John Wall leads Wizards to 2-0 series lead over Raptors

John Wall had 26 points and 17 assists, Bradley Beal scored 28 points and the Washington Wizards beat the Toronto Raptors, 117-106, last night to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Marcin Gortat scored 16 points, Otto Porter had 15 and Paul Pierce added 10 for the Wizards, who host Game 3 on Friday night.

Jonas Valanciunas had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Sixth Man Award winner Lou Williams scored 20 points for the Raptors, who have lost four straight playoff games over the past two seasons. Washington lost 15 of its final 19 regular season road games, but has won seven of eight away from home in the playoffs over the past two years.

Mavericks 111, Rockets 99: Dwight Howard scored 28 points and James Harden added 24 to help host Houston take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference playoff series. Howard and childhood friend Josh Smith dominated early in the fourth quarter to help the Rockets pull away. Monta Ellis had 24 points for Dallas, but big men Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler combined for just 21 points. Game 3 is in Dallas on Friday night.

Budenholzer coach of year

Mike Budenholzer, who led the Atlanta Hawks to the top of the Eastern Conference, was honored as the NBA coach of the year yesterday, an award that moved him to tears as he spoke about the people who meant so much to his career.

Steve Kerr, whose Golden State Warriors finished an NBA-best 67-15 in his first season with the Warriors, was second in the balloting, the only other candidate to receive serious consideration.

A longtime assistant under Popovich at San Antonio, Budenholzer, 45, won the Red Auerbach Trophy for guiding the Hawks to a 60-22 mark during the regular season.

-- AP