Pelicans edge Suns after Booker’s injury to tie playoff series | CBC Sports

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Brandon Ingram scored 37 points, CJ McCollum added 23 and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the top-seeded Phoenix Suns 125-114 in Game 2 on Tuesday night, leveling the series in their Western Conference first-round matchup. .

The Suns not only lost the game, but they’re unsure of the health status of All-Star guard Devin Booker, who was spectacular in the first half with 31 points before leaving with a strained right hamstring in the third quarter.

The Suns, who led the NBA with a franchise-record 64 wins during the regular season, were down 77-74 when he left.

Phoenix kept the game close without their leading scorer and even took a lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Pelicans rallied back and hit big 3-pointers by Jose Alvarado, Ingram and McCollum to take advantage of a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Ingram added back-to-back hard jump shots in the final minutes to hold off a final Suns rally. New Orleans earned its first playoff victory since 2018.

Ingram finished 13-for-21 from the field.

Game 3 is Friday in New Orleans.

The Pelicans admitted they were a bit surprised by the intensity of their Game 1 loss, especially during the first half when they fell into a 19-point halftime hole. They didn’t make the same mistake Tuesday, taking a 30-28 lead after one quarter.

The Suns built a 61-56 halftime lead thanks to Booker’s scoring spree. He scored all 31 of his in the first half on 12-of-18 shooting, including 7-of-10 from 3-point range. He hit a 30-foot jumper just before the halftime bell after the Pelicans inexplicably left him open.

Booker left the game and went to the locker room late in the third quarter. On possession before leaving, he jumped to contest a New Orleans fast break shot, but it wasn’t immediately clear if he was hurt.

He returned at the beginning of the fourth quarter wearing warm-up clothes and never entered the game again. Booker missed several games earlier in the season with a hamstring injury.

Grizzlies tie playoff series with Timberwolves

Ja Morant had 23 points and 10 assists as the Memphis Grizzlies looked much more like the team that posted the second-best record in the NBA, defeating the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves 124-96 on Tuesday night to even their series of first round of the Western Conference. at 1 each.

Morant went to the bench with 4:40 left to a standing ovation. He finished one rebound away from a triple-double. Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. each added 16 with Jackson shooting 4-for-7 from 3-point range as the Grizzlies finished with seven in double figures.

Brandon Clarke, Xavier Tillman Sr. and Ziaire Williams each had 13. Tyus Jones added 10.

Game 3 is Thursday night in Minneapolis.

Anthony Edwards, who scored 36 points in his playoff debut in Game 1, led Minnesota with 20. All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Naz Reid and Taurean Prince each had 12 off the bench, and D’Angelo Russell added 11.

The heat defeats the hawks

Jimmy Butler scored a playoff career-high 45 points, including a 7-0 career streak in the closing moments, as the Heat stopped the visiting Hawks in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series. .

Tyler Herro scored 15 for Miami, while Max Strus scored 14 and Gabe Vincent added 11 for first-seeded Miami, who took a 2-0 lead over the eighth-seeded Hawks.

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 19 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter for Atlanta. Trae Young scored 25 for the Hawks, while De’Andre Hunter had 16 and John Collins finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks.

Butler’s previous playoff record was 40, done twice, both times in the bubble when the Heat reached the 2020 NBA Finals. The Heat needed all of his feats then, and they needed all of them on Tuesday, too.

Bogdanovic’s 3-pointer with 3:15 left put Atlanta up 104-101.

From there, it was all Butler.




Reference-www.cbc.ca

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