NBA ROUNDUp \ Sunday’s games

Lakers 128, Nuggets 114

LOS ANGELES — Pau Gasol established playoff highs with 36 points and eight assists and had 16 rebounds as well as Los Angeles took command early in the third quarter. Gasol, a 27-year-old forward/center acquired from Memphis on Feb. 1 after spending 61‚Ñ2 seasons with the Grizzlies, was 0-12 in three previous postseasons. Kobe Bryant scored 18 of his 32 points in the final eight minutes to keep Los Angeles safely ahead. Lamar Odom had 17 points, 14 rebounds and six assists and Luke Walton added 16 points for the Lakers, who entered having won eight of their last nine regular season games to earn the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Carmelo Anthony had 30 points and 12 rebounds for the eighth-seeded Nuggets. Allen Iverson also had 30 points before picking up two technical fouls with 2:10 remaining, calling for immediate ejection. Linas Kleiza scored a career playoff high 23 points and J.R. Smith added 15 before fouling out with 3:14 left.

Magic 114, Raptors 100

ORLANDO, Fla. — Dwight Howard had 25 points and 22 rebounds, and Jameer Nelson scored 24 points to help Orlando beat Toronto in the opener of their first-round series. Howard also blocked five shots and made 9-of-11 free throws. Anthony Parker had 24 points and eight rebounds for Toronto, Chris Bosh scored 21 and Rasho Nesterovic had 16 points and eight rebounds. Jason Kapono scored 18 off the bench. The Magic held Bosh mostly in check. Smothered by Rashard Lewis inside the paint and out, the All-Star power forward started 1-of-6 from the field and scored 13 of his 21 points from the free throw line (13-of-13). Bosh picked up four fouls in the third quarter — two of them within 20 seconds of one another during tussles with Howard — and played limited minutes in the fourth.

76ers 90, Pistons 86

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Andre Miller scored 20 points and Willie Green had a career playoff-high 17, helping Philadelphia stun Detroit in Game 1. Rasheed Wallace had 24 points, nine rebounds and matched a franchise playoff record with seven blocks. Detroit hosts Game 2 Wednesday night.

Celtics 104, Hawks 81

BOSTON — Ray Allen scored 18 points and Kevin Garnett had 16 as the two newcomers who led Boston to the NBA’s best record sparked them to a win night in their playoff opener. Garnett stopped a 14-3 Hawks run with a jumper, starting a six-point Boston surge that made it 35-27 in the second quarter. And Allen scored 10 straight Celtics points midway through the third that extended a 13-point lead to 67-48 with 5:39 left in the period. The top-seeded Celtics’ lead ranged from 12 to 27 points the rest of the way. The second game of the best-of-seven series will be in Boston Wednesday night.

Associated Press