Magic conquer Raptors to build 3-1 series lead

ASSOCIATED PRESS

TORONTO — Rashard Lewis had 27 points and 13 rebounds, Dwight Howard added 19 points and 16 boards, and the Orlando Magic beat the Toronto Raptors 106-94 Saturday to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Jameer Nelson scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, while Hedo Turkoglu had 18 points and nine rebounds for the third-seeded Magic.

Chris Bosh set a career playoff-high with 39 points and added 15 rebounds for the Raptors, who face elimination in Game 5 on Monday night at Orlando. T.J. Ford had 12 points and 13 assists for the Raptors.

Lewis went 10-for-19 from the field. The Magic made four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and finished 11-for-29 from beyond the arc.

The game was close until back-to-back 3-pointers by Turkoglu and Lewis gave the Magic a 100-92 lead with 1:31 remaining.

Jason Kapono and Anthony Parker each scored 12 for the Raptors, who were just 2-for-15 from 3-point range. Bosh finished 16-for-26.

Keith Bogans had 12 for the Magic.

Lakers 102, Nuggets 84

DENVER — Once again, the Denver Nuggets couldn’t keep their emotions or Kobe Bryant in check.

Bryant scored 22 points and the Los Angeles Lakers took a 3-0 lead in their first-round series by routing the flustered Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.

Game 4 is Monday night, and the Nuggets are going to have to get more out of their All-Star duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson if they hope to take the series back to the Staples Center.

Anthony and Iverson were miserable from the floor, shooting a combined 10-for-38 and finishing with 16 and 15 points, respectively.

Hawks 102, Celtics 93

ATLANTA — High-flying Josh Smith scored 27 points and the Atlanta Hawks breathed life into their long-shot playoff hopes, beating the Celtics to cut Boston’s lead in the opening-round series to 2-1.

Joe Johnson added 23 points for the Hawks, who beat Boston for the first time this season.