NBA PLAYOFFS ROUNDUP

Hawks 116, Wizards 98

Paul Millsap scored 29 points, Dennis Schroder had 27 and Atlanta delivered an early knockout blow against Washington, cruising to a victory Saturday that sliced the Wizards' lead to 2-1 in the opening-round playoff series. After two tight losses in Washington exposed some bad blood between the teams, Atlanta returned home and built a 25-point lead by late in the first quarter. The Hawks were never seriously challenged by the Wizards, who were essentially a one-man team. John Wall kept up his dazzling play in the series, scoring 29 points, but the point guard got no help from his teammates. The other Washington starters combined to score 30 points on 14-of-45 shooting. Millsap also had 14 rebounds, while rookie Taurean Prince chipped in with 16 points. Game 4 is Monday night in Atlanta. The Hawks came out intent on moving the ball, getting open looks and cutting down on the turnovers that plagued them in the first two contests. Talk about following the game plan. Atlanta pushed out to a double-digit lead before the game was 3 minutes old and stretched the margin to 38-13 with just under a minute to go in the opening quarter on Schroder's 3-pointer. Wall did everything he could to spark the Wizards. He posed along the baseline after a thunderous dunk, which might have had more effect if the Wizards weren't losing by 23 at the time. He also darted through the lane against a collapsing defense to bank in an improbable shot, drawing gasps from the Atlanta crowd. Wall made all but one shot and scored 21 points in the first half, but the Wizards trailed 64-46 heading to the locker room. The other four Washington starters had just 18 points. Beal, in particular, had a miserable night after averaging 26.5 points in the first two games. He was held to 12 points on 6-of-20 shooting, missing all six of his attempts beyond the arc.

Raptors 87, Bucks 76

DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points, and Toronto beat Milwaukee in a defensive slugfest to tie their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series at two games apiece. Kyle Lowry had 14 of his 18 points in the second half for the Raptors, who turned up their intensity before a hostile road crowd after getting embarrassed in a 27-point loss to Milwaukee in Game 3.

Toronto's tested backcourt reverted to its playmaking form, especially the resurgent DeRozan. He was 12 of 22 from the field after missing all eight of his attempts in Game 3.

The Raptors seized home-court advantage back in the best-of-seven series. Game 5 is Monday at the Air Canada Centre.

The game was tied at halftime before Toronto slowly edged away in the second half, building a 10-point lead with 4 minutes left on Norman Powell's 3-pointer.

Tony Snell led Milwaukee with 19 points.

Late Friday Thunder 115, Rockets 113

Russell Westbrook scored 32 points in a triple-double, and Oklahoma City held off Houston to cut its deficit to 2-1 in the first-round Western Conference playoff series.

James Harden scored 44 points for Houston, but he missed a 3-pointer that could have won the game just before time expired.

Westbrook also had 13 rebounds and 11 assists. It was his second straight triple-double and the seventh playoff triple-double of his career. Taj Gibson added 20 points and Andre Roberson and Victor Oladipo each scored 12 for the Thunder, who shot 55 percent from the field. The Thunder blew a double-digit lead in the second half of Game 2, and barely hung on this time. Lou Williams scored 22 points and Ryan Anderson added 18 for the Rockets.

Clippers 111, Jazz 106

Chris Paul scored 34 points and Los Angeles rallied to beat Utah and take a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series. The Jazz led most of the game before Paul took over in the fourth quarter and powered a 15-0 run that gave the Clippers a 103-96 lead with 2:09 remaining. Utah never led again. The win negated a spectacular night from Gordon Hayward, who scored a career-high 40 points. But Paul simply dominated the fourth quarter, scoring nine straight himself during the run and getting wherever he wanted on the floor. He iced the game with a pair of free throws with 5.3 seconds remaining and finished with seven rebounds and 10 assists. DeAndre Jordan had 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Clippers, who played without the injured Blake Griffin in the second half.