Miami put heat on Celtics, Thunder level series

(Reuters) - The Miami Heat piled the pressure on bruised and battered Boston by taking a 2-0 lead in their NBA playoff series with a 102-91 victory on Tuesday.

Quicker and more athletic than the veteran Celtics, who were hampered by a series of nagging injuries, the Heat again met the challenge of the defending Eastern Conference champions and have a commanding lead in the best-of-seven second-round series with Game Three set for Saturday in Boston.

In the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder slowed the inside force of the Memphis Grizzlies in a 111-102 victory that leveled their series 1-1.

Kevin Durant scored 26 points and the Thunder held red-hot Zach Randolph to 2-for-13 shooting as Oklahoma City bounced back from their series-opening loss to the giant-killing Grizzlies.

In Miami, LeBron James took his turn to carry the load with 24 of his game-high 35 points coming in the second half, while Game One standout Dwyane Wade added 28.

"This is a great team we're going against right now," James told reporters. "We're playing as hard as we can defensively and just trying to wear them down throughout the course of the game."

"They made a run but we stuck to our principles and finally wore them down."

With the game tied 80-80 midway through the fourth, the Heat exploded with a 14-0 burst to put the contest out of reach.

Boston's Paul Pierce, who was ejected from the contentious series-opener with two technical fouls in the fourth quarter, returned from a strained left foot but the injury forced him off the court briefly in the first quarter.

Ray Allen also played with a bruised chest following a collision with James in the third.

Rajon Rondo led the way with 20 points and 12 assists for Boston who trailed by five points after both the second and third quarters.

The Celtics will have to regroup at home if they are to take down Miami's "Big Three," who were brought together in the off-season to challenge Boston's supremacy.

Chris Bosh, the Heat's final member of the triumvirate, finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Having allowed 34 points from Memphis's Zach Randolph in Game One, the Thunder restricted him to just 15 points, as they charged to a 28-17 lead after the first quarter and stretched it to 97-76 in the fourth.

Russell Westbrook had 24 points and James Harden put in 21 for the Thunder.

Mike Conley led the way with 24 points for Memphis who will host Game Three on Saturday.

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Heat and Thunder win opening playoff rounds

(Reuters) - The Miami supporting cast helped the Heat survive one final run from the Philadelphia 76ers to hold on for a 97-91 victory on Wednesday that advanced them to the next round of the NBA's playoffs.

In the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder also advanced after a 100-97 victory over the Denver Nuggets while the San Antonio Spurs escaped elimination with a 110-103 overtime win against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Reserve Joel Anthony made two free throws to put Miami up by three with 16 seconds left as the Heat narrowly avoided another fourth-quarter meltdown -- Philadelphia went on a 10-0 run in the final 82 seconds to win Game Four -- to wrap up their best-of-seven series 4-1.

The Heat had allowed a 10-point fourth-quarter lead to be cut to just one on Wednesday but they made nine of their 10 free throws in the final three minutes to ensure they advanced to a second round clash with the Boston Celtics.

"It was very difficult (to finish the series)," Dwyane Wade told reporters after scoring 12 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter. "That team (Philadelphia) is resilient.

"We knew it was going to be that way. That team got us ready for the next round."

Chris Bosh finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds while LeBron James had 16 points, but it was the 20 points the home team got off the bench from Mario Chalmers that proved vital.

Philadelphia's starting lineup had dominated their Miami counterparts throughout the series, outscoring them 78-46 before either side made their first substitutions, which continued on Wednesday as they opened an 11-point lead in the first quarter.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra changed tactics and started the second half with reserves Chalmers and Anthony, with Chalmers' contribution proving invaluable.

The guard made two of this six three-pointers in the third quarter, one of which began a 7-0 run that helped Miami to a 72-67 lead heading into the final period.

Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala scored 22 points each for the 76ers.

In Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant carried his team with 41 points as the Thunder erased a nine-point deficit in the final four minutes to clinch the series 4-1 and advance to the next round.

The Thunder went on a 9-0 run to tie the game with 1:50 left, then Durant, the NBA's leading scorer during the regular season, made two free throws to put his team on top 98-97 before adding the clinching jumper.

Denver's Arron Afflalo missed a three-point attempt as time expired. Afflalo finished with a team-high 15 points and Kenyon Martin added 14 and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets.

The Thunder will meet the Spurs or Grizzlies in the next round after San Antonio's Gary Neal made a last-second three-point shot to send their game into overtime.

The Spurs then saved their season by scoring the final seven points of the game to prevail 110-103 and reduce their series deficit to 3-2.

Manu Ginobili scored 33 points and Tony Parker added 24 and nine assists.

The Grizzlies, who had shocked the NBA by putting the WestWesternen Conference top-seeds on the brink of elimination, held a 97-94 lead with less than two seconds to go in regulation when Neal made his shot.

Zach Randolph had 26 points and Mike Conley finished with 20 for Memphis.

Game Six is on Friday in Memphis.

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Grizzlies push Spurs to brink; Mavs, Nuggets

(Reuters) - Western Conference top seeds San Antonio were pushed to the brink of elimination from the first round of the NBA playoffs after the Memphis Grizzlies took a 3-1 series lead with a 104-86 win over the Spurs on Monday.

In other Western Conference playoff games, the Dallas Mavericks took a 3-2 series lead over the Portland Trail Blazers while the Denver Nuggets avoided being swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder, cutting the series deficit to 3-1.

The Grizzlies finished the regular season eighth in the West and were not expected to be a major test for the Spurs but their Game Four win puts them in a commanding position in their best-of-seven series.

"We're a team that doesn't get a lot of attention," Memphis point guard Mike Conley told reporters. "We've been playing great and we're able to beat good teams like San Antonio. We just have to do it one more time."

Memphis were too big and athletic for the Spurs and blew the game open in the third quarter where they outscored San Antonio 30-15.

Conley led Memphis with 15 points, with four others joining him in double figures, as the Grizzlies close in on their first NBA playoff series win.

The Spurs got 23 points from Tony Parker but Tim Duncan struggled with just six points and seven rebounds. Game Five is on Wednesday in San Antonio.

Dallas reclaimed control of their matchup after a 93-82 victory and will get the chance to close out the series in Portland on Thursday.

The Mavericks had blown a 23-point lead in the final 13 minutes of Game Four to lose on Saturday but regrouped with an inspired second half to take a 3-2 series advantage.

Dallas got 25 points from Dirk Nowitzki and 20 from Jason Terry as they outscored the Blazers 31-20 in the third to take control of the game.

Brandon Roy, who was coming off a spectacular performance in Game Four when he tallied 18 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, managed just five on Monday.

Denver survived a late scare from the Thunder to earn their first win of the series 104-101, with Game Five to be played on Wednesday in Oklahoma City.

Ty Lawson scored a team-high 27 points for the Nuggets, who had a 10-point lead with two minutes remaining before the Thunder made their run.

Kevin Durant made a three-pointer to pull his team within two points with four seconds left before Russell Westbrook missed a three-point shot that would have brought the scores level at the buzzer.

Durant finished with 31 and Westbrook had 30 in the loss

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