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Thompson, Durant Help Warriors Beat Spurs In Playoff Game 1: Highlights

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OAKLAND, Calif. — Champions Golden State Warriors opened their 2018 NBA playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs with a comfortable 113-92 victory in Game 1 at ORACLE Arena on Saturday.

Two-time MVP Stephen Curry, who has been sidelined since March 23 with a sprained left knee, did not play in the opening game of the seven-game series.

Curry is expected to sit out the entire first round, but head coach Steve Kerr said his star point guard has been making progress.

“When he’s ready, he’s ready but he’s making progress, which is a good sign,” Kerr said.

Klay Thompson scored 27 points and shot 11 of 13 from the floor, including 5 for 6 from 3-pointers and Kevin Durant finished with 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead the way for the Warriors.

“We did not end the season on a high note, we kind of hobbled into the playoffs,” Thompson noted. “We know how talented we are. We know how good we are.

“We have been here before in the postseason and know what it takes to win.”

Seven-footer JaVale McGee started on Saturday and contributed 15 points, while Draymond Green added 12 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and two steals for Golden State, which shot 54-percent from the field and held San Antonio the cold-shooting San Antonio to just 40-percent.

The Warriors, who never trailed in this game, had 32 assists on 44 field goals.

Rudy Gay led the way for Spurs with 15 points six rebounds and two steals off the bench, but leading scorer LaMarcus Aldridge, who averaged over 23-points this season, was restricted to 14 points on 5-for-12 shooting.

“We were just very overly excited, overzealous,” San Antonio guard Danny Green, who scored six points, said.

“Overreacting to a lot of things because we are so excited that we’re in the playoffs and playing, obviously, the best team in the world.”

Bryn Forbes scored 14 points off the bench in the defeat for San Antonio, which played without injured star forward Kawhi Leonard.

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Thompson, Durant, Curry Lead Warriors Past Struggling Spurs

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SAN ANTONIO, Sporting Alert — Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry combined to score 72 points and the Golden State Warriors beat the San Antonio Spurs 112-92 on Thursday night.

The Warriors (6-3), who were winning two straight and five of the last six, handed the Spurs (4-4) their fourth successive defeat, as head coach Gregg Popovich was tossed from the game late after receiving his second technical within seconds of each other.

Thompson made five 3-pointers and shot 11 of 17 from the field on his way to scoring 27 points for Golden State, while Durant had 24 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks.

Curry, who picked up an ankle injury in the first half, added 21 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Warriors, who shot 51.8 percent and knocked down 14 shots from 3-point range.

LaMarcus Aldridge paced San Antonio with 24 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks, while Kyle Anderson added 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

“LaMarcus was magnificent,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. “He’s been magnificent every game. His perseverance his hustle, his focus has been off the charts. He’s done a great job.”

24 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks, while Kyle Anderson added 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists from 3-pointers.

The Warriors trailed by 19 points in the first quarter and 55-50 at halftime, but rallied in the second half to win the game.

“We might as well start every game here down 20,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. “Other than the playoffs last year, that will be four or five straight games where that happened.

“You have to be able to match the Spurs’ intensity, especially because they’re such a good rebounding team.”

Thompson added: “Our focus (sparked the rally), especially on the defensive end, and not fouling.

“Those two things are great because when we do that, we are able to get out in transition and get easy buckets. Our focus on that side of the ball was really good.”

Visit Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs official websites for more team coverage.

Aldridge Nets 31, Spurs Improve To 4-0 With 117-100 Win At Heat

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MIAMI, FL, Sporting Alert – The San Antonio Spurs are off to a 4-0 start again after their 117-100 victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.

LaMarcus Aldridge, who recently signed a three year 72.3 million dollar contract extension, maintained his streaky start to the season by scoring 31 points on 12 of 20 shooting to go with seven rebounds and two steals across 38 minutes.

Rudy Gay jumped off the bench to pour in 22 points on 6 of 8 shooting for San Antonio (4-0) to stay unbeaten after four games for the second successive season.

Danny Green had 15 points and seven rebounds, Manu Ginobili added 14 points, Pau Gasol finished with 13 points and nine rebounds and Kyle Anderson ended with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win that took Greg Popovich’s career tally to No. 1,154 victories.

The veteran coach now moves one win shy of matching Phil Jackson for sixth-most in NBA history.

The Spurs were playing without starting point guard Tony Parker and leading forward Kawhi Leonard.

Tyler Johnson scored 23 points to pace Miami off the bench.

James Johnson added 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists, Goran Dragic finished with 20 points and Dion Waiters chipped in with 17 points and five assists for the Heat (2-2).

Tyler Johnson of Miami Heat
Tyler Johnson of the Miami Heat looks on

Rookie Bam Adebayo, who started for the injured Hassan Whiteside, who missed his third consecutive game with a bruised knee, finished with eight rebounds, four points and a block in 20 minutes.

Josh Richardson struggled on the night for the Heat and went 1 for 8 — missed all four of his 3-point attempts — in 33 minutes before fouling out.

Miami was losing to the San Antonio Spurs after four games for the second season in a row.

As a team, the Spurs went 42 of 76 from the floor for 55.3 percent on shooting, while making 10 of their 17 shots from 3-point attempts.

Miami, meanwhile, which pulled within one point, at 61-60 midway through the third quarter before San Antonio pulled away, shot 46.3 percent.

The Heat, however, were only 9 of 26 from long-range.

“We really didn’t get a handle on our defense for basically the entire game,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

“That’s a big credit to what they do and how they execute, how they have purpose and intention to every single possession.”

Despite the win Spurs coach Popovich was still not satisfied.

“I thought it was mediocre,” he said. “There were way too many mistakes. … Our offense got us through.”

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Clippers Beat Jazz 102-84; Griffin And Beverley Stars

Bryn Forbes Stars For Spurs In Win; Jayson Tatum Leads Boston

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SALT LAKE, Sporting Alert — Bryn Forbes scored 31 points and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Boston Celtics 81-70 on Day 2 of the 2017 Utah Jazz Summer League Wednesday night at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

Forbes, who made 36 appearances for the Spurs last season, scored 14 first-half points, made six 3-pointers and shot 12-for-20 from the field.

Former Duke star Jayson Tatum, the No. 3 overall pick, led the way for the Celtics with 23 points and shot 10-for-18.

Tatum, who was impressing for his second straight game for the Celtics, added 10 rebounds, two assists and a steal in his 31 minutes on the floor.

Meanwhile, Davis Bertans added 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting and went 4-for-8 from 3-point range for the Spurs in the win, while No. 29 overall pick Derrick White finished with 10 points off the bench for San Antonio.

Dejounte Murray, a second-year point guard with the Western Conference outfits, missed all 10 of his shots from the field in 21 minutes .

He, though, finished the game with five points, 10 rebounds, four assists and one steal.

Abdel Nader was the only other Boston player to score in double figures and he finished with 13 points in 19 minutes off the bench.

San Antonio returns to action in the 2017 Utah Jazz Summer League against the Philadelphia 76ers at 5 p.m. on Thursday night.

Boston meets the Utah Jazz at 7 p.m. in the final game of the 2017 Utah Jazz Summer League.

In the meantime, Brandon Paul finished with 20 points, six rebounds, four assists and a block to lead the Dallas Mavericks to 96-75 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2017 Orlando Summer League.

Paul hit six 3-pointers and shot 7-for-12 overall from the floor in the win.

“I was getting a lot of good looks,” Paul revealed. “I was moving off the ball and my teammates did a great job of finding me in spots where I can score and be successful.”

Luis Montero made all five of his 3-point attempts and shot 5-for-7 overall in to finish the game with 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in 19 minutes off the bench.

Jameel Warney added 14 points and five rebounds for Dallas.

Dakari Johnson was again impressive for Oklahoma City after he went 8-for-11 from the floor and scored 18 points.

Semaj Christon ended 16 points, eight assists for the Thunder in the defeat.

Curry Scores 36pts, Warriors Sweep Spurs, Advanced To NBA Finals

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SAN ANTONIO — Stephen Curry scored 36 points and the Golden State Warriors completed their third successive sweep in this year’s playoffs with a 129-115 victory over the injury-hit San Antonio Spurs Monday night to win their third straight Western Conference title.

Prior to this series, Golden State had also completed 4-0 sweep over the Portland Trail Blazers and the Utah Jazz in the opening two rounds of the playoffs.

San Antonio was again without injured star forward Kawhi Leonard, who failed to recover from a left ankle problem. Reserve forward David Lee (left knee) also miss the game.

Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors looks on

In the closeout win on Monday night, Curry shot 14-of-24 from the floor and also finished with six assists and five rebounds.

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Kevin Durant added 29 points on 10-of-13 shooting to go with 12 rebounds, while Draymond Green had 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for Golden State, which became the first team in NBA history to start the playoffs 12-0.

“It’s a great run, and we had an opportunity to get it done tonight, but more importantly, it was obviously just a closeout kind of mentality and trying to take care of our business and play a good 48-minute game,” Curry said.

Kevin Durant of Golden State Warriors
Kevin Durant of Golden State Warriors in the NBA playoff

“For the most part, we did.

“We had some slip-ups and some mental errors, but for the most part it was a solid night. Contributions from everybody.

“Going 12-0 is great, but it doesn’t mean anything going into the next series, and we have to understand that.”

Also on the night, reserve Ian Clark contributed 12 points, while Klay Thompson ended with 10 points on just 3-of-13 shooting for the Warriors.

Kyle Anderson led the Spurs with 20 points and six rebounds off the bench, and Manu Ginobili, in what might have been the final game of his 15-year NBA career, added 15 points and seven assists in a rare starting role.

Gregg Popovich and Manu Ginobili NBA Playoffs
Gregg Popovich and Manu Ginobili talk during NBA playoffs series v Houston

“We started him tonight out of respect,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. “That was the whole reason for starting him.

Ginobili left the game in the final minutes to a standing ovation.

“Before the game, you think it may or may not be his last game that he ever plays in, and I did not want to miss the opportunity to honor him in front of our home fans for his selflessness over the years.”

Pau Gasol had 14 points and nine rebounds off the bench, Patty Mills scored 14 points and Jonathon Simmons ended with 13 for San Antonio, which suffered just its third sweep in the Gregg Popovich era.

“Everybody tries to put together as much talent as they can, and that’s what (Golden State) did,” added Popovich.

“Make no mistake — they’re really talented. But that’s not the whole equation. That’s not everything that describes them.

“(Golden State is) maybe the best defensive team in the league on top of everything. So they don’t just play with talent.

“They execute at the defensive end of the floor. On offense, no team is more unselfish finding the open man and that sort of thing. Coaches are always trying to get their team to do that.

“But they’ve got a multitude of people who are unselfish in that regard and play a beautiful game. They’re way, way more than just their talent.”

As a team, the Warriors shot 55.8 percent to the Spurs’ 42.3 percent and dominated the home side at the AT&T Center, 53 to 41 in the rebounding stats.

Golden State advanced to the NBA Finals and now awaits the winner of the Eastern Conference finals series between the defending champions Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics.

Curry Scores 29 pts, Warriors Rout Spurs 136-100 For 2-0 Series Lead

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OAKLAND, Calif., Sporting Alert — Stephen Curry had a game-high 29 points and four Golden State starters scored in double figures in the Warriors’ run-away 136-100 win over the San Antonio Spurs Tuesday night in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

The All-Star point guard who shot 8-of-13 from the field, buried six 3-pointers and scored 15 of his total points in a 33-16 first-quarter breakaway, as Golden State took full advantage of the absence of Kawhi Leonard, who missed the game with an ankle injury.

Kawhi Leonard of the Spurs
Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs did not play in Game 2

Curry also collected seven rebounds and seven assists in the comfortable victory as the Western Conference No. 1 seeded side took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series.

Golden State reserve guard Patrick McCaw added 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting with three 3-pointers, Kevin Durant scored 16 points.

Draymond Green had 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocked shots for the Warriors, who got a season-best 63 points from the bench.

“They came out with a sense of urgency from the beginning and they played that way for 48 minutes,” acting Warriors head coach Mike Brown told reporters.

Klay Thompson finished with 11 points, but was 4-of-10 from shooting with six rebounds, while Shaun Livingston and Ian Clark each had 10 points for Golden State to secure its 10th consecutive playoffs win this season.

Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors
Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors in the NBA

“That’s just been the message all year, just play with urgency and start the game off with some energy and throw the first punch,” Durant said.

“Unlike Game 1 we did that tonight. We know they’re a little undermanned but they still play extremely hard, so we knew we couldn’t come out here and relax and think they were just going to give us the game. We had to go take it.”

Meanwhile, Jonathon Simmons, who started in place of Leonard, led the Spurs with 22 points and shot 8-of-17 from the floor.

Gregg Popovich and Manu Ginobili NBA Playoffs
Gregg Popovich and Manu Ginobili talk during NBA playoffs series v Houston

San Antonio, which never led in the game, trailed by as many as 41 points and was outperformed 46-44 in points in the paint and 20-13 fast break points.

The visitors shot 37-percent, well below the Warriors’ 56.2 percent, while making just 8 of their 23 shots from 3-pointers compared to Golden State’s 18-for-37 from long distance.

The defeat on Tuesday night saw the Spurs going behind 2-0 in a playoff series for the first time since being swept by the Phoenix Suns in the Western semifinals in 2010 and San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich warns that the series could be over if the men from Texas doesn’t get it together.

A disappointed Popovich deems that as a group, his players never believed they could have won the game.

“I don’t think we believed,” the veteran coach said. “I’m disappointed.

“The only way I can process this is I think it’s not about the O’s and X’s or rebounds or turnovers or anything like that.

“You have to believe. I don’t think as a group they really did, which means probably a little bit feeling sorry for themselves psychologically.

“It showed in the lack of edge, intensity … That was disappointing.”

Davis Bertans finished with 13 points for the Spurs in the defeat.

Game 3 is on Saturday in San Antonio.

Harden Missing; Leonard-less Spurs Rout Rockets, Win Series 4-2

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HOUSTON — James Harden went missing on the most important night of the season, as the Houston Rockets were eliminated from the 2017 NBA playoffs after losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals on Thursday night.

On a night when Kawhi Leonard was forced to sit out with a sore left ankle, LaMarcus Aldridge led a balanced Spurs offensive effort, as the visitors embarrassed the Rockets 114-75 in Game 6 to win the series 4-2. Box Score | Play-by-Play | Team Stats | Videos

 

Defeat in this series now means Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni has failed to win against Greg Popovich and the Spurs in five postseason series.

LaMarcus Aldridge of Spurs
LaMarcus Aldridge of the San Antonio Spurs

Aldridge posted an impressive double-double with 34 points and 12 rebounds to lead the way, as all five San Antonio starters scored in double figures in the close out game.

Jonathon Simmons, who started in place of Leonard, added 18 points and Patty Mills, who started as the point guard, ended with 14 points and seven assists for the Spurs, who dominated from the opening whistle.

Dejounte Murray chipped in with 11 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals off the bench and Pau Gasol had 10 points with 11 rebounds for San Antonio.

Danny Green had 10 points and six rebounds for the Spurs, who shot 53.1 percent from the floor, but were only 5-for-22 from 3-pointers.

“Everybody picked it up,” Popovich said. “Four, five, six guys all had good games. It wasn’t one guy scoring 40 or anything like that.

“Everybody contributed. It was a real team effort with (32) assists and just (seven) turnovers.

“They played well at the offensive ends with a lot of sets, and at the defensive end it was one of our best nights as far as scrambling around trying to keep up with these guys.”

Trevor Ariza led Houston with 20 points with five rebounds, and Clint Capela added 15 points and 12 boards in the defeat.

James Harden of the Houston Rockets
James Harden of the Houston Rockets during the NBA playoffs 2017

Meanwhile, James Harden, who had five points on 1-of-2 shooting with five turnovers at halftime, finished with only 10 points and shot the ball 11 times before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

The regular season MVP candidate also dished out seven assists, but was heavily criticized after the game after several pundits called out the star guard for quitting on his team.

The Spurs dominated Houston 62-18 in points in the paint and led by as many as 42 points in the blowout.

“For whatever reason, this game we didn’t have the juice and the stuff,” D’Antoni said.

“It was right across the board, so we’ll figure that out and get better this summer and then come back and do it again.”

San Antonio will now face No. 1 seed Golden State in the Western Conference Finals.

Game 1 in the series is Sunday.

Meanwhile, after missing Game 6 against Houston, Leonard said he will be ready to play in Game 1 against the Warriors.

Spurs Hold On For 110-107 OT Win Over Rockets; Take 3-2 Series Lead

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SAN ANTONIO, Sporting Alert — Manu Ginobili’s key block at the overtime buzzer helped the San Antonio Spurs held on to beat the Houston Rockets 110-107 and take a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series on Tuesday night.

Game 6 is Thursday in Houston.

With Kawhi Leonard forced to sit out on the bench because of an ankle injury he sustained during the final period, Spurs’ role players stepped up to carry the hosts across the line here at the AT&T Center.

Trailing by three points and with the ball on the final possession, Houston failed to get a shot off after Ginobili blocked James Harden’s 3-point shot attempt at the overtime buzzer.

Kawhi Leonard of the Spurs
Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs looks on

Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, picked up a left ankle injury and spent a lot of time watching from the bench down the stretch.

The All-Star forward rolled his ankle at the 5:37 mark of the third quarter when he stepped on Harden’s foot and was unable to shake off the injury.

Leonard tried to play through the pain, but was pulled after failing to make an impact and sat out the later part of the fourth quarter and the overtime period.

Records suggested that he was also nursing a knee problem.

“He’s had issues, and you could tell just before he took a couple of shots he jumped off one foot,” San Antonio coach Greg Popovich said.

“He didn’t want to come out, obviously. We let him play a little while just to see what he was going to be like, but it was obvious that he couldn’t go. So I think everybody else picked it up very well.”

Patty Mills added 20 points on 7-for-16 shooting with five 3-pointers in his first NBA playoffs start, while LaMarcus Aldridge had 18 points and 14 rebounds and Danny Green finished with 16 points in the win.

Ginobili ended with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Jonathon Simmons scored 12 points in the win for the Spurs, who outscored Houston 56-42 in the paint.

James Harden
James Harden of the Houston Rockets

Harden recorded a triple-double with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Rockets.

However, the MVP candidate missed 11 of his 15 three-point shots and turned the ball over three times during the overtime period and committed nine of Houston’s 15 turnovers.

Patrick Beverley finished with 20 points and Ryan Anderson added 19 points and seven rebounds for the Rockets, who collected 11 points from Eric Gordon, who was inserted into the starting lineup on Tuesday night.

Houston shot 16-for-48 from 3-point range for 33.3 percent, while the Spurs made just 11 of their 33 attempts from long range.

Meanwhile, despite missing overtime due to the injuries, Leonard is confident he’ll be able to play in Game 6 in Houston.

“Yeah, I’m going to be able to play,” Leonard told reporters. “It was frustrating because I wanted to play.

“But I was happy seeing my teammates out there putting in a good effort and getting the win.”

James Harden Scores 28 Points, Rockets Tie Series With Spurs 2-2

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HOUSTON — James Harden scored 28 points and led seven Houston players scoring in double figures, as the Rockets beat the San Antonio Spurs 125-104 to tie their Western Conference semifinals series 2-2.

Harden shot 10-of-18 from the floor and dished out 12 assists with five rebounds for Houston, which rebounded from consecutive losses after winning Game 1 in the series.

Eric Gordon added 22 points with six 3-pointers, Trevor Ariza had 16 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Ryan Anderson and Lou Williams each had 13 points for the Rockets, who never trailed and led by as many as 25 points.

“I thought we did a great job of having patience with their drive-ins,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said.

“Drive, kick, drive, kick instead of just throwing up a quick floater, which is kind of what they want.

“We were able to keep moving the ball, or keep moving our people and keep driving until we found the easier shot. And it worked.”

Also scoring in double figures for Houston were Bobby Brown, who finished with 11 points in five and a half minutes and Patrick Beverley (10), who played despite learning about the passing of his grandfather on Sunday.

Backup center Nene was forced to leave the game after suffering a left groin pull in the first quarter.

Nene was taken to a Houston-area hospital for an MRI after the game. The team says his status for Game 5 remains unknown.

Game 5 is Tuesday night in San Antonio.

Reserve guard Jonathon Simmons had 17 points to lead the Spurs, who got 16 apiece from starters Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge.

Patty Mills added 10 points for San Antonio, which shot 7-of-23 from 3-point range and 49.4 percent from the field overall.

Houston outpaced the Spurs 18-15 on fast break points and 62-52 in points in the paint.

Rockets shot 19-for-43 from 3-point range in the win.

“I think our defense was pretty defective,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

Spurs Dismantled Rockets 121-96, Tie Series, But Lose Parker

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SAN ANTONIO — Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points and the San Antonio Spurs overwhelmed the Houston Rockets 121-96 to even their Western Conference semifinals playoff series 1-1 on Wednesday night.

San Antonio was rebounding from the 27-point defeat against Houston in Game 1 on Monday night.

The series now moves to Houston for Game 3 on Friday. Game 2 Box Score

Leonard shot 13 of 16 from the floor and made three 3-pointers, while adding eight assists and seven rebounds for Spurs, who overcame the loss of Tony Parker to what looks like a serious knee injury.

Kawhi Leonard of the Spurs
Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs looks on

Parker was carried off the floor by two teammates with 8:43 left in the game at the AT&T Center after sustaining a left leg injury.

The star point guard landed underneath Houston’s basket after missing a short layup and he was seen grabbing his left knee as he lay on the floor.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich admits after the game that the injury is “not good” and Parker will undergo MRI on Thursday.

Veteran guard and teammate Manu Ginobili revealed afterwards that Parker was unable to put any weight on his left leg as it was still hurting.

Parker had 18 points and four assists before the injury.

“It’s hard to see him limping and hurting now,” Ginobili said. “You kind of know that we’re not going to see him anytime soon.

“So, that’s a tough blow. We’ll see, we don’t know.”

LaMarcus Aldridge added 15 points and eight rebounds, Jonathon Simmons scored 14 points off the bench and Danny Green went 5 of 7 from the floor on his way to scoring 12 points in the win for San Antonio, which shot 54.5 percent on the night.

Pau Gasol, who was inserted into the lineup from the start, grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds for the Spurs.

James Harden
James Harden for the Houston Rockets

Ryan Anderson made four 3-pointers and shot 7 of 9 from the field to score 18 points for Houston, but star man James Harden was held to just 13 points and shot a sorrowful 3 of 17 from the floor.

“I just missed shots,” said Harden, who also dished out 10 assists. “I didn’t convert layups.

“We knew they were going to come out with some aggressiveness. We just have to go out there and take care of business and do the things we didn’t do tonight.”

Eric Gordon finished with 15 points, Clint Capela poured in 14 on 6 of 8 shooting, Patrick Beverley ended with 12 points and Nene contributed 10 points for the Rockets, who made 11 3s, half of what they hit in Game 1.

“We had some opportunities with 50/50 balls that we didn’t get,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We have to have more faith in us to beat these guys two times at their place.

“We just didn’t to it tonight. Most of it comes down to loose balls and rebounds. It’s a series; it’s 1-1. We will gather ourselves in Houston. Now it’s our turn to react.”

San Antonio won the rebounding battle 47-32 and out-assisted Houston 27-22.

“We guarded better. We rebounded better and we shot better, and that’s why you play these games,” Popovich said.

“Our guys came back and showed who they are tonight and I was proud of them.”

Visit the respective team sites for more news on the Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs.

Rockets Hit 22 3-Pointers, Rout Spurs, 126-99 in Game 1

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Houston 126, San Antonio 99

SAN ANTONIO, Sporting Alert — The Houston Rockets made 22 shots from 3-point range en route to handing the San Antonio Spurs their heaviest playoffs home loss, following a 126-99 victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference semi-finals on Monday night.

Game 2 is Wednesday in San Antonio again.

Trevor Ariza scored 23 points, while James Harden had 20 points, 14 assists and three steals for Houston, which jumped all over San Antonio in the opening minutes and cruised to victory at the AT&T Center.

Clint Capela added 20 points and 13 rebounds, Ryan Anderson chipped in with 14 points and six boards, while top reserves Lou Williams and Eric Gordon ended with 13 and 11 points, respectively for the Rockets, who led by 29 at the end of the third quarter.

Houston led by as many as 39 points.

“We are going to have to be in sync and focused like this in every game,” Harden said.

“San Antonio is a veteran team, and they are capable of getting hot at any moment. I have to limit them. We were just taking what their defense gave us.

“It was important for us to get off to a really good start, especially on the road, and our energy level was up and we were very active.”

Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 21 points and 11 rebounds, but shot just 5-of-14 from the field before sitting out the fourth quarter.

Tony Parker and Jonathon Simmons added 11 points apiece, while star forward LaMarcus Aldridge was held to just four points and six rebounds and only eight points from Danny Green in the defeat.

San Antonio bench outscored the reserves of Houston 51-42, but the Rockets’ starters bettered the Spurs’ starting players 77-44 in the first three-quarters and 84-48 in the entire game.

“You have to play like a champion, and that’s what we did today — that’s just one day,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said.

“We need to repeat this three more times. We were locked in and competed well. Our defense was good, and we hit some shots.

“We don’t expect this to be like this always, but we needed to defend and rebound like we did tonight.”

Meanwhile, Houston reserve center Nene was ejected at the end of the third quarter after pushing San Antonio’s Dewayne Dedmon, who was also dismissed later.

Dedmon and Harden got into an altercation and got in each other’s face.

Nene pushes the Spurs center and was thrown from the game.

Watch TNT Overtime: Cavaliers v Raptors; Spurs v Rockets

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CLEVELAND, OH Sporting Alert — Defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers and Western Conference powerhouses San Antonio Spurs return to action in the second round of the NBA playoffs on Monday night.

The LeBron James-led Cavaliers will take on the Toronto Raptors in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals, while the Spurs, who are led by Kawhi Leonard, face-off against the sharp-shooting Houston Rockets in Game 1 of their Western Conference semi-finals.

Both games are on the TNT network and streaming live on TNT Overtime, starting at 7:00 PM ET and 9:30 PM ET.

Cleveland, which easily put away the Indiana Pacers 4-0 in its first round series, starts as the bookies favourite to win this series against the Raptors, who picked up a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in their opening series.

DeMar DeRozan
DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors in action against the Cavaliers

For the Raptors, All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan, who missed scoring in double figures just once in the series against the Bucks, enters this second round matchup with the Cavs in good form.

In his three games with the Cavaliers during the regular season, DeRozan averaged 29.7 points per game and shot 43.6 percent from the floor.

In the first-round series against Milwaukee, DeRozan averaged 23.5 points and 5.5 rebounds and shot the ball 43.9 percent from the field.

For Cleveland, James also heads into this series in immaculate form — averaging 32.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 9.0 assists and shooting 54.3 percent from the field and 45.0 percent from 3-point range.

According to ESPN Stats and Information, James, who had one triple-double during the series, just missed “becoming just the third player in the last 30 years to average a triple-double in a best-of-seven series.”

Kawhi Leonard of the Spurs
Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs looks on

Meanwhile, San Antonio heads into Game 1 of its Western Conference semifinal playoff series against Houston at the AT&T Center as a slight favourite, but basketball experts are predicting a very tight and entertaining best-of-seven game series.

The Spurs bounced the Memphis Grizzlies from the playoffs in the first round after winning that series 4-2, with three players scoring in double figures over the six games.

Kawhi Leonard led San Antonio with 31.2 points and six rebounds against the Grizzlies, while Tony Parker scored 16.3 points and LaMarcus Aldridge averaged 14.8 points and 7.3 boards during the first-round series.

James Harden
James Harden of the Houston Rockets

Houston, in the meantime, easily sent Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder packing from the playoffs and Mike D’Antoni’s men are hoping to build on that win as they seek to make a deep run into the postseason.

James Harden led the Rockets in the series win over the Thunder with 33.2 points, 7.0 assists and 6.4 rebounds.

Veterans Lou Williams, Nene, Eric Gordon and Patrick Beverley were also important figures for Houston in the opening round.

Harden averaged nearly a triple-double in his four meetings with San Antonio during the regular season — putting up 29.8 points, 11.8 assists and 9.0 rebounds in those encounters.

Monday, May 1

Toronto Raptors at Cleveland Cavaliers 7:00 PM TNT and TNT Overtime
EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS – GAME 1

Houston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs 9:30 PM TNT and TNT Overtime
WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS – GAME 1