Dominant Spurs Take Control
Tony Parker led the Spurs to another lopsided victory over the Blazers in Game 3.
The San Antonio Spurs were pushed to the limit in the first round of the playoffs. Now they’re one win away from a second round sweep and a trip to the Western Conference finals.
With the series switching to the Pacific Northwest, the Spurs defeated the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night, taking a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The location may have changed but the result, and in game performance, remained very much the same. The Spurs rolled to a dominant 118-103 victory, shooting 48.3 percent from the field and making 25-of-25 free throw shots.
Tony Parker led all players with 29 points, once more getting the better of the Blazers’ inexperienced backcourt, while proving to be the Spurs’ catalyst.
With 19 points on the night, Tim Duncan moved into fifth place on the all-time playoff scoring list, passing Karl Malone. His 4,776 points sits him behind only Michael Jordan (5,987pts), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (5,762), Kobe Bryant (5,640) and Shaquille O’Neal (5,250).
Kawhi Leonard contributed a double-double (16pts, 10rebs) while Manu Ginobili and Patty Mills both scored in double figures. The Spurs as a team forced 14 turnovers and never relinquished a big lead.
The Blazers got solid performances from its starters, all five of whom scored in double figures. Wesley Matthews had 22 points while LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard scored 21 apiece.
But, after being beaten 50-19 in bench points in Game 2, scored just six points off the bench, while the Spurs had 40. Head coach Terry Stotts will need to find a way to stretch his lineup if the Blazers are to have any success.
Having failed to cover the spread in its first six games against the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio has now covered the spread in four straight games, and convincingly so. The Spurs’ average margin of victory this series is 18.7 points.
Game 4 of the series is scheduled to take place at Moda Center on Monday (10:30 p.m. ET).
The Spurs, who swept the Blazers the last time the two sides met in the postseason (1999), will look to close out the series with one more dominant performance.
The Blazers meanwhile will look for a basketball miracle. In the entire history of the NBA, no team has ever successfully recovered from a 0-3 deficit. Can the 2014 Blazers become the first?
*****
Brooklyn Nets 104, Miami Heat 90 (Game 3)
Miami leads series 2-1
After being soundly beaten in the first two games of the series, the Brooklyn Nets took advantage of a change of scenery in Saturday’s other fixture, defeating the Miami Heat 104-90 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The Nets drained 15 three-pointers in the game, including five from Joe Johnson and four from Mirza Teletovic, to hand the Heat its first defeat of the postseason and to give the home side a shot at leveling the series on Monday (8:00 p.m. ET).
*****
The Pacers and Wizards go at it in Game 4 on Sunday night.
Indiana Pacers at Washington Wizards – Game 4
Indiana leads series 2-1
8:00 p.m. ET – After Friday’s down-tempo affair saw the Indiana Pacers take an 85-63 victory over the Washington Wizards, Frank Vogel’s side will look for more of the same when the two teams meet at Verizon Center in Sunday night’s Game 4.
The Wizards meanwhile will look to find a way to speed things up and level the series at two games apiece before returning to Indianapolis on Tuesday.
*****
Oklahoma City Thunder at Los Angeles Clippers
Oklahoma City leads series 2-1
3:30 p.m. ET – The Oklahoma City Thunder rebounded from a Game 1 beat down by taking two straight from the Los Angeles Clippers. A third straight would leave Scott Brooks’ team with one foot in the Western Conference finals.
With the Spurs looking increasingly likely to end their series with the Blazers early, the Thunder will not want this series to extend too far.
The Clippers will do everything in their means to make sure the series goes deep, giving them the chance of an upset victory in the series. In Game 4 they’ll need to control the offensive pace while finding a way to slow down the pairing of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who combined for 59 points in Friday’s Game 3.
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