Times wires
Saturday, May 5, 2012
ORLANDO — The Pacers have looked like a team with enough talent to win in the playoffs.
After wasting a big lead in Game 4 against the Magic, the Pacers showed they have the late-game toughness to win as well.
George Hill hit a pair of free throws with 2.2 seconds left in overtime to help Indiana survive squandering a 19-point fourth-quarter lead and beat the Magic 101-99 on Saturday to take a 3-1 lead in the first-round Eastern Conference series.
David West scored 26, including 12 in the third quarter and four in overtime, for Indiana. Danny Granger added 21 points.
The Pacers will try to close out the series Tuesday and get out of the opening round for the first time since 2005.
Indiana coach Frank Vogel likes where his team is now.
"We feel like we can get a win on our homecourt," he said. "To come in here in a tough environment and get two (wins), it just speaks volumes of our guys' resiliency."
Orlando had a chance to tie in the closing seconds, but Glen Davis' fade-away jumper bounced off the side of the rim.
Jason Richardson led the Magic with 25 points, and Davis added 24 points and 11 rebounds.
The Magic heads to Indiana looking at the possibility of its second straight first-round exit.
"You wish just one of those shots could've dropped because I thought our guys worked really, really hard," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We're down 3-1, and it's a matter of mind-set and whether you think you're still in the series or not."
INDIANA (101): Granger 9-20 1-1 21, West 11-23 4-5 26, Hibbert 5-7 4-4 14, Hill 3-10 5-6 12, George 1-7 0-0 2, Barbosa 3-4 0-1 7, Amundson 2-2 0-0 4, Hansbrough 2-5 0-0 4, Collison 3-6 3-3 11. Totals 39-84 17-20 101.
ORLANDO (99): Turkoglu 5-10 0-2 11, Anderson 3-9 2-2 11, Davis 10-18 4-5 24, Nelson 4-15 4-5 12, J.Richardson 9-18 3-4 25, Clark 1-4 2-3 4, Duhon 0-0 0-0 0, Q.Richardson 0-2 0-0 0, Redick 2-9 5-5 10, Orton 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 34-85 22-28 99.
Indiana 22 24 27 16 12— 101
Orlando 19 25 17 28 10— 99
3-Point Goals—Indiana 6-21 (Collison 2-3, Granger 2-8, Barbosa 1-2, Hill 1-4, George 0-4), Orlando 9-29 (J.Richardson 4-12, Anderson 3-6, Turkoglu 1-1, Redick 1-5, Q.Richardson 0-2, Nelson 0-3). Fouled Out—Hibbert. Rebounds—Indiana 53 (West 12), Orlando 52 (Davis 11). Assists—Indiana 23 (Collison 9), Orlando 24 (Nelson 11). Total Fouls—Indiana 28, Orlando 23. Technicals—Redick. A—18,846.
Thunder ousts Mavs
DALLAS — James Harden scored 15 of his 29 in the fourth quarter as Oklahoma City rallied for a 103-97 victory to sweep the defending champion Mavericks out of the playoffs.
The Thunder trailed by 13 points with 9:44 left before Harden scored seven in a row and nine in a 12-0 run over the next three minutes.
Oklahoma City finally took the lead, and kept it, after Russell Westbrook stole the ball from Dirk Nowitzki and passed to Serge Ibaka for a two-handed slam that made it 92-91 with 5:17 left.
Dallas is the second defending champion in five years to be swept in the first round. A year after beating the Mavs in the 2006 Finals, Miami lost in four games to Chicago.
OKLAHOMA CITY (103): Durant 9-18 4-5 24, Ibaka 5-9 0-0 10, Perkins 0-1 0-0 0, Westbrook 3-12 6-8 12, Sefolosha 2-4 0-0 5, Harden 11-16 4-5 29, Collison 1-2 2-2 4, Cook 1-4 0-0 3, Fisher 5-6 0-0 12, Mohammed 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 39-75 16-20 103.
DALLAS (97): Marion 4-9 1-2 9, Nowitzki 10-25 13-13 34, Haywood 1-3 2-2 4, Kidd 6-11 0-0 16, Terry 4-12 1-2 11, Carter 3-10 0-0 8, Mahinmi 3-4 4-5 10, Wright 1-1 0-0 2, West 1-4 0-0 3. Totals 33-79 21-24 97.
Oklahoma City 26 21 21 35— 103
Dallas 24 23 34 16— 97
3-Point Goals—Oklahoma City 9-24 (Harden 3-4, Fisher 2-2, Durant 2-8, Sefolosha 1-2, Cook 1-4, Westbrook 0-4), Dallas 10-19 (Kidd 4-8, Carter 2-3, Terry 2-4, West 1-1, Nowitzki 1-1, Marion 0-2). Fouled Out—Ibaka. Rebounds—Oklahoma City 44 (Durant 11), Dallas 45 (Carter 8). Assists—Oklahoma City 22 (Westbrook 6), Dallas 19 (Kidd 8). Total Fouls—Oklahoma City 27, Dallas 21. Technicals—Westbrook, Oklahoma City defensive three second, Marion. A—20,533.
Clippers grab 2-1 edge
LOS ANGELES — Chris Paul had 24 points and 11 assists, and Blake Griffin added 17 points for the Clippers, who beat the Grizzles 87-86 after Rudy Gay missed a jumper just before the buzzer.
The Clippers won their first home playoff game in six seasons to take a 2-1 West series lead.
Trailing 86-80, Gay hit a 3-pointer with 12.9 seconds left. After L.A. missed three of four free throws, Gay hit another 3-pointer. Eric Bledsoe missed two more free throws, and Gay got a good look at the end but missed.
"We took too many quick shots and gave up second-chance points," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said.
MEMPHIS (86): Gay 5-13 12-15 24, Randolph 6-13 5-8 17, Gasol 3-5 5-5 11, Conley 3-10 2-4 9, Allen 2-6 0-0 4, Pondexter 4-5 2-2 11, Speights 2-5 0-1 4, Mayo 1-8 4-4 6, Cunningham 0-0 0-0 0, Selby 0-0 0-0 0, Arenas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-65 30-39 86.
L.A. CLIPPERS (87): Butler 2-7 0-0 4, Griffin 7-13 3-9 17, Jordan 0-0 0-0 0, Paul 8-19 7-8 24, Foye 6-9 0-0 16, Young 3-5 0-0 7, Martin 2-4 0-0 4, Evans 1-2 2-8 4, Williams 3-8 0-0 8, Bledsoe 1-3 1-5 3. Totals 33-70 13-30 87.
Memphis 22 24 25 15— 86
L.A. Clippers 23 27 14 23— 87
3-Point Goals—Memphis 4-13 (Gay 2-5, Pondexter 1-1, Conley 1-4, Mayo 0-3), L.A. Clippers 8-17 (Foye 4-5, Williams 2-4, Young 1-3, Paul 1-3, Butler 0-2). Fouled Out—Mayo. Rebounds—Memphis 49 (Gasol 10), L.A. Clippers 53 (Evans 11). Assists—Memphis 19 (Conley 8), L.A. Clippers 18 (Paul 11). Total Fouls—Memphis 26, Clippers 27. Technicals—Speights, Griffin. A—19,060.