Last night the Magic lost as Yao Ming outplayed Dwight Howard. That gives us an edge on the 2nd seed. Via Third Quarter Collapse:
Once again, the Orlando Magic played the Houston Rockets. And once again, they were unable to stop Yao Ming from doing whatever he wanted. Houston's All-Star center tallied 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, a game-high 16 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots in the Rockets' "controlled romp"--Houston was firmly in control throughout, but never blew the game open--over Orlando, which was unable to make the game competitive despite the best efforts of Houston native Rashard Lewis.
In other action:
- The Bulls won, taking a 1/2 game lead over Detroit for the 7 seed.
- The Heat (5th seed) and the Sixers (6th seed) both lost so they remain separated by a half game.
- Charlotte kept their slim playoff hopes alive in that win in Philly.
We aren't the only one's keeping an eye on the scoreboard. Paul Pierce is watching too.