Clippers win, force Game 7 against Jazz
Chris Paul scored 29 points and the Los Angeles Clippers forced a Game 7 in their Western Conference first-round series with a 98-93 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night in Salt Lake City.
The Clippers will host the game Sunday, with the winner advancing to face the Warriors in a series that begins Tuesday in Oakland.
Los Angeles began to edge away in the third quarter and appeared to be in control when Austin Rivers capped a 9-2 run with a stepback three-pointer that pushed the lead to 91-77 with 3:58 remaining.
He hit another with 1:29 left to make it 96-86, but Gordon Hayward scored seven straight to bring the Jazz within three before Joe Johnson missed a three-point attempt in the waning seconds.
Paul pushed Los Angeles throughout the night. The nine-time All-Star dominated and finished with eight assists, three rebounds and two steals. DeAndre Jordan added 13 points and 18 rebounds.
Hayward led the Jazz with 31 points, George Hill added 22 and Rudy Gobert finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. Celtics 105, Bulls 83: Avery Bradley scored 23 points as Boston won the Eastern Conference first-round series 4-2. The top-seeded Celtics torched host Chicago to finish off a tougher-than-anticipated series and advance in the playoffs for the first time since 2012. Boston regrouped after dropping the first two games at home and will meet Washington in the East semifinals. Game 1 is Sunday. Bradley finished one point shy of a playoff career high he set in Game 5. He nailed three three-pointers and the Celtics hit 16 of 39 from long range. Jimmy Butler led Chicago with 23 points. Wizards 115, Hawks 99: John Wall scored 42 points, Bradley Beal added 31 and visiting Washington withstood an Atlanta comeback to close out the Hawks, winning the opening-round playoff series 4-2. Atlanta fell behind by 22 early in the third quarter before making a game of it down the stretch. But the home team never led, and Wall stymied the rally with huge plays at both ends of the court. Wall’s block of Dennis Schroder’s layup kept the Hawks from closing within a single point, and Wall hit several big shots in the closing minutes. He scored 19 points in the fourth quarter, ensuring that Washington picked up the first road victory by either team in the series.
Stepping down: Larry Bird, the Pacers’ president of basketball operations, announced that he is stepping down. General manager Kevin Pritchard will be elevated to take his place, a person with knowledge of the situation said.