ADVERTISEMENT
Manu Ginobili broke out of his shooting slump with 17 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to an 87-81 victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday night and a sweep of their first-round Western Conference series.
Ginobili was 0 for 8 from beyond the arc in the first three games. But after Utah pulled within 61-58 with 3:18 left in the third, he hit consecutive 3-pointers then added another as the Spurs regained control, taking a 76-58 lead early in the fourth.
The Jazz went scoreless for more than 8 minutes during a 15-0 Spurs run. Utah made a furious charge late and was within 83-79 on Al Jefferson's putback with 49 seconds left.
But Ginobili's fastbreak layup after a steal by Tony Parker sealed it.
LOS ANGELES — Chris Paul scored eight of his 27 points in a dynamic overtime performance, and the Los Angeles Clippers moved to the brink of their second playoff series victory in 36 years with a 101-97 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night, taking a 3-1 series lead.
Blake Griffin had 30 points and seven assists before fouling out with 2:26 left in overtime for the Clippers, who blew a 10-point lead in the final 4½ minutes of regulation before their all-star point guard took charge in the overtime.
Mike Conley scored a career playoff-high 25 points and Rudy Gay had 23 on 8-of-25 shooting for the Grizzlies, who couldn't match Paul's late-game poise in another thrilling chapter of a highly entertaining series.
