Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Associated Press
MEMPHIS, Tenn.
Mike Conley had 15 points and seven assists to help the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies rout the San Antonio Spurs 104-86 on Monday night and grab a commanding 3-1 lead in their opening series.
The Grizzlies already had made franchise history by winning their first playoff game in Game 1 and added their first playoff win at home. Now they are a game away from becoming the second eighth seed to knock off a No. 1 seed since the NBA expanded to a best-of-seven series and join the 2007 Golden State Warriors.
Game 5 is Wednesday in San Antonio.
Darrell Arthur added 14 points off the bench for Memphis. Tony Allen had 12, Zach Randolph and O.J. Mayo 11 apiece.
Tony Parker led the Spurs with 23 points, but he also had seven turnovers. Manu Ginobili had 14, Gary Neal 11, and George Hill and Tiago Splitter 10 each.
Tim Duncan had six points on his 35th birthday.
Mavericks 93 Trail Blazers 82
DALLAS
Dirk Nowitzki scored 11 of his 25 points in the third quarter and the Dallas Mavericks avoided another late collapse to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 93-82 Monday night to take a 3-2 lead in their first-round series.
Tyson Chandler had 14 points and 20 rebounds — his most ever in a playoff game — and Jason Kidd had 14 assists to make sure Dallas bounced back strong from blowing a 23-point lead over the final 14 minutes of Game 4.
Now the Mavericks have two days to rest up before trying to close out the series in Game 6 on Thursday night in Portland. It won’t be easy as the Trail Blazers have won all four meetings there this season.
History is certainly on Dallas’ side to pull out the series. Of the previous 157 series tied at 2, the Game 5 winner has come out on top 83 percent of the time.
Portland led for much of the first half and was within 75-65 when Game 4 star Brandon Roy made an open jumper at the start of the fourth quarter.