The San Antonio Spurs pummelled the Utah Jazz 114-83 Wednesday to take a 2-0 lead in their NBA Western Conference first-round playoff series. Tony Parker scored 18 points and handed out nine assists for the Spurs, who are the top seeds in the West and whose coach, Gregg Popovich, accepted his NBA Coach of the Year award before the contest. After the Spurs extended their series lead with ease, the Memphis Grizzlies clawed back in their best-of-seven showdown against the Los Angeles Clippers, triumphing 105-98 to knot the series at one game apiece. The Grizzlies bounced back after a demoralizing game one defeat Sunday, in which the Clippers roared back to erase a 27-point second-half deficit to win by one point. The Grizzlies made sure there was no such drama this time, not letting their lead slip below four points in the final period. Chris Paul's four-point play, on a foul as he connected from three-point range, pulled Los Angeles within 83-79. The Grizzlies answered, however, by scoring eight straight. Paul scored 29 points and Blake Griffin added 22 for the Clippers, who host game three Saturday. In San Antonio, the Spurs took charge from the tip-off, opening the game with a 10-2 scoring run. After Al Jefferson scored with a layup, San Antonio answered with seven straight points. A 22-2 scoring run in the second quarter saw the Spurs lead 53-28 at halftime, and they had no trouble preserving the lead in the second half. San Antonio led by as many as 36 after Boris Diaw drove for a layup late in the third and they took an 87-53 lead into the final period. “I thought we moved the ball great and our shooters were making shots,” Parker said. “Defensively, I thought we did a good job controlling the boards.” Tim Duncan added 12 points and 13 rebounds and Kawhi Leonard chipped in with 17 points for San Antonio, who will try to maintain the momentum when the best-of-seven series shifts to Salt Lake City for game three on Saturday. In Florida, Danny Granger scored 26 points and Roy Hibbert added 18 as Indiana pulled away for a 97-74 victory over Orlando and a 2-1 lead in their NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. The Pacers outscored the Magic 32-17 in the third quarter and 53-36 in the second half to edge ahead in the best-of-seven series, regaining home-court advantage after dropping the opener at Indianapolis. Glen Davis scored 16 of his 22 points for the Magic in the second quarter. JJ Redick had 13 points off the bench and Jameer Nelson added 10. Twelve points from Hibbert helped the Pacers pull away in the third quarter. A 15-3 scoring run swelled Indiana's lead to 21 points, Hibbert scoring six points during the run and Granger seven. After leading by just six points at halftime, the Pacers led 76-55 going into the final period.
