NBA Playoffs Blog – Page 88 – NBA Blog

76ers beat banged-up Bulls, take 3-1 series lead

Spencer Hawes scored 22 points and Jrue Holiday had 20 to help the surprising Philadelphia 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls 89-82 on Sunday and take a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series.

Andre Iguodala had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Sixers, who have won the last three games after losing Game 1.

Holiday stretched the lead with consecutive 3-pointers late in the game to put the Sixers one win away from joining the short list of eighth-seeded teams that have won a series against a No. 1 seed.

Game 5 is Tuesday in Chicago.

The top-seeded Bulls played without Derrick Rose (torn ACL) and Joakim Noah (sprained ankle). Rose is out for the season and Noah is day to day for the rest of the series.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Parker helps Spurs take 3-0 lead over Jazz

Through nearly 40 minutes, the Utah Jazz made Tony Parker look average.

He had 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting, and the San Antonio Spurs were clinging to a five-point lead.

Parker the MVP candidate then took over.

”They threw a lot of guys at me, so I needed to be more patient and then in the fourth quarter I was more aggressive,” said Parker, who hit all five field goals and went 6 of 6 from the line in the final period to finish with 27 points.

His effort fueled a 102-90 victory Saturday night that gave the Spurs a 3-0 lead in the first-round Western Conference playoff series…

”He’s a handful and he’s very physical,” Parker said about Favors, who had 15 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks in his most extensive action of the series. ”He goes to the boards hard.” …

Harris, after scoring just 12 points in the first two games combined, had 12 in the first quarter and finished with 21.

Al Jefferson also rebounded from two sub-par games and finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds on 10-of-18 shooting…

While Favors was 3 of 7 shooting in the fourth, Utah’s other budding star struggled down the stretch.

Burks was just 1 of 6 in the fourth quarter and finished with 11 points.

— Reported by Lynn DeBruin of the Associated Press

Thunder eliminate defending champ Mavericks in 4-game sweep

Down by 13 points with less than 10 minutes remaining, youthful Oklahoma City could have easily have been content knowing they could go home for a Game 5 still needing to win only one more game.

The Thunder, with their 20-something All-Star duo Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, are instead going home to wait and see who they will play next.

And it was their other emerging star who led the way.

James Harden scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, including nine in a 12-0 run, and the Thunder rallied for a 103-97 victory Saturday night to complete a first-round series sweep of the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks.

”I got into attack mode. I was determined to make plays,” Harden said.

”He was phenomenal,” said Durant, who scored 24 points. ”His pick and roll game is unreal. It’s fun to watch, fun to be part of. The best part about our team is that we have a lot of guys who can play off each other, and we complement each other well.” …

Durant had 11 rebounds, while Westbrook and Fisher had 12 points each…

”It was an up and down year,” said Nowitzki, the 11-time All-Star who had 34 points. ”We weren’t consistent enough throughout to be an elite team.” …

Jason Kidd, the Mavericks’ 39-year-old point guard, had 16 points and eight assists. Jason Terry had 11 points in what might have also been his last game in Dallas.

— Reported by Stephen Hawkins of the Associated Press

Paul, Griffin lead Clippers over Grizzlies, 87-86

Chris Paul had 24 points and 11 assists and high-flying Blake Griffin added 17 points for the Los Angeles Clippers, who beat the Memphis Grizzles 87-86 Saturday only after Rudy Gay missed a jumper just before the buzzer.

The Clippers won their first home playoff game in six seasons to take a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference playoffs.

Paul hit a fadeaway jumper with 2:02 left for an 82-80 lead. On the next possession he had a no-look bounce pass to Griffin coming in off the baseline for a monster slam.

Trailing 86-80 after two free throws by Paul, Gay hit a 3-pointer with 12.9 seconds left, Memphis’ first field goal since 7:10. After Los Angeles missed three of four free throws, Gay hit another 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds.

Eric Bledsoe missed two more free throws, Gay got a good look but missed. Gay finished with 24 points.

Memphis had seemingly taken the red-clad home crowd out of the game in the third quarter, when it outscored the Clippers 25-14 to take a 71-64 lead…

Zach Randolph scored 17 for Memphis while Gasol and Quincy Pondexter had 11.

Foye had 16 for L.A.

— Reported by Bernie Wilson of the Associated Press

Pacers beat Magic in OT, take 3-1 series lead

George Hill hit a pair of free throws with 2.2 seconds left in overtime to help the Indiana Pacers survive squandering a 19-point fourth quarter lead and beat the Orlando Magic 101-99 on Saturday to take a 3-1 series lead.

David West scored 26 points, including 12 in the third quarter and four in overtime for Indiana. Danny Granger added 21 points.

The Pacers won their third straight game and will try to close out it out Tuesday in Indianapolis.

Orlando had a final chance to tie the game in the closing seconds, but Glen Davis’ fade away jumper bounced off the side of the rim.

Jason Richardson led the Magic with 25 points and Davis added 24 points and 11 rebounds…

Hibbert finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Hill started slow, but was huge down the stretch and ended up with 12.

All five Magic starters reached double figures, with Nelson adding 12 points and Ryan Anderson and Hedo Turkoglu chipping in 11.

— Reported by Kyle Hightower of the Associated Press

Avery Bradley suffers dislocated shoulder

Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers said starting shooting guard Avery Bradley dislocated his left shoulder during Friday’s Game 3 win over the Atlanta Hawks in an Eastern Conference quarterfinal series and his status is uncertain.

“Shoulder went out,” Rivers said. “And he’s had that problem all year. Usually they’re able to — like a Lego — snap it back in. It wouldn’t go back in. So we’ll find out more (Saturday).”

Bradley suffered the injury late in the third quarter and departed for the locker room along with team doctor Brian McKeon with 2:06 to play in the frame. The team initially said Bradley would return, but soon ruled him out for the rest of the game.

— Reported by Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston

Lawson scores 25 as Nuggets beat Lakers in Game 3

Ty Lawson scored 25 points and the Denver Nuggets raced to an early 24-point lead on their way to a 99-84 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night in Game 3 of their first-round series.

JaVale McGee had 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Nuggets, who will try to even the best-of-seven series at two games each on Sunday night at the Pepsi Center.

Playing with an energy and enthusiasm that had been missing in the playoffs, the Nuggets grabbed a 55-39 halftime lead by stifling Andrew Bynum down low and forcing Kobe Bryant to work harder for his baskets.

Although both Bynum and Bryant got it going after halftime and the Lakers cut their deficit to four points in the third quarter, the hole was too big to climb out of.

Bynum’s putback with 1:18 left in the third quarter not only pulled the Lakers to 68-64 but his inadvertent elbow on the play broke Al Harrington’s nose. He didn’t return, but the Nuggets went on a 12-5 run to regain their composure and control of the game.

Bryant finished with 22 points on 7-of-23 shooting after scoring 31 and 38 points in L.A.’s two wins at the Staples Center, and Bynum had 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Kenneth Faried had a double-double for Denver, scoring 12 points and pulling down 15 rebounds as the Nuggets outrebounded the Lakers 55-44. Denver’s bench outscored the Lakers’ reserves 39-9.

— Reported by Arnie Stapleton of the Associated Press

76ers beat Bulls 79-74 in Game 3 for 2-1 lead

Spencer Hawes scored 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds and hit the go-ahead jumper late in the fourth quarter to help the Philadelphia 76ers rally to beat the Chicago Bulls 79-74 on Friday night and take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series.

Hawes scored 10 clutch points in the fourth to give the eighth-seeded Sixers the surprising series lead.

Game 4 is Sunday in Philadelphia.

Already playing the rest of the series without reigning MVP Derrick Rose, the Bulls got another scare in the third quarter when Joakim Noah left with a sprained left ankle. Noah, who scored 12 points, returned in the fourth quarter and mostly hobbled around the court…

The Bulls missed 10 straight field goals over 5-plus minutes in the fourth to lose all of their 14-point lead.

Holiday scored 17 points and Turner had 16 while reserve Lou Williams added 14.

Carlos Boozer had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls and Richard Hamilton scored 17 points…

The Bulls need to figure out a new way to play without Rose and to protect Noah if they don’t want this series to slip away.

— Reported by Dan Gelston of the Associated Press

Clippers hope to toughen up vs Grizzlies

Since losing game two Wednesday night, Reggie Evans and the Clippers have watched hours of game film, with their glaring shortcomings staring right at them.

“We got punked around,” Evans said. “It is what it is. They did a good job of being physical. It showed. The tape don’t lie.”

The numbers don’t lie, either.

In game two, Memphis crushed the Clippers on the glass, pulling down 16 offensive rebounds, and the Grizzlies established the physical tone, shooting 21 more free throws.

“They got 16 offensive rebounds so what is that a sign of?” Evans asked. “We got pushed around, punked around – that’s what it’s a sign of. We just have to bounce back. They did what they’re supposed to do and we did what we’re supposed to do. We went there and stole one and they came back and hit us back. “…It’s a mindset. It’s like a little kid getting bullied all the time, eventually the kid’s either going to run or bite back.”

— Reported by Dan Woike of the Orange County Register Blog

Josh Smith sidelined for Game 3 against Celtics

Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith will not play in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics because of a sprained left knee.

Smith was hurt in Atlanta’s 87-80 loss in Game 2 on Tuesday night and tried to work out before Friday night’s game, but decided he was unable to play.

Hawks coach Larry Drew said Marvin Williams would start in place of Smith, who averaged 19 points and 15 rebounds in the first two games of the series.

— Reported by the Associated Press