Hornets 99, Mavericks 94

New Orleans – Byron Scott accepted his NBA coach-of-the-year award, then guided his team to the second round of the playoffs. Chris Paul had 24 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds, and New Orleans held on against Dallas to win the first-round series in five games.

Pistons 98, 76ers 81

Auburn Hills, Mich. – Chauncey Billups scored 21 points, Richard Hamilton had 20, and Rasheed Wallace added 19 to lift Detroit over Philadelphia and a 3-2 lead in the first-round series.

Andre Iguodala scored a career-playoff-high 21 points, finally putting together a night that resembled his play in the regular season, but he didn’t have much help.

Rockets 95, Jazz 69

Houston – Tracy McGrady scored 29 points, Luis Scola added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Houston staved off elimination by routing Utah in Game 5 of their first-round series.

Dikembe Mutombo grabbed 10 rebounds as the Rockets cut their series deficit to 3-2 and forced Game 6 in Utah on Friday night.

Spurs 92, Suns 87

San Antonio – Tony Parker scored 31 points, Tim Duncan added 29 points and 17 rebounds, and San Antonio advanced to the Western Conference semifinals.

The third-seeded Spurs will meet the No. 2 seed Hornets in a second-round series that begins Saturday at New Orleans. The Hornets finished off their series with the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, also in five games.