NBA roundup: Spurs, Cavs sweep; Warriors lose Curry

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[April 25, 2016]  MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points and LaMarcus Aldridge posted a double-double as the San Antonio Spurs cruised to a 116-95 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday to sweep their best-of-seven, Western Conference first-round playoff series.

Leonard added seven rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal to his day's work while Aldridge finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Point guard Tony Parker chipped in 16 points.

Grizzlies guard Lance Stephenson led all scorers with his playoff career-best 26 points.

San Antonio went 8-0 against Memphis this season overall and Sunday's victory marked the Spurs' 10th sweep of a postseason series in franchise history.

Warriors 121, Rockets 94

HOUSTON -- Golden State star Stephen Curry missed the second half due to a sprained right knee, but the Warriors still cruised to a win over Houston to take a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference first-round playoff series.

Klay Thompson finished with 23 points while Draymond Green added 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Thompson and Green combined to score 25 of the Warriors' 41 third-quarter points in levying the knockout blow. Golden State set an NBA postseason record with 21 3-pointers.

Houston's Dwight Howard posted a double-double (19 points, 15 boards), while James Harden had 18 points, seven rebounds, 10 assists and seven steals.

Cavaliers 100, Pistons 98

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Kyrie Irving scored 31 points, and LeBron James added 22 points and 11 rebounds to help Cleveland complete a four-game sweep of Detroit in a first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.

After Detroit cut a nine-point Cleveland lead to 97-96 with 1:08 remaining on a 3-pointer by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Irving buried a 3-pointer from the wing with 42.6 seconds left to put the Cavaliers up by four.

Pistons guard Reggie Jackson shaved the Cleveland lead to 100-98 on a dunk with 32.8 seconds remaining, and then Detroit had a chance to tie or win after rebounding an Irving miss with under 10 seconds remaining. Proceeding down the court without a timeout, Jackson couldn't convert a contested 3-point shot from the top of the key as time expired.

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Marcus Morris scored 24 points to lead the Pistons.

Celtics 104, Hawks 95 (OT)

BOSTON -- Down by 16 points early in the third quarter, Boston overcame 45 points by Atlanta's Paul Millsap and scored an overtime victory to even the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at 2-2.

Amir Johnson scored his team's first five points of the OT, and Isaiah Thomas (28 points) nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner to ice the game with 30 seconds left.

Marcus Smart scored 11 straight Celtics points in the fourth quarter, set Johnson up for the first two baskets of overtime and played tough defense on Millsap down the stretch. Millsap, who also had 13 rebounds, scored just two points in the final 10:33 of the game.

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