Spurs beat Grizzlies, advance to 2nd round
Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points, and the visiting San Antonio Spurs advanced to the Western Conference semifinals by beating the Memphis Grizzlies 103-96 Thursday night to take the series 4-2.
The Spurs now have beaten Memphis in four of the five playoff series between the teams, and this was San Antonio’s second straight win over the Grizzlies in the first round.
Tony Parker added 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting, and LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Patty Mills had 10 points off the bench for the Spurs. San Antonio outrebounded Memphis 46-28, with 16 of those offensive boards. That led to 17 second-chance points.
Their semifinal with Houston will start Monday night in San Antonio.
Mike Conley scored 26 points, leading the five Memphis starters in double digits. Marc Gasol added 18, Zach Randolph 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Vince Carter had 12 points.
The Grizzlies fell to 3-10 in elimination games, having lost six straight.
This was a taut game with 16 ties — four in the fourth quarter — and nine lead changes.
The Spurs took control after the Grizzlies went up 88-81 on three free throws from Conley with 6:29 left. Then Leonard scored eight straight for San Antonio, starting a 22-8 run to finish the game. Raptors 92, Bucks 89:
DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points and visiting Toronto squandered a 25-point lead late in the third quarter before holding on for a victory over Milwaukee to take the first-round playoff series in six games. Cory Joseph had five points in a 9-0 run in the final 2 minutes, including a three-pointer with 1:27 left, to help stave off the Bucks. The Raptors move on to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals in a series that starts Monday. Jason Terry’s three-pointer with 3:06 left gave the Bucks an 80-78 lead, completing an unlikely comeback from the 25-point deficit with 5:16 left in the third quarter. The Raptors looked like they were on cruise control after DeMarre Carroll’s three gave them the 71-46 advantage.