National Basketball Association Playoff Game Capsules
Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) – David West made sure the Indiana Pacers’ championship dreams didn’t die yet, tallying 12 fourth-quarter points to lead the Eastern Conference’s top seed to a 95-88 victory over the Atlanta Hawks that forced a Game 7 of this quarterfinal series. West finished with 11 rebounds and six assists to along with 24 points, two of which came on a contested runner with 46.5 seconds left that broke an 85-85 deadlock. The clutch basket ignited an 8-0 game-sealing run that kept the Pacers alive after dropping three of the first five meetings of the series, and set up a winner-take-all showdown Saturday in Indianapolis. Paul George rose to the occasion as well, putting up 24 points and eight rebounds in the season- saving result. Lance Stephenson added 21 points and nine rebounds for Indiana. George scored nine points during the pivotal fourth quarter, during which the Pacers outscored the Hawks by a 31-21 count. Atlanta received 29 points from Jeff Teague and a monster 16-point, 18-rebound effort out of Paul Millsap, but couldn’t maintain its success from the 3-point line that propelled them to Monday’s 107-97 triumph in Game 5. The Hawks knocked down 15-of-27 attempts from beyond the arc in the previous matchup, but went just 9-of-35 in failing to close out the series.
Final Score: Oklahoma City 104, Memphis 84
Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork.com) – No overtime was needed in this one. That’s because Kevin Durant became Mr. Unstoppable in regulation. Durant had 36 points and 10 rebounds and the Oklahoma City Thunder routed the Memphis Grizzlies, 104-84, in Game 6 of their Western Conference first-round series. After extra time was needed to decide the outcome of an NBA-record previous four games of the set, Durant got his shots up early and helped the Thunder build too large of a margin for the Grizzlies to overcome. He posted 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting in the first half as Oklahoma City headed into the break with a healthy 56-41 advantage.
Final Score: Golden State 100, LA Clippers 99
Oakland, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Stephen Curry poured in 24 points and handed out nine assists as the Golden State Warriors remained alive with a 100-99 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 6 of this best-of-seven series. Andre Iguodala added 15 points and Draymond Green finished with 14 points, 14 rebounds, five steals and four assists for the Warriors, who shot just 39.3 percent from the field (35-of-89). Jamal Crawford scored 19 points off the bench and Matt Barnes added 18 points and 11 assists for the Clippers. Chris Paul struggled to post just nine points and eight assists and DeAndre Jordan added nine points and 19 boards in the setback. Blake Griffin scored 17 points to go with nine rebounds and five assists before fouling out. Game 7 will take place Saturday at Staples Center.
Categorized in: NBA