Nuggets beat Spurs, tie up series
NUGGETS 117, SPURS 103
SAN ANTONIO — Nikola Jokic had 29 points and 12 rebounds, Jamal Murray added 24 points and the Denver Nuggets beat the San Antonio Spurs 117-103 on Saturday night, rebounding from a flat performance tie the firstround series at two games apiece.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and nine rebounds for San Antonio. DeMar DeRozan added 19 points before he was ejected with five minutes remaining after arguing with an official over an offensive foul.
Game 5 is Tuesday night in Denver.
The Nuggets were more aggressive and physical after a deflating Game 3 loss, just as Denver Coach Michael Malone had hoped.
“I want to see some emotion. I want to see some fire. I want to see some passion,” Malone said prior to the game.
Malone was able to stir that fire with a couple of changes after Derrick White’s 36-point outing in San Antonio’s Game 3 victory.
Torrey Craig started over a struggling Will Barton and was charged with defending White to open the game, with Murray switching to Bryn Forbes. The moves proved beneficial, if not at first.
White was limited to eight points on 3-for-8 shooting after going 15 for 21 on Thursday. Craig finished with 18 points, going 5 for 7 on three-pointers. Barton finished with 12 points and made all three of his three-point attempts.
Down by 12 points in the first quarter, Denver outscored San Antonio 69-45 in the second and third.
Aldridge had 13 points in the opening quarter, shooting 5 for 9. His final points of the quarter came when he grabbed a miss by Marco Belineli and slammed it back in. Denver rallied in the second, with Jokic and Murray combining for 15 points as the Nuggets outscored 34-22.
The Spurs stopped driving to the basket and the Nuggets began making their three-pointers.
Denver finished 15 for 31 on three-pointers.
NEW YORK — Joel Embiid had 31 points and 16 rebounds, and passed to Mike Scott for the go-ahead three-pointer with 18 seconds left as Philadelphia beat Brooklyn to take a 3-1 series lead.
Embiid also had a flagrant foul that led to a scuffle and two ejections during an eventful return to the lineup after missing Game 3 with a sore left knee.
Tobias Harris had 24 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists for the 76ers. They can advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second consecutive season with a victory at home Tuesday night.
They got a big boost from the return of Embiid, who scored eight consecutive points in the fourth quarter after the Nets led by seven. He helped the 76ers overcome the loss of Jimmy Butler, who was ejected in the third quarter after Embiid’s hard foul on Jarrett Allen.
Caris LeVert scored 25 points after being inserted into the Nets’ starting lineup. D’Angelo Russell and Allen each added 21.
Jared Dudley also was inserted into the starting lineup for the Nets and had been agitating the 76ers with his defense and his talking, but was gone midway through the third quarter as one of the central figures in the scuffle that spilled into the stands.
Embiid swung his arm forcefully while fouling Allen, and Dudley quickly moved in and bumped Embiid. Butler then ran in and pushed Dudley to start the shoving. Dudley, Simmons and referee Ed Malloy all got knocked into the seats, and after a lengthy video review, Butler and Dudley were given technical fouls and ejected, and Embiid’s foul was ruled a flagrant 1.
Embiid would later make the biggest mark with his offense. The 76ers were trying to get the ball to him trailing by one after Joe Harris’ layup, but Embiid couldn’t control the pass under the rim. But he regained the ball and found Scott in the corner for a three and a 110-108 lead. Allen then turned the ball over after three Sixers surrounded him and Harris closed out the scoring with two free throws.
BUCKS 119, PISTONS 103
DETROIT — Khris Middleton had 20 points and nine rebounds and Milwaukee beat Detroit to take a 3-0 lead in the firstround series.
The Bucks can finish off the Eastern Conference series Monday night in Detroit after winning the first three games by an average of 24 points.
The Bucks overcame 27 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists from Blake Griffin in his return from a right knee injury. He missed the first two games of the series after sitting out four of the final six in the regular season.
Griffin had an immediate defensive impact, forcing two turnovers on Milwaukee’s first three possessions, but struggled to keep up in transition.
Brook Lopez and Eric Bledsoe each scored 19 points for Milwaukee. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 14 points and 10 rebounds, struggling with foul trouble. Andre Drummond had 12 points and 12 rebounds.