story
Josh Howard had 21 points and 11 rebounds as Dallas beat Denver 119-117

Chauncey Billups led Denver with 24 PTS, 7 AST, 2 REB 21 PTS, 11 REB, 2 AST · 7-18 FG, 0-4 3PT

The swing

Down 5 after the third, the Mavericks took the fourth 34-27.

DAL lead by quarter
200 −11−10−5+2 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Cavs-Hawks
Cavs 84Hawks 74
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Cavs1525222284
Hawks2216191774
The story
LeBron James' 27 points and 8 assists carried Cleveland past Atlanta, 84-74

For Atlanta, Joe Johnson had 18 PTS, 7 AST, 6 REB 27 PTS, 8 REB, 8 AST · 9-22 FG, 3-6 3PT

The swing

The Cavaliers trailed by 7 going into the second, then won it 25-16.

CLE lead by quarter
200 −7+2+5+10 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle
Heating up
+11.4points, last 3 playoff games vs reg. season avg
Points per game
25.9Reg. season avg37.3Last 3 playoff games

37.3 points a game over his last three playoff games, against 25.9 in the regular season (81 games). Today: 44 points in 44 minutes.

Losing minutes
−15.7minutes, last 3 playoff games vs reg. season avg
Minutes per game
34.3Reg. season avg18.6Last 3 playoff games

18.6 minutes a game over his last three playoff games, against 34.3 in the regular season (61 games). Today: 4 points in 30 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+10.9minutes, today vs reg. season avg
Minutes per game
33.7Reg. season avg44.6Today

45 minutes today, against 33.7 a game in the regular season (64 games). Line: 21 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists.

Top performances

Dirk Nowitzki leads the day with 44

Dirk NowitzkiPoints, last 10 games: 30, 19, 14, 20, 12, 31, 28, 35, 33, 44Mavs-Nuggets · W
26.2 PPG playoffs to date · +20.0 vs his playoff average before tonight
44 PTS · 13 REB · 3 AST
Carmelo AnthonyPoints, last 10 games: 12, 13, 22, 25, 26, 34, 23, 25, 31, 41Nuggets-Mavs · L
26.7 PPG playoffs to date · +16.1 vs his playoff average before tonight
41 PTS · 11 REB · 3 AST
LeBron JamesPoints, last 10 games: 29, 37, 38, 29, 25, 36, 34, 27, 47, 27Cavs-Hawks · W
32.9 PPG playoffs to date · −6.7 vs his playoff average before tonight
27 PTS · 8 REB · 8 AST
Josh SmithPoints, last 10 games: 17, 13, 13, 20, 7, 21, 22, 8, 18, 26Hawks-Cavs · L
17.1 PPG playoffs to date · +9.8 vs his playoff average before tonight
26 PTS · 8 REB · 1 AST
Chauncey BillupsPoints, last 10 games: 13, 36, 31, 16, 17, 13, 6, 18, 32, 24Nuggets-Mavs · L
21.4 PPG playoffs to date · +2.9 vs his playoff average before tonight
24 PTS · 2 REB · 7 AST
Josh HowardPoints, last 10 games: 15, 25, 7, 17, 28, 17, 15, 0, 14, 21Mavs-Nuggets · W
16.0 PPG playoffs to date · +5.6 vs his playoff average before tonight
21 PTS · 11 REB · 2 AST