National Basketball Association Playoff Game Capsules
Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Darren Collison was the unlikely hero Sunday, scoring 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Clippers went from the brink of elimination to evening their wildly entertaining Western Conference semifinal series with the Thunder. The Clippers trailed Oklahoma City by 22 points nine minutes into the game and by 16 in the early stages of the fourth before Collison spearheaded a stunning comeback that gave Los Angeles a 101-99 victory. The turnaround, which was sealed when Russell Westbrook missed a 3-point try at the buzzer, sends the series back to Oklahoma City tied at 2-2, with Game 5 set for Tuesday. Blake Griffin played the final 8:44 with five fouls and scored 10 of his 25 points down the stretch for a Clippers team that made 13 of its last 16 shots. Chris Paul finished with 23 points, 10 assists and just one turnover for Los Angeles, which surrendered 40 points to Kevin Durant but forced the league MVP into eight of his team’s 16 turnovers. Westbrook totaled 27 points and eight assists in a setback that seemed far from the realm of possibility when the Thunder led by 16 three minutes into the final quarter.
Final Score: Indiana 95, Washington 92
Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) – Paul George put the Pacers on his back and got some help from fellow All-Star Roy Hibbert in carrying Indiana to a remarkable 95-92 comeback victory over the suddenly reeling Washington Wizards in Game 4 on Sunday. The Wizards were seemingly on their way to evening this Eastern Conference semifinal series when they led by 19 early in the third quarter, but George and Hibbert combined for 43 points in the second half to put Washington on the brink of elimination. Twenty-eight of those points came from George, who made big basket after big basket and even grabbed 12 rebounds for the Pacers. Hibbert finished with 17 points and nine rebounds and made a huge turnaround hook shot with 62 seconds remaining to give the Pacers a 94-91 lead. After a series of empty possessions, Bradley Beal and George Hill traded 1-for-2 showings at the foul line, as Hill’s miss with 6.8 seconds remaining gave Washington one chance to force overtime. The Wizards, however, never got a shot off. Trevor Ariza threw away the ensuing inbounds pass, and Washington fell into a 3-1 deficit heading back to Indianapolis for an elimination game on Tuesday.
Categorized in: NBA