Paul George and David West hit key three-pointers at the end as the top-seeded Indiana Pacers held off the Atlanta Hawks 91-88 to even the NBA opening-round series at two wins apiece on Saturday.
In a game they had to have, the Pacers finally showed some grit and regained the home-court edge. George put the Pacers ahead 86-85 with a jumper beyond the arc, and West hit another three with 1 minute, 33 seconds remaining.
Atlanta had a chance after Kyle Korver was fouled in the corner and knocked down three free throws, taking advantage of a do-over after the Pacers were called for a lane violation on the third attempt. However, George pulled down an offensive rebound to set up George Hill’s driving shot with 56 seconds left.
Photo: AFP
Pero Antic missed a three-pointer at the buzzer that would have forced overtime.
Game 5 was scheduled for today in Indianapolis.
George scored 24 points and West added 18. Paul Millsap led the Hawks with 29, but the All-Star forward struggled in the final minute.
In Dallas, Vince Carter hit a double-pump three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Dallas Mavericks a 109-108 victory in Game 3 and a first-round series lead over the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs.
Carter took an inbound pass in the left corner from Jose Calderon with 1.7 seconds left. After a quick pump fake in front of Manu Ginobili, Carter released the ball just before the buzzer. The winning shot was held up on review.
Ginobili had given the Spurs a 108-106 lead on a layup, before Dallas called timeout to set up the play for Carter.
Game 4 was scheduled for today in Dallas.
Monta Ellis kept the Mavericks close in the fourth quarter and finished with a game-high 29 points, while Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 22 points.
LeBron James had 30 points and 10 rebounds as Miami defeated Charlotte 98-85 to take a 3-0 lead in their series.
Dwyane Wade added 17 points for the Heat, who have a chance to close out the best-of-seven series today.
James, who was an efficient 10-of-18 from the field, pushed his record to 18-0 against the Bobcats since joining the Heat in 2010. Miami have won 19 straight overall against Charlotte.
Al Jefferson had 20 points for the Bobcats, who are still searching for the first post-season win in franchise history.
After trailing most of the first half, the Heat took a 42-40 lead on a three-pointer by Mario Chalmers. Miami closed the half on a 16-4 run.
Reserve Reggie Jackson scored a personal playoff-best 32 points, as Oklahoma City tied up their Western Conference series at two games apiece with a 92-89 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Jackson had only scored 15 points combined in this series, but the guard shook off his shooting woes by hitting 11 of 16. He outscored Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who struggled through their worst scoring game of the series. Durant was 5-of-21 for 15 points, while Westbrook was 6-of-24 for 15 points.
The Thunder blew a 14-point lead over Memphis, and the Grizzlies blew a third straight fourth-quarter lead themselves. Jackson tied up Memphis with five straight points in the final minute of regulation, and he hit all six free throws in overtime as the Thunder survived an extra period with seven lead changes.
Durant’s two free throws with 1m, 2s left in overtime put the Thunder ahead to stay.
Game 5 is scheduled for tomorrow in Oklahoma City.
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
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