(The Sports Xchange) – Guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson and forward Draymond Green combined for 86 points to power the Golden State Warriors to a 109-98 points victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, completing a first-round playoff sweep of their best-of-seven series.
After hitting the miracle three-pointer from the left corner to pave the way for a dramatic victory over the Pelicans on Thursday, Curry scored 27 of his game-high 39 points in the first three quarters as the Warriors built an 88-67 lead.
Thompson scored 25 points and Green added 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors, who will play either Memphis or Portland in the next round.
The Pelicans, led by Anthony Davis’ 36 points, made one final push, scoring the first nine points of the fourth quarter and later cutting the margin to just seven points inside the final two minutes.
But they got no closer as the Warriors completed a sweep in a seven-game series for the first time since 1975.
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Nets 91, Hawks 83
Center Brook Lopez scored 22 points and the Brooklyn Nets pulled away early in the fourth quarter and beat the Atlanta Hawks in Game Three of their first round series.
Rookie forward Bojan Bogdanovic added 19 points and forward Thaddeus Young added 18.
Six of Young’s points came late in the third quarter, when he started Brooklyn’s decisive 18-0 run that ensured Monday would not be an elimination game. Atlanta leads the best-of-seven series 2-1.
The Nets won despite shooting 38.6 percent and getting a subpar showing from point guard Deron Williams, who was held to three points on 1-of-8 shooting and was on the bench for the final 16 minutes.
Forward DeMarre Carroll led Atlanta with 22 points as the Hawks shot 35.6 percent.
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Bucks 92, Bulls 90
Jerryd Bayless hit a wide-open layup as time expired, and the Milwaukee Bucks staved off elimination with a win over the Chicago Bulls.
Chicago leads the best-of-seven series 3-1.
The Bulls shot 48.5 percent but struggled to control the ball against Milwaukee’s defense, turning it over a season-high 28 times. Those extra possessions led to 39 Milwaukee points.
Milwaukee led by six points inside the final two minutes but the Bulls tied it up when forward Pau Gasol converted a three-point play with 38.4 seconds left.
Chicago got the ball back for a last shot but guard Khris Middleton stripped Rose on the opposite end. After a Bucks timeout, Middleton inbounded to Bayless, untouched in the lane.
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Grizzlies 115, Blazers 109
Center Marc Gasol scored 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies held off the Portland Trail Blazers to take a 3-0 lead in their best-of-seven series.
