NBA roundup: Spurs even series with Clippers

[April 23, 2015]  The Sports Xchange

 LOS ANGELES -- Forward Tim Duncan scored 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and forward Kawhi Leonard added 21 points and nine boards, lifting the San Antonio Spurs to a 111-107 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 2 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series on Wednesday night at Staples Center.

The Spurs never trailed in the extra session. Forward Danny Green's corner 3-pointer 46 seconds into overtime gave San Antonio a 97-94 lead. Los Angeles tied the score at 101 on a 3-pointer by guard J.J. Redick, but a 6-0 Spurs surge gave them a 107-101 advantage.

Paul's 3-pointer cut the deficit to 107-104, but Redick missed a wide-open trey with 13.9 seconds remaining. Point guard Patty Mills, who finished with 18 points, hit two foul shots with 11 seconds remaining, which turned out to be the difference. After Redick's 3-pointer sliced the gap to 109-107, Mills added two more with four seconds left to cap the scoring and even the series at 1-1.
 

Grizzlies 97, Trail Blazers 82

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The starting backcourt of Mike Conley and Courtney Lee combined for 36 points and Memphis defeated Portland at FedExForum to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series. The Trail Blazers, who lost Game 1 by 14 points, were never closer than nine points in the fourth quarter.

Memphis also swept the regular-season series 4-0.

Conley scored 18 points with six assists and Lee had 18 points and three steals. Memphis center Marc Gasol finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Power forward Zach Randolph scored 10 points with 10 rebounds. Forward LaMarcus Aldridge led the Trail Blazers with 24 points and 14 rebounds. He also had four blocks and two steals. Point guard Damian Lillard scored 18 points.

Hawks 96, Nets 91

ATLANTA -- All-Star forward Paul Millsap shed some protective padding and found his shooting touch.

Millsap scored 19 points, helping the Hawks stave off a late rally by the Nets and take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Games 3 and 4 are Saturday and Monday at Brooklyn.

Millsap ditched the pad that had been protecting his injured shoulder Wednesday and returned to form, connecting on seven of 11 field-goal tries, including all four of his 3-point attempts.

Guard Jarrett Jack led Brooklyn with 23 points. The Nets got within one point with 45 seconds left and were down by two when guard Deron Williams missed a 13-foot shot with eight seconds left that would have tied it.

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