Parker injured as Spurs tie series
Kawhi Leonard had 34 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs overcame the loss of Tony Parker to beat the visiting Houston Rockets 121-96 on Wednesday night and even the Western Conference semifinal series at one game apiece.
Parker did not return after hurting his left leg with 8:43 remaining. Spurs officials said Parker will undergo an MRI exam Thursday morning, but Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said, “It’s not good.”
Parker fell to the court after missing an uncontested short jumper. He grabbed his left knee immediately upon landing and remained on the court for a few minutes. He attempted to walk, but had to be carried off by teammates. Spurs owner Julianna Hawn Holt rose from her courtside seat to point and scream at an official after Parker exited the game.
Parker finished with 18 points and four assists in 26 minutes.
Houston point guard James Harden was limited to 13 points on 3-for-17 shooting.
The Rockets shot 11-for-34 from three-point range after going 22-for-50 in their 126-99 victory in Game 1 on Monday night. They host Game 3 on Friday.
The start was as frenetic as Game 1, but the Spurs kept pace this time. The teams shot a combined 15-for-25 in the opening six minutes, including 5-for-9 on three-point shots. Cavaliers 125, Raptors 103: LeBron James scored 39 points, moving past Kareem AbdulJabbar into the second spot on the career playoff scoring list — behind only Michael Jordan — and pushing Cleveland to a blowout over visiting Toronto in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Just like a year ago in the conference finals, the Cavs are up 2-0 on the Raptors, who had better figure out some things or this series will be over quickly. Toronto was blown out for the fifth straight time in Cleveland in the playoffs, losing them by an average of 24.2 points.
Game 3 is Friday night at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre.
Kyrie Irving had 22 points and 11 assists and Channing Frye scored 18 points for Cleveland.