Raptors, Grizzlies earn series-tying triumphs
Hawks rebound at home, slice Wizards' lead to 2-1 Shorthanded Warriors go up 3-0 Blazers
A slower tempo suited the Toronto Raptors just fine.
It wasn’t so good for the Milwaukee Bucks, who felt like they were struggling in quicksand in an 87-76 loss in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Saturday.
The Raptors bounced back for the second time in the best-of-seven series to even it at 2-2 entering Game 5 on Monday night in Toronto. And it also was a huge bounce-back game for Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan, who finished with a game-high 33 points after failing to hit a field goal in Game 3.
“Our tempo was extremely slow,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. “Give them credit; they slowed us down. It wasn’t a high-scoring game. No one could make a shot.
“But our tempo in that second half came to a halt. Our energy level was low, for whatever reason. We’ve got to fix that going into Game 5.”
Despite all their struggles, the Bucks were within 74-69 midway through the fourth quarter. Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo committed consecutive turnovers and Raptors guard Norman Powell, inserted into the starting lineup by coach Dwane Casey, scored five straight points to give Toronto a 10-point lead. The Bucks could not recover. “We just couldn’t really score, honestly,” center Greg Monroe said. “They only had 87 points. It was just a sloppy game for us.”
Kyle Lowry scored 18 points for Toronto and Powell added 12 while hitting 3-of-3 from three-point distance. DeRozan was 12-for-22 from the field as he got to his spots throughout the game and avoided the Bucks’ trapping defense.
DeRozan said he tried to get to his spots quicker and he often started from the middle of the floor, where he was able to get into the lane and hit his deadly midrange shot.
“I was just going quick, being aggressive, not waiting on the doubles,” DeRozan said. “It was getting to my sweet spot and making a quick move, a quick play.
Tony Snell led the Bucks with 19 points and made all five of the Bucks’ three-pointers (in 10 attempts), but his teammates were 0-for-11 from beyond the arc. Monroe had 14 points and nine rebounds and Antetokounmpo ended with a series-low 14 points. Middleton had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/TNS)
Grizzlies 110, Spurs 108 (OT)
Marc Gasol’s floating jump shot over LaMarcus Aldridge with 0.7 seconds left in overtime gave the Memphis Grizzlies a 110-108 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday at FedExForum to even their first-round Western Conference playoff series 2-2.
Memphis won despite a playoff careerhigh 43 points for San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard. Mike Conley led the Grizzlies with 35 points and had nine rebounds and eight assists. Leonard added eight rebounds, six steals and three assists to his stat line.
“That was great game,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Both teams played their hearts out. Just a fantastic basketball game. The fans got their money’s worth tonight for sure. At the end, Marc made a great shot. LA contested it very, very well, and it went down.”
Leonard’s final three tied it up one last time before Gasol’s big bucket.
“They were able to counter Kawhi going off and making incredible shots,” Spurs forward Pau Gasol said. “So you’ve got to give them credit. You’ve got to regroup and get ready for Game 5.”
Hawks 116, Wizards 98
Paul Millsap had 29 points and 14 rebounds for his second straight double-double and Atlanta led wire-to-wire in beating Washington in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference playoff series.
Millsap was 12-of-20 from the field and had five assists. His only problem was at the line, where he was 5-of-9.
The Hawks, who trail in the series 2-1, also got 27 points from Dennis Schroder, 20 of those in the first half, with nine assists.
John Wall kept up his dazzling play in the series, scoring 29 points, but he was essentially a one-man team. The other Washington starters combined to score 30 points on 14-of-45 shooting.
“They jumped on us in that first period,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. “Their sense of urgency was very high.”
Warriors 119, Trail Blazers 113
Stephen Curry scored 14 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter and the Golden State Warriors rallied from a 16-point third-quarter deficit to beat host Portland.
Klay Thompson added 24 points for the Warriors, who seized a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round playoff series while playing without both Kevin Durant (calf injury) and coach Steve Kerr (illness).
“It’s not necessarily “hero ball,” it’s being aggressive in those spots that you have,” Curry said. “You might need to force the issue. That might mean taking a shot, it could be trying to get your feet in the paint and make a play, defensively trying to assert yourself – whatever the game calls for, getting ready for those moments.”
C.J. McCollum led the Blazers with 32 points, while Damian Lillard added 31. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs. (Reuters)