Shaquille O'Neal had 34 points, 23 rebounds and six assists Sunday as the three-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers rallied for a 102-97 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves to tie their first-round playoff series 2-2.
Los Angeles scored 22 of the game's final 33 points, holding the Timberwolves without a field goal for a 5-minute stretch of the fourth quarter. O'Neal grabbed 10 offensive rebounds to help the Lakers to a 29-2 edge in second-chance points.
Kobe Bryant added 32 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, despite shooting 7-of-25. He was 16-of-17 from the foul line, making four free throws without a miss in the last 12.8 seconds to clinch the victory.
Kevin Garnett had 28 points, 18 rebounds and five assists but missed two free throws with 15 seconds remaining and the Timberwolves trailing by three.
Celtics 102, Pacers 92
In Boston, Paul Pierce had 21 of his 37 points in the third quarter when Boston erased a 12-point halftime deficit to beat Indiana.
Boston now leads the series 3-1, with Game 5 Tuesday in Indiana.
Jermaine O'Neal's 25 points and 19 rebounds were not enough for the Pacers, who looked poised to even the series after a strong first half. Pierce had just five points on 2-for-7 shooting in the opening half, which ended with Indiana ahead 48-36. But he scored the last 11 points of the third quarter in which Boston outscored Indiana 37-14 and took a 73-62 lead.
Indiana cut the margin to 81-76 on Brad Miller's layup with 5:34 left in the game. But the Pacers came no closer as Antoine Walker hit two straight baskets for an 85-76 lead.
Magic 100, Pistons 92
In Orlando, Florida, Tracy McGrady had 27 points and nine assists as Orlando took a 3-1 lead in the series with Detroit.
Drew Gooden added 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Darrell Armstrong came off the bench to score 18.
Orlando shot 50 percent against the NBA's best defense, and at times it seemed as though everything the Magic tossed up went in. The clincher came with 6:14 to play when Armstrong hit a miracle falling-away heave on an inbounds pass with 1 second on the shot clock. The swish put Orlando ahead 95-77 _ its largest lead of the series.
The Magic can win the series Wednesday in Detroit. Orlando hasn't advanced past the opening round since 1996, when it swept Detroit.
Trail Blazers 98, Mavericks 79
In Portland, Oregon, Zach Randolph had 25 points and 15 rebounds as Portland managed to avoid being swept in the first round by Dallas.
The victory snapped Portland's 10-game playoff losing streak which dated back to Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Stoudamire had a 17 points and 11 assists for the Blazers.
Dirk Nowitzki had 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Mavericks, who lacked intensity for the first time in the series.
The series will return to Dallas on Wednesday for Game 5. But no team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a seven-game series, and the Mavericks haven't lost four in a row all season.
The Blazers were without Scottie Pippen, Derek Anderson and Arvydas Sabonis.
Suns 86, Spurs 84
In Phoenix, backup center Jake Voskuhl, whose three-point play tied the game at 80-80 with 1:51 remaining, scored on a jump hook over Tim Duncan after receiving a pass from Penny Hardaway with 2.3 seconds left to give Phoenix a come-from-behind victory over San Antonio.
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