WASHINGTON — Thanks to last-second buzzer-beaters by Paul Pierce and Derrick Rose, the Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls have 2-1 leads in the 2015 NBA Playoffs.
Washington Wizards 103, Atlanta Hawks 101 (Saturday): Thanks to Paul Pierce’s 21-foot jumper in the closing seconds, the fifth-seeded Washington Wizards beat the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, 103-101 to take a 2-1 series lead.
Minus their All-Star point guard John Wall, the Wizards would see their 21-point let almost evaporate before Pierce’s heroics.
For the game, Pierce finished with 13 points, Otto Porter Jr., Nene and Bradley Beal added 17 each and Marcin Gortat finished with 14.
Chicago Bulls 99, Cleveland Cavaliers 96 (Friday): 26 years and one day to the day that Michael Jordan hit “The Shot” to upset the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1989 Playoffs, Chicago native Derrick Rose added another painful chapter to Cleveland’s tough-luck sports history with a buzzer-beating three-pointer over Tristan Thompson with three seconds to give the Bulls a 2-1 lead over the Cavs.
For the game, Rose scored 30, Jimmy Butler added 20 and Mike Dunleavy scored 16 for the Bulls, LeBron James led the Cavs with 27, J.R. Smith scored 14 in his first game back from a two-game suspension and Kyrie Irving added 11 points.
Los Angeles Clippers 124, Houston Rockets 99 (Friday): Thanks to a 23-0 run to start the third quarter, the Los Angeles Clippers crushed the Houston Rockets to take a 2-1 series lead. James Harden led the way for Houston with 25 points, three rebounds, 11 assists while J.J. Redick led the Clippers with 31 points.
Memphis Grizzlies 99, Golden State Warriors 89 (Saturday): Thanks to 21 points and 15 rebounds from Marc Gasol and 22 points from Zach Randolph, the rugged, grit-and-grind Memphis Grizzlies stymied the high-scoring Golden State Warriors, 99-89
Newly-crowned NBA MVP Stephen Curry finished with 23 points, while going 8-of-21 from the field and Klay Thompson finished with 20 points with Harrison Barnes adding 16.