Nuggets 89 at Thunder 106
Kevin Durant scored 23 points, Russell Westbrook added 21 and Oklahoma City built a big first-half lead on the way to a 106-89 victory over Denver in Game 2 on Wednesday night.
The first-round playoff series shifts to Denver on Saturday night with Oklahoma City leading 2-0.
The Thunder relied heavily on their all-star duo in Game 1, getting a combined 72 points from Durant and Westbrook. But they got contributions from everyone to build a 26-point lead early in the second quarter.
Ty Lawson scored 20 points to lead Denver, which got as close as 10 in the fourth quarter.
Nene and Raymond Felton added 16 points apiece for the Nuggets.
Oklahoma City got a balanced performance, with James Harden providing 18 points and Serge Ibaka adding 12 points and 12 rebounds. Kendrick Perkins had 11 rebounds as the Thunder piled up a 41-19 edge on the boards by late in the third quarter.
Denver made a brief rally to get within 86-76 after consecutive layups by Lawson and Felton with 8:33 to play.
Grizzlies 87 at Spurs 93
Manu Ginobili scored 17 points in the all-star’s return after missing Game 1 with an elbow sprain, and San Antonio beat Memphis to even the first-round series.
Ginobili wore a thick sleeve to protect his right elbow but played as physically reckless as usual.
Sam Young had 17 points for the Grizzlies, who opened the series with their first franchise playoff win.
Young’s 3-pointer with 14.9 seconds left made it 89-87 before George Hill sealed the win at the free throw line.
Game 3 is Saturday in Memphis.
Tim Duncan had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, and Hill and Richard Jefferson added 16 apiece.
Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, who combined for 49 points in the opener, were far less dominant in Game 2. Randolph scored 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting and Gasol had 12 points, making just 2-of-9. Gasol had 17 rebounds.