It was a far-from-boring week

Partial scores . . .

One week into the playoffs, the Cavaliers look like the Cavaliers; the Lakers may have missed the fact the postseason has started and are still leaving wake-up calls; a funny thing is happening to the Trail Blazers on their way to that Lakers matchup; and the Spurs may not get out of the first round . . . for years.

Oh, and the Celtics are back from the dead, as usual.

Yes, it was a full week.

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East

Boston 2, Chicago 1: Fortunes turn on a shot, and have nightly in this series of series, with Derrick Rose’s 36-point playoff debut in Game 1, the Ray Allen-Ben Gordon shootout in Game 2, and a plot turn in Game 3.

It was fast, furious and so even, one break either way and either team could be up 3-0.

If Paul Pierce had made a free throw at the end of regulation in Game 1, the Celtics would be going for the sweep today.

If Allen hadn’t come back from his Game 1 flop that lasted until halftime of Game 2, scoring 28 of his 30 points in the second half and hitting a three-pointer over fast-closing 6-foot-11 Joakim Noah with :02 left, the Bulls might have gone home, leading 2-0.

At that, with the Bulls blossoming and the Celtics looking spent after months without Kevin Garnett, Sam Smith of Bulls.com spotted signs of rigor mortis, writing:

“You get the sense the Celtics players know it’s over, that only the final date need be written in . . . [that] Pierce knows it’s over without Garnett and doesn’t care to put forth much more effort without the ultimate reward.”

Rose was then named rookie of the year, getting his trophy from David Stern before Game 3.

See if you can guess what happened next:

Boston 107, Chicago 86, with Pierce scoring 13 of his 24 points in the first seven minutes.

Meanwhile, Garnett, who the Celtics said had no, nada, zip, chance of coming back, deferred surgery plans to make a last try. Imagine that.

This was supposed to be the Celtics’ last hurrah. With Glen Davis averaging 19-7 in this series and the rocket ascent of Rajon Rondo, whom opponents didn’t even guard at the start of the season and actually became as good as he and Boston fans thought he was, they may have another year.

That’s after this year, which isn’t over yet.

In other series:

Philadelphia 2, Orlando 1: Proving anything can still happen in the playoffs, the 76ers, who were swept, 4-0, by the Magic and lost six of their last seven games, somehow revived.

In the real news, barring turnarounds, the Celtics wouldn’t have to go through 59-win Orlando in the second round, after all.

Miami 2, Atlanta 1: The Hawks held Dwyane Wade to 19 points in their Game 1 win, but he got away for a more D-Wade-like 33 in Game 2, and 29 in Game 3.

Also getting away was the Hawks’ mascot, Spirit, a real hawk, who normally soars leisurely over the court, but flew off in Game 2, perching on the shot clock over the backboard until the referees stopped the game so his trainer could get him down.

Just another high-flying Hawk unhappy with authority, like Josh Smith.

Cleveland 3, Detroit 0: Is this really necessary?

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West

Houston 2, Portland 1: Bummer for Trail Blazers fans, who don’t get to see the Trevor Ariza-Rudy Fernandez play 1,000 more times unless their team makes the second round.

The Trail Blazers have Brandon Roy, but the Rockets have Ron Artest, who has held him to 21-42-19, with Houston winning whenever Roy didn’t get 40.

Dallas 3, San Antonio 1: With the Spurs lying in the weeds all season, the San Antonio Express News’ Buck Harvey calls games in which they rest their stars “spirited forfeits.”

Showing how desperate their situation is, Coach Gregg Popovich even did it in the postseason, pulling his starters in the third quarter of Game 3 with the Mavericks up 26, worried about the turnaround from Thursday night to Saturday afternoon.

Afterward, Popovich threw the box score away, joking, “It’s bad enough and you’re going to make me look at the stats? Good Lord, have some mercy, will you?”

He was in the wrong town. Rested as they could be, the Spurs lost Game 4, pulling within one loss of the end of an era.

Denver 2, New Orleans 1: After a late-season 13-1 run, the Nuggets came into Staples Center, hoping to make a statement, but it turned out to be “We’re still just the Nuggets,” after the Lakers flattened them.

Sweeping the fading Hornets would have been a statement, but the Nuggets just blew a 16-point lead and lost Game 3.

Lakers 3, Utah 1: Southern California mental health experts are on alert after a single Lakers loss prompted a community-wide outcry against former local favorite Andrew Bynum.

The team appealed for calm in a prepared statement:

“With the support of the best fans in the world, we remain confident our players will continue to take leads so big, even they can’t blow them.”

Police will be posted on area bridges in case of a real catastrophe in subsequent rounds, like two losses.

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mark.heisler@latimes.com