Bane leads Grizzlies past Timberwolves
Grizzlies 104, Timberwolves 95: Desmond Bane made seven 3-pointers and had 26 points and visiting Memphis overcame a 26-point deficit to beat Minnesota on Thursday night for a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Brandon Clarke scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half for Memphis, and Ja Morant had a quiet triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Tyus Jones hit two dagger 3-pointers against his former team down the stretch, and the Grizzlies seized back home-court advantage. They stunned a Wolves team that won Game 1 on the road 130-117, but took an ugly 124-96 loss in Game 2.
Game 4 is Saturday in Minneapolis. D'angelo Russell had 22 points and eight assists as the key driver of a third-quarter surge for the Wolves that pushed the lead back to 23 points, but he went 0 for 3 and was scoreless in the fourth. Karl-anthony Towns, Minnesota's other max-contract player, had another clunker with eight points.
In this compelling matchup of Western Conference rivals with similar temperaments, fast-paced offenses and young star guards in Morant and Anthony Edwards, yet another game swung wildly back and forth between the two sides before the Grizzlies flashed their moxie for the largest comeback playoff victory in franchise history.
Warriors 118, Nuggets 113: Stephen
Curry and Jordan Poole scored 27 points each, Klay Thompson made six 3-pointers on his way to 26 points and visiting Golden State muscled past Denver to take a 3-0 lead in the playoff series.
Draymond Green added a key steal from Nikola Jokic, who finished with 37 points and 18 rebounds, in the final minute and the Warriors closed on a 9-2 run to put the Nuggets on the cusp of elimination.
Golden State can wrap up the series Sunday in Denver. Teams facing a 3-0 deficit in an NBA playoff series are 0143.
Aaron Gordon added 18 points for the Nuggets, who took an 89-87 lead into the fourth quarter but lost for the seventh straight time in the postseason.
Mavericks 126, Jazz 118: Jalen Brunson scored 31 points playing with a bruised back and visiting Dallas– without the injured Luka Doncic – beat Utah to take a 2-1 lead.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter for Dallas, Maxi Kleber had 17 points and Dorian Finney-smith added 14 points, hitting a 3-pointer with 1:56 left for a 10point lead.
Doncic has missed all three of the games in the series with a strained calf, with signs pointing to his return for Game 4 on Saturday in Salt Lake City.
Donovan Mitchell scored 28 of his 32 points in the second half for Utah. Bojan Bogdanovic added 24 and Mike Conley had 21. The Jazz had won 11 in a row at home against Dallas.