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George Mikan. John Kundla. Fred Schaus. Pete Newell. Bill Sharman.

And, of course, Jerry West.

Those are some of the names of the general managers who filled that highest of high-profile posts with the Los Angeles Lakers before Mitch Kupchak built a championship team of his own.

And then there's Shaquille O'Neal.

The same Shaq who used to tell anyone in Lakerland who would listen: I'm better than all of 'em.

In the same shameless manner he's prone to proclaim his boundless greatness several nights a week from the TNT set, Shaq used to say it all the time back in the day: Convincing Gary Payton and Karl Malone to play for the Lakers almost for free in the 2003-04 season made him the best GM they've ever had in L.A.

So if you find it beyond-belief outlandish that Shaq would be campaigning for the suddenly vacant GM job in Orlando -- where his NBA career began and where he still lives -- you haven't been paying much attention for, uh, roughly two decades.

Not that I'm going to get too worked up about the possibility. Not that I can foresee Shaq, with roughly zero front-office qualifications, coming anywhere close to getting the job.

The Magic aren't talking publicly about their GM or coach search and refused comment Wednesday night when asked specifically to respond to my ESPN The Magazine colleague Chris Broussard's report on "NBA Countdown" that Shaq and Orlando officials could meet as soon as next week to discuss the opening.

But here's my best read on the subject with the help of a few observers plugged into the league's front-office grapevine: Shaq has been lobbying behind the scenes to be considered for the position, and the Magic -- in spite of the nastiest of divorces with O'Neal in the summer of 1996 -- are willing to at least sit down with the 40-year-old and give him the courtesy of hearing what he has to say.

That's a long way from actually hiring Shaq. A L-O-N-G way, to borrow from Larry Bird's spelling technique, from letting Shaq come back to a franchise he leveled as a free agent to be the guy who either convinces Dwight Howard to finally commit to the Magic long-term (after feuding with Dwight for years) or immediately takes on the monster responsibility of trying to find a sensible trade for Howard before next season (as rookie GM).

The mere mention of Shaq, even if he turns out to be something more than a courtesy candidate, surely (and sadly) overshadows the most interesting part of Broussard's notebook-on-TV report, which revealed that the Magic's secret dream is trying to find a way to convince Doc Rivers to leave the Boston Celtics to come back to Central Florida.

Now THAT makes sense. It's the longest of long shots with Doc only just finishing Year 1 of a new five-year, $35 million contract to coach the Celts, but Orlando's thinking there is steeped in sound logic. If they could somehow convince Rivers to rejoin the Magic -- even if Doc insisted on a management-only role -- Dwight would surely be wowed. And the number of true stars in the Magic Kingdom would instantly double.

Don't have a clue how the Magic plan to convince Boston to let Doc out of his contract, but why let details get in the way? The mere idea is the smartest we've heard out of Orlando in years.

I still tend to think that hiring Donnie Walsh to replace Otis Smith will wind up being the best available move for the Magic as they launch the post-Stan Van Gundy era, but there's no reason not to aim high. Go for it, Magic.

Chase Doc. Ask for permission to speak with him when Boston's season ends. Better idea than anything we've heard so far. Better than all of 'em.

After seeing a 3-1 series lead vanish after back-to-back losses, the Los Angeles Clippers went on the road and beat the Memphis Grizzlies by 10 points to pick up the first Game 7 win in franchise history.

According to Elias, the Clippers are the sixth team in NBA history to win Game 7 on the road after relinquishing a 3-1 series lead. It was only the third postseason series win in the franchise’s 42-year history and second since the club moved to the West Coast from Buffalo for the 1978-79 season.

The key to Sunday’s win was the defense. The Clippers held the Grizzlies to 72 points. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that’s the second-fewest points allowed on the road in Game 7 during the shot-clock era. The Indiana Pacers beat the Boston Celtics 97-70 in the 1st Round of the 2005 playoffs.

The biggest improvement was in transition defense. In Game 6, the Grizzlies outscored the Clippers 24-11 and made all eight shots in transition. On Sunday, the Grizzlies made only two of nine shots in transition and were outscored 16-6. In their four wins, the Clippers allowed nine points per game in transition; in defeat, that number climbed to 20 points per game.

The Clippers bench outscored the Grizzlies 41-11, with the five players off the bench all finishing with a positive plus-minus. During the 10 minutes that the five bench players were on the court together, they outscored the Grizzlies by 10 points.

The Clippers and Lakers both advancing to the Western Conference Semifinals creates a logjam on the schedule at Staples Center next weekend. With the Los Angeles Kings still alive in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the arena will host four basketball games and two hockey games from Thursday through Sunday, including doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday.

The Lakers (Friday and Saturday) and Clippers (Saturday and Sunday) will both be playing on consecutive days. Our friends at Elias let us know that this will be the first time an NBA team has played playoff games on consecutive days since May 10-11, 2003. The Dallas Mavericks played the Sacramento Kings and Detroit Pistons played the Philadelphia 76ers on both of those dates.

Notes from South Beach
Chris Bosh left the game with an abdominal strain in the second quarter, but that didn’t slow down the Miami Heat. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade combined for 42 points in the second half, outscoring the Indiana Pacers on their own. In the fourth quarter, James had 16 points to match the Pacers’ output.

LeBron joined Shaquille O’Neal as the only players in Heat history with a 30-point, 15-rebound playoff game.

After averaging 21.4 points per game in the 1st Round, Danny Granger scored seven points in the first game against the Heat. He was held scoreless in the first half for the first time since April 10, 2007 (regular season and playoffs combined).

Shaquille O’Neal has always been pretty adept at pushing buttons. It was almost as if the biggest thing he took away from his time with Phil Jackson was learning the art of crafting a very poignant and provoking remark that stirred up an air of controversy for an opponent (or sometimes a teammate). He knew how to stir up contention to any possible threats to him, his team and his legacy.

Currently, everybody seems to be soaking in his classification of the Miami Heat as a “Big 2” rather than a Big 3. It was a slight against Chris Bosh and not the first time he’s swiped at the big man. He once called Bosh the RuPaul of big men, and has been sure to make it known that his opinion of the Heat’s All-Star big man isn’t very high amongst the rankings of the NBA’s best players.

However, I don’t really take exception with those comments. Whether Shaq accepts Bosh as one of the top big men in the NBA today or whether he thinks of him merely as a standard role player doesn’t really resonate with me one way or the other. It gives us content on the Internet and another thing to use when we poke fun at the Heat.

I’m much more concerned with the idea he stated last month when he said, “There’s only really one dominant big man left, and that’s Dwight Howard. I expect him to win three or four championships. If he doesn’t win three or four championships, I’ll be disappointed.”

Too often, we marginalize the NBA down into a simplistic view of championships being the only measurement for success. And we intimate that winning a title is something that can be done by a single dominant player. Ultimately, the NBA is a simple league. Put the ball in the basket and try to stop the other team from doing the same. But getting consistency out of those two actions against some of the best and most in-depth scouting and strategy building in professional sports is an extremely difficult thing to accomplish.

Dwight Howard is hands down the best center in the NBA. He’s hands down the best big man in the NBA. Some might even argue that he’s the best player in the NBA (not me, but it’s not insane to mull over the idea) and the most valuable. I just don’t understand how someone with the experience and knowledge of Shaq can see the progression of the league over the past 19 seasons and think the game is as easy as it used to be for big men.

I posted earlier today about being able to watch old games on NBA TV during the lockout and getting a pretty great look at how the game used to be. The most glaring thing you notice from these old games is just how horrendous the team defense was. Yes, it was a much more physical game back then. You could assault someone on the court and just get slapped with a personal foul, not having to worry about the NBA trying to freeze your assets and look into pressing charges for crimes against the Geneva Convention.

The league and its officials allowed things to be settled on the court as long as was relatively civil. It was physical defense every night, but just because it left players black and blue doesn’t mean it was better defense. Watching old players get the ball in the post, opposing defenses would stick to their men on the perimeter, no matter where they were situated. Part of this was because zone defense was severely outlawed and they didn’t have the relaxed help rules that allow teams to cover so much area with their five-man units (or four-man units when the Heat also have Mike Bibby on the court).

If you were going to double the post, you had to charge quickly to cut off the offensive player and you couldn’t float around areas for three seconds before clearing the paint. It afforded big men the opportunity to be patient in the post and eventually exude their will and dominance over inferior players.

Dwight Howard will never get to play in that NBA. He has to deal with defensive savants like Tom Thibodeau, Lawrence Frank, Erik Spoelstra, Elston Turner, Dwane Casey and many others who spend all day and night scheming ways to keep him from maximizing the damage he can inflict on opponents. It’s not that Shaq never had to deal with this. There was defensive scouting during his early days too. It’s just that he was able to take advantage of rules that left him and his defender alone on an island with a great view of any rescue ships coming their way.

Dwight Howard may never win a championship. He may end up winning five. He’s still extremely young and has a long way to go in his career, especially as he enters his prime. He’s refined his defensive understanding over the past several years to become a completely smothering influence on opposing offenses. His offensive game has become an actual weapon for Orlando to utilize throughout a game instead of just brief moments here and there.

He just isn’t offered the same environment to dominate that guys like Shaq, Hakeem and Robinson had during their primes. More than ever, basketball is a team venture that requires multiple parts, schemes and performances to come together as one centralized force. It doesn’t matter if Dwight is the biggest and best big man in the league right now if he’s playing in a setting that is more rewarding to perimeter play and more reliant on teammates helping out the star of the team. It no longer matters how good he is if his team isn't talented and poised enough to help him out.

Obviously, Shaq knows far more about playing in the NBA today and what it takes than any of us questioning or agreeing with his statements on players. He’s experienced the evolution of team defense first hand and it’s possible he still believes in brawn over brains.

Or maybe it is one last chance to take a jab at someone simply to stir up a little controversy for a long-time opponent. Either way, I’m looking forward to Shaq bringing these kinds of discussions to the studio next season.

It's hard to say that a player who entered the 2011 playoffs as one of only four players in NBA history to average over 25 points and 10 rebounds per game for a postseason career had a lot left to prove.

In the case of Dirk Nowitzki that is exactly how it felt this postseason. Particularly after Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle proclaimed him one of the 10 best players all-time despite lacking the one thing that ultimately seems to define every great player’s career: a ring.

Nowitzki is now closer than he ever has been to relieving this burden and cementing his legacy. In the process he also has the chance to remove himself from some unwanted lists among great players.

Nowitzki, with 10 all-star selections, is tied for the sixth-most by a player without an NBA title in league history. The only players with more are Karl Malone (14), Charles Barkley (11), Elgin Baylor (11), Patrick Ewing (11) and Allen Iverson (11).

Malone, Baylor and, LeBron James are the only other players in NBA history besides Nowtizki with career averages of more than 23.0 points and 7.0 rebounds without an NBA championship to their credit.

His 22,792 points are 23rd-most all-time in NBA history, but 10th-most among players to never win a ring.

This postseason though, Nowitzki hasn't just pushed himself to the brink of a championship but has also established himself as one of the premier clutch postseason scorers.

Nowitzki has been at his best in crunch time, defined as those moments under five minutes left in game with the score within five points or fewer. He’s scored 26 points in those situations in the Finals while going 8-for-13 from the field. The entire 'Big Three' of the Miami Heat have combined to score just 21 points in crunch time.

Over the last 15 postseasons only O'Neal and Michael Jordan (1997 and 1998) have averaged over 10 points per game in the fourth quarter of an NBA Finals series. Each of those players led their teams to NBA Championships while also winning the Finals MVP award, something Nowitzki is well on his way to doing.

If the Mavericks win the title and Nowitzki takes home Finals MVP honors, the legacy that his coach was hyping up will be solidified. He would become the 11th player in NBA history to have at least 10 NBA All-Star appearances, a regular season MVP award and a Finals MVP.

Shaquille O'Neal, the oldest current player in the NBA at 39 years old, is retiring after 19 NBA seasons. Trying to wrap your arms around the man's NBA legacy is about as easy as it was to contain him in the post during his prime, but we'll try.

O’Neal is retiring with the fifth-most points scored in NBA history. In addition, O’Neal has scored 5,250 postseason points in his career, fourth-most all-time. The only men ahead of him on both lists are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan.

Shaquille O’Neal was an MVP (2000), a three-time Finals MVP (2000, 2001, 2002), a three-time All-Star Game MVP (2000, 2004, 2009) and four-time NBA Champion (2000, 2001, 2002, 2006). He won each of those during the 1999-00 season, which is a pretty unique accomplishment in NBA lore.

Only two other men can say they accomplished those things in a single season: Willis Reed in '69-70 with the New York Knicks and Michael Jordan in 1995-96 and 1997-98.

If you are looking for something unique that he accomplished, consider this: O’Neal averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds during 13 separate seasons. No other player was able to accomplish that level of consistent excellence.

He also led the NBA in field goal percentage 10 times. No one ever topped that as Wilt Chamberlain led the league in that category nine times.

Detractors are quick to note Shaq's Achilles' heel. O’Neal shot 52.7 percent from the free throw line for his career. That's the third-worst in NBA history among those players with 2,000 attempts. Only Chamberlain and Ben Wallace were worse.

Those facts were not enough to prevent O'Neal from becoming one of the most efficient players in NBA history. The highest Player Efficiency Ratings (PER) ever belongs to Jordan at 27.9. Another active player currently in his prime resides in second on that list -- LeBron James at 26.9. And third all-time is Shaq (26.4) just ahead of legends like David Robinson and Chamberlain.

Still for many, Shaquille O’Neal will go down as an entertainer. He appeared as himself on more than 100 movies and television shows including Saturday Night Live, Who Wants to Be a Millonaire, WWE Monday Night Raw and Curb Your Enthusiasm. He's also been the star of his own network shows such as Shaq vs and Shaq’s Big Challenge. On the silver screen, he was a central character in three movies -- Blue Chips, Kazaam and Steel.

Yes, Shaq was a star in every sense of the world. He was selected to the All-Star Game 15 times while playing in 12. Only one player in NBA history has been selected to more All-Star Games and he was a pretty visible entertainer in his own right: Abdul-Jabbar.

With 4:48 left in the fourth quarter, the Oklahoma City Thunder had two important things going for them: a 15-point lead and not having lost back-to-back games this postseason. What happened next was not only historic, but also “ri-DIRK-ulous.” The Dallas Mavericks closed regulation on a 17-2 run to force overtime and earn the eventual win.

The Mavericks have won five straight road games (longest postseason road streak since the 2005 Miami Heat) and are one win from their first NBA Finals trip since 2006. The Mavericks became the only team in the last 15 seasons to win a playoff game in which it trailed by 15 or more points with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

A huge part of the Mavericks' comeback was Dirk Nowitzki, who finished with his second 40-point game this postseason (both this series) and seventh of his career. After shooting 60.0 percent from the field in Game 4, and 80.0 percent in Game 1, the Elias Sports Bureau tells us that Nowitzki is the first player to record two 40-point games and shoot at least 60.0 percent from the floor in the same playoff series since Shaquille O'Neal for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2000 Finals against the Indiana Pacers.

The Mavericks are 10-1 in playoff games when Nowitzki scores more than 35 points, with the only loss coming in a 42-point performance in 2001 against the San Antonio Spurs. Oh and if that’s not enough, Nowtizki is 50-for-52 from the free throw line in this series.

The Thunder were outscored by 15 points in the final minutes of regulation, and a lot of that was because their offense changed drastically when James Harden fouled out at the 4:48 mark. Prior to Harden fouling out, the Thunder focused their offensive attention on the inside game. After Harden fouled out, though, the Thunder settled for long-range shots, missing their only two field goal attempts inside of 15 feet in the last 9:48 of the game.

The Thunder’s lackluster offense without Harden was also exposed in the pick-and-roll game. The Thunder ran 25 pick-and-roll plays prior to Harden fouling out but ran just two afterward. The transition offense also stalled, with the Thunder picking up 17 points on 14 transition plays prior to Harden fouling out. Afterward, the Thunder failed to score on their only transition play. This postseason, Harden has scored the eighth-most points as a pick-and-roll ball handler and the sixth-most transition points.

Kevin Durant finished with his fifth double-double of the postseason, and Russell Westbrook recorded his first game of the series with more assists than turnovers. However, his six turnovers give him nine career postseason games with at least five turnovers.

Game 5 is Wednesday in Dallas, but this series might already be over. When a team goes up 3-1 in a seven-game series, it has gone on to win the series 96 percent of the time (192 out of 200, including 6-0 this postseason).

Shaquille O'Neal did not play much against the Heat in the regular season, appearing in just two of the four games for a combined 39 minutes. He has missed the first two games of the 2011 postseason series against Miami as well.

Head Coach Doc Rivers expects Shaq to play in Game 3 and though limited at this stage of his career, it could turn the tide in Boston's favor. During the regular season, Shaq's presence on the floor clearly improved the way that Boston played against Miami on both ends of the floor.

Celtics Improved Offensive Efficiency
With Shaq on the court in the regular season against the Heat, the Celtics averaged 121.1 points per 100 possessions, a stunning 26.2 points per 100 possessions improvement from when Shaq was off the court.

Boston shot a tremendous 54.1% from the field against Miami this season with Shaq on the court. That fell to 45.5% with Shaq off the court.

Some of the individual Celtics that saw the biggest differences were Rajon Rondo, who shot 34.5% from the field with Shaq off the court and 50% with Shaq on the court, and Ray Allen, who shot 50% with Shaq off the court and 68.8% with Shaq on the court.

Boston's passing is one element of this improvement as its percentage of assists on made field goals increased from 61.4% to 66.7% when Shaq was on the floor.

A more obvious result of Shaq's presence is Boston's rebounding, especially on the offensive end of the floor. The Celtics rebound percentage was 54.2% with Shaq on the court, compared to just 45.7% with Shaq off the court. Boston's offensive rebound percentage increased from 17.0% to 33.3% with Shaq on the court.

Limiting Miami Defensively
Miami's offense felt Shaq's impact as well. The Heat had a net offensive rating of +8.0 when Shaq was off the court. However, the Heat had a net rating of -28.3 when Shaq was on the court.

Miami's shots were about a foot-and-a-half closer when Shaq was out of the game. The average distance of a Miami field goal attempt with Shaq on the court was 15.1 feet. With Shaq off the court, the average distance of an attempt was 13.4 feet (a 1.7-foot difference).

Effectively, Shaq helped neutralize Joel Anthony. In the 15 minutes that Shaq and Anthony played head-to-head in the regular season, Anthony's plus/minus took a major hit (-17). That means the that the Celtics outscored the Heat by more than a point per minute with Shaq and Anthony on the court at the same time.

Considering that Anthony currently has the best plus/minus in the 2011 postseason at +91, including +20 in the conference semifinals against the Celtics, Shaq's ability to play becomes that much more significant.

On Thursday the phrase “win or go home” truly meant something for the Orlando Magic, New Orleans Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers. All three faced elimination, and after Thursday’s action, all three are going home.

Atlanta Hawks 84, Orlando Magic 81 (Hawks win series 4-2)
For the first time in franchise history, the Hawks beat the Magic in a playoff series. Atlanta has not lost a home playoff game in which it had a chance to clinch the series in the last 15 years. The last team to beat the Hawks in such a situation was the 1995-96 Indiana Pacers led by Rik Smits and ESPN analyst Mark Jackson. The Hawks will look to win two playoff series in the same postseason for the first time since moving to Atlanta in 1968.

The stars of the game were Jamal Crawford, who once again outscored the entire Magic bench 19-17, and Joe Johnson, who grabbed a playoff career-high 10 rebounds en route to his first career 20-10 playoff game.

The Magic finished 0-5 this season in Atlanta, regular season and playoffs combined. Their 3-point shooting was a huge issue as the Magic shot 26.3 percent in this game and 26.2 percent in the series. That's more than 10 percentage points below their regular-season average (36.6 percent).

Dwight Howard averaged 27 points and 15.5 rebounds per game, while making 63 percent of his field-goal attempts. The Elias Sports Bureau tells us that over the last 30 years, only one other player had a playoff series in which he averaged 27 points and 15 rebounds per game, while making at least 60 percent of his field-goal attempts. That was Shaquille O'Neal (38.0 points, 16.7 rebounds, 61.1 percent) for the Lakers against the Pacers in the 2000 Finals. In earlier playoffs, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar reached those levels in four series, and Wilt Chamberlain and Bob Lanier each did it once.

This was the earliest the Magic were bounced from the playoffs in the Stan Van Gundy era. In each of his previous three seasons, they won at least one series.

The Hawks move on to face the top-seeded Chicago Bulls. Chicago took two of the three meetings this season, with the lone Hawks win coming in Atlanta after the Bulls blew a 17-point halftime lead.

Los Angeles Lakers 98, New Orleans Hornets 80 (Lakers win series, 4-2)
The Lakers led by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter and won their first-round series for the fourth straight year. Phil Jackson improves to 56-21 (.727 win percent) in potential series-clinching games, which is the second-best mark in NBA history to Gregg Popovich (minimum 15 games). Kobe Bryant finished with 24 points including 22 in the first three quarters. Bryant had a string of eight straight 30-plus point games in road potential series-clinchers snapped. The Lakers, however, are 8-1 in their last nine potential road clinchers with Bryant averaging 38.7 points per game. Overall he is 32-14 in potential series-clinching games.

The Hornets fall to 0-5 in playoff series that go six games or more. Chris Paul finished two rebounds shy of a triple-double, which would have been his second of the series.
Paul was less aggressive on the offensive end in Game 6 compared to the earlier games in the series. In the four losses to the Lakers, Paul averaged 18 points and 10 assists, which is very respectable. Unfortunately for the Hornets, they couldn't win without their point guard playing nearly flawless basketball. In the two wins, Paul averaged 30 points and including assists, was responsible for more than 60 points per game.

So who will the Lakers take on in the Western Conference semifinals?

Dallas Mavericks 103, Portland Trail Blazers 96 (Mavericks win series 4-2)
The Mavericks advance past the first round for just the second time in the last five postseasons. Dirk Nowitzki led the way with 33 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the series. Nowitzki improves to 10-7 in potential series-clinching games, averaging 26.2 points per game in those games. It's the second-highest scoring average in potential series clinchers among active players.

Gerald Wallace led the Blazers with a playoff career-high 32 points to go along with 12 rebounds. Brandon Roy added nine points off the bench. In Portland's two wins he averaged 20.0 points per game, while he averaged 4.0 points per game in the four losses.

The Mavericks will now face the Lakers in their first playoff meeting since 1988, which means Bryant and Nowitzki will be playing their first-ever playoff series against each other. The last time the Mavericks and Lakers met in the playoffs it was a Mark Aguirre-led Mavericks team against a Byron-Worthy-Magic-Kareem-led Lakers team. The Lakers won the Conference Finals in seven games and went on to win the NBA Finals.

In each of the four NBA playoff games on Saturday one team had the chance to tie/or take the lead in the final seconds of regulation. In each of those cases that team failed to capitalize and took the loss. The Oklahoma City Thunder had a 10-point lead over the Denver Nuggets with :49.3 left in the game. After a furious Nuggets comeback guard J.R. Smith had a heavily contested 3-point field goal attempt fall short as time expired.

The failed field goal attempt means the Thunder now have a commanding 3-0 lead in the series, and the win snaps a 6-game road playoff losing streak. In fact, this is the franchise’s first road playoff win since 2005 when they were still the Seattle SuperSonics.

Kevin Durant led all scorers with 26 points and Russell Westbrook scored 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter. Durant and Westbrook have each scored 20-or-more points six times in the same game over the last two postseasons. The Elias Sports Bureau tells us that the only two other sets of teammates that have scored 20+ points in the same game as many times as Durant and Westbrook over that span are Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant (11) and Paul Pierce and Ray Allen (seven).

Another big contributor in Game 3 was Serge Ibaka who added 22 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots. The 22 points matched his career high, while the 16 rebounds were a new career high. Ibaka joined Shawn Kemp as the only players in the Thunder/SuperSonics franchise to score 20 points, grab 15 rebounds and collect 4 blocks in a playoff game since 1991 (Kemp did it twice). The Elias Sports Bureau also says that at the age of 21 years, 217 days old, Ibaka became the youngest player to record at least 20 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots in a postseason game. Prior to Saturday, the youngest player to do that in a playoff game was Shaquille O’Neal, who had 24 points, 19 rebounds and five blocked shots at age 22 years and 53 days old against the Pacers on April 28, 1994.

The Nuggets shot just 37.2 percent from the field and missed 15 free throws, in the hard-fought three-point loss. They’ll host Game 4 on Monday, but of the 94 teams in NBA history that were down 3-0 in a best-of-seven series, not a single one has avoided elimination.

After opening up the playoffs with a 46-point, 19-rebound performance and a loss, Dwight Howard put together another monster game scoring 33 points and grabbing 19 rebounds as the Orlando Magic defeated the Atlanta Hawks to even the series.

According to Elias, Howard is just the third different player since 1988 to have 75 points and 35 rebounds in the first two games of a postseason series. The only others to do so were Shaquille O'Neal, who did it twice (2000 vs Pacers, 2001 vs Kings) and Hakeem Olajuwon (1988 vs Mavericks).

It was Howard's fourth 30-point, 15-rebound game in the playoffs since 2007. That ties his with Tim Duncan for the most in the NBA during that span. In fact Dirk Nowitzki is the only other player to record multiple such games since 2007, having done so twice.

Howard started off tonight's game slowly. He had six touches in the post in the first quarter, but was only able to turn that into two points. Instead the Hawks interior pressure forced him into four turnovers.

Howard exploded in the second period scoring 20 points, his playoff career high for a quarter. He did most of his damage from the free throw line, making 10-of-13 attempts.

As Howard went Orlando went, as they turned a six-point first quarter deficit into a 12-point halftime lead. They were able to turn it around thanks to their dedication on the offensive glass which created opportunities on a night where they would shoot only 34.6 percent.

On the season the Magic ranked 16th out of 30 teams in offensive rebound percentage, grabbing 26.1 of its missed shots. On Tuesday, game tape showed the Magic grabbed 43.5 percent, their fourth highest mark of the season.

The scary thing for the Hawks, who will take the series back to Atlanta tied 1-1, is that the Magic have yet to make there three-point field goals.

Orlando, who attempted more three-pointers than any NBA team this season, was able to steal this game despite shooting only 21.7 percent from three-point range.

During the regular season Orlando was just 6-13 when shooting under 30 percent from three. Through the first two games of the series Orlando is shooting just 24.4 percent from three.

For a team that shot 36.6 percent from behind the arc on the season it can only get better from here, meaning the Hawks could be in for a long series.

Dwight Howard tied the Orlando Magic playoff record for points with 46 while also grabbing 19 rebounds, but it still wasn’t enough as the Atlanta Hawks pulled out the road win.

The Hawks got some early redemption after getting swept by the Magic in the Eastern Conference semifinals last year. In Game 1 of last year’s series, the Hawks lost by 43 to the Magic while being held to just 71 points.

On Saturday, the Hawks put up 103 points in the 10-point win, while shooting 51.4 percent from the floor. Despite the win, the Hawks were overshadowed again by Howard’s monster performance.

He joined Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal as the only players in the last 20 seasons with 45 points and 15 rebounds in a playoff game.

You have to go all the way back to Hakeem Olajuwon in the 1987 playoffs for the last time a player had 45 points and 15 rebounds in a game that his team lost.

In fact it’s happened only six times in NBA history, with three such games in losses by Wilt Chamberlain.

31 of Howard's 46 points came in the first half, the most by any player in a postseason game in franchise history.

He fell eight points shy of the NBA record for most points in a half of a playoff game. That was 39, done by Sleepy Floyd in May of 1987 against the Lakers.

The box score may look rough for Atlanta, but this may actually be part of the team’s strategy to defeat Orlando.

Including the regular season, the Magic are now just 10-13 in games in which Howard takes at least 16 shots from the field (took 23 against Atlanta).

When he attempts 10 or fewer field goals, the Magic are 17-3.

While Howard went off, only one other Magic player scored in double-figures, and that was Jameer Nelson with 27.

The rest of the team combined for just 20 points, while making only 8-of-34 field goal attempts.

The Hawks had a much more balanced attack with five different players reaching double-figures, led by Joe Johnson with 25 points.

That’s especially encouraging since Johnson was held to only 12.8 points per game in the teams sweep at the hands of the Magic last season.

After 17 wins in 18 games since the All-Star break, the Los Angeles Lakers lost their second straight game Tuesday falling to the Utah Jazz by one point. Kobe Bryant scored 20+ points for the eighth straight game, but had seven turnovers including one on the Lakers' last possession.

The 86-85 loss was the Lakers' first loss at STAPLES Center against the Jazz in their last 18 meetings including the playoffs. Prior to Tuesday, New Year's Day 2006 was Utah's last road win against the Lakers. The Lakers have lost back-to-back home games for the first time since January 28-30 when Sacramento and Boston defeated them. The loss also dropped L.A. 3 ½ games back of the San Antonio Spurs for the top spot in the Western Conference.

The Jazz also ended an eight-game losing streak. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it’s the first time in 44 years that an NBA team ended a losing streak of at least eight games with a road win against the Lakers. In February 1967 the Bulls took an eight-game losing streak into the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena and defeated a Lakers team that featured Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, 133-119.

Meanwhile the other L.A. team, the Clippers, defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 82-81. Blake Griffin scored 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for his 60th double-double this season. He joins Shaquille O'Neal as the only players since the NBA/ABA merger with 60 double-doubles in their rookie season. O'Neal had 68 back in the 1992-93 season with Orlando.

Also, the Washington Wizards have won three consecutive games for the first time since April 2008, a span of 244 games. This after beating the Detroit Pistons 107-105. The Elias Sports Bureau tells us that was the most consecutive games without a three-game winning streak in NBA history. The previous record was held by the 76ers, who went 243 games without winning three in a row from October 1971 to March 1974.

Finally, Deron Williams had 21 assists for the Nets Tuesday night, his fifth career 20-assist game, his first with New Jersey. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only one other active player has had a 20-assist game for two different teams: Andre Miller had one for Cleveland (Dec. 15, 2001) and one for Denver (Dec. 8, 2006).

While spring is just beginning, this Rose is in full bloom as Derrick Rose continued to put up huge numbers in the Chicago Bulls win over the Toronto Raptors.

Rose scored 36 points, had 10 assists and as a bonus added 3 blocks. He is just the sixth different player over the last 25 seasons to finish a game with 35 points, 10 assists and 3 blocks.

The only other active players to have done it are Dwyane Wade (six times), LeBron James (three), and Vince Carter.

This was Rose's sixth game this season with 30 points and 10 assists, the second most by a Bulls player in any season over the last 25 years.

The only other player with more such games in a season for Chicago during that span- you guessed it- was Michael Jordan.

His Airness finished with 14 such games during the 1988-89 season.

Rose is now averaging 25.1 points per game to go along with 7.9 assists. He needs 54 assists over his final six games to finish with an average of 8.0 assists per game.

If he does, he would join Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history to average 25.0 points and 8.0 assists per game during their age 22 season.

He would also be just the fourth player since the merger to average those numbers for an entire season.

From one former number one overall pick to another:

• Blake Griffin continues to amaze notching 26 points and 16 rebounds in the Los Angeles Clippers win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

This was Griffin's 59th double-double of the season. With one more double-double he would join Shaquille O'Neal as the only rookies since the NBA/ABA merger in 1976-77 with 60 double-doubles.

Even better, this was Griffin's 45th 20-point, 10-rebound game. He is only the third rookie over the last 25 seasons with at least 45 such games.

The other two players to have done so, Shaquille O'Neal and David Robinson, each won the rookie of the year award.

For the second straight game, Channing Frye hit the game-winning shot for the Phoenix Suns, this time a three-pointer with 6.6 seconds left in overtime to lift the Suns to a victory at the New Jersey Nets.

It was only Frye’s second career game-winning shot, with both coming in the last two days. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Frye is just the sixth player since the 2005-06 season to make two game-winning field goals with under 10 seconds remaining in consecutive games.

He is the first since Manu Ginobili did so this season against the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets. Of the six players who have accomplished the feat, Frye is the only one to have both game-winning field goals come in overtime.

While Frye stole the final number, it was Deron Williams who was the star of the show in his home debut for the Nets.

Williams recorded 18 assists, giving him 47 over his first three games with New Jersey. That's an NBA record for the most assists by a player in his first three games with a team, passing Guy Rodgers who had 44 in his first three games with the Bulls.

It's already the second time in three games with New Jersey Williams has registered at least 17 assists; in 439 career games with the Jazz, Williams recorded eight such games.

Elsewhere around the NBA …

The Chicago Bulls won their 41st game, matching their win total from last season. They are the fifth team this season to match last year’s win total.

Blake Griffin recorded his 39th 20-point, 10-rebound game this season, currently the league leader in this category. If Griffin records another 20-point, 10-rebound game he will become the first player since Shaquille O'Neal to have at least 40 such games in their rookie season.

O'Neal had 52 such games during the 1992-93 campaign, but did not lead the league. According to the Elias Sports Bureau you have to go all the way back to Elvin Hayes for the San Diego Rockets in 1968-69 to find the last rookie to lead the league in 20-point, 10-rebound games.

The only other rookie in the shot clock era to have led the league in 20-point, 10-rebound games was Wilt Chamberlain, who did so with 71 such games during the 1959-60 season.

One thing is for certain in Chicago. Face a divisional opponent and chalk up a "W". The Chicago Bulls are now a perfect 12-0 against Central Division teams after an 83-75 road win over the Milwaukee Bucks. They are the only team in the league with a perfect division record.

Elsewhere in the East...

One night after playing just six players in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, nine Detroit Pistons saw time as they snap a three-game losing streak. Rodney Stuckey, who did not play Friday, scored a game-high 28 points. Detroit's bench scored 38 points including 16 from Charlie Villanueva. The Utah Jazz lost despite shooting 59.5 percent from the field. That's the highest field goal percentage by a losing team this season.

The New Jersey Nets suffered another bad loss and have now dropped nine straight to the Houston Rockets. Deron Williams dished out 17 assists in his second game with New Jersey, after racking up 12 against the San Antonio Spurs in his Nets debut on Friday night.

The Elias Sports Bureau tells us that in the history of the NBA, that’s the highest assist total by any player in his first two games with a team. The old record was 26 assists, last done by Kenny Anderson in his first two games with the Charlotte Hornets back in January of 1996.

Despite Williams’ 29 combined assists, the Nets lost both games. For some perspective, Williams had a total of 36 games of 15-or-more assists with the Jazz, and the team went 30-6 in those games, with none of the losses came by a margin of more than five points.

Moving out West…

The Los Angeles Clippers, playing at home for the first time since February 2, jumped out to a 13-point lead in the second quarter, but the Boston Celtics came back and eventually topped the home team 99-92. The Elias Sports Bureau says it was the first time this season that the Celtics have won a game after overcoming a deficit that large; Boston had been 0-6 in games in which it fell behind by 13-or-more points.

Despite the loss, Blake Griffin went for 21 points and 11 rebounds for his 50th double-double of the season. Griffin is the eighth rookie to have 50+ double-doubles since the NBA/ABA merger.

And finally, the Dallas Mavericks won their fifth straight game and 15th of 16 overall. In the win, Jason Kidd took only one field-goal attempt (a first-quarter three-pointer, which he made) and no free-throw attempts, but contributed 14 assists and eight rebounds.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time in NBA history that a player had collected that many assists and that many rebounds in a game in which he had a combined total of no more than one shot from the floor and the foul line.