Sunday 10 May 2015 09:18, UK
Forward Paul Pierce banked in the winning jumper at the buzzer as the Washington Wizards beat the Atlanta Hawks 103-101 in Game Three of their Eastern Conference semi-final play-off series on Saturday.
Guard Bradley Beal and forwards Nene and Otto Porter each scored 17 points as the short-handed Wizards survived a furious comeback by the Hawks to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven NBA series against the top seed in the East.
Game Four is in Washington on Monday.
Washington played their second straight game without injured All-Star guard John Wall and won at home despite blowing a 21-point fourth-quarter lead.
Sparked by their second unit, Atlanta stormed back with a 21-3 run, including 17 straight points, to get within three points with 3:12 remaining.
Forward Mike Muscala's three-pointer tied the score with 14.1 seconds left.
Pierce, defended by Hawks guard Dennis Schroder, hit a step-back jumper just inside the three-point arc as the buzzer sounded. He finished with 13 points.
Even without Wall, who suffered five non-displaced fractures in his left wrist and hand in Game One, Washington led comfortably throughout and were up 91-70 with 9:54 remaining.
Schroder and guard Jeff Teague each scored 18 points for the Hawks, who trailed by double digits for most of the game.
Forward DeMarre Carroll scored 14 points, snapping a streak of six games with at least 20. Atlanta forward Paul Millsap (flu-like symptoms) came off the bench and had eight points.
Forward Kyle Korver, the only starter to play during the final minutes, had six points.
In the other play-off match on Saturday night, the Memphis Grizzlies held off a late charge by the Golden State Warriors at FedExForum for a 99-89 victory and a 2-1 lead in the NBA Western Conference play-off semi-finals.
Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph scored 22 points and center Marc Gasol posted a double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds.
Gasol did most of his work in the first half, but he hit a jumper that beat the shot clock with 2:06 left to hike the Grizzlies' lead to 93-85. Gasol fouled out with 1:45 left.
Golden State, who trailed by 19 points early in the fourth quarter, got to within four at 88-84 with 3:15 to play on a Harrison Barnes layup (16 points, six rebounds). But Memphis closed on an 11-5 run to seal the victory.
Warriors guard and NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry finished with 23 points and six assists. But Curry was just 8 of 21 from the floor and 2 of 10 from 3-point range.
Warriors guard Klay Thompson scored 20 points, going 8 of 13 from the field and 3 of 6 from behind the arc.
After making 20 turnovers in the Game 2 loss, Golden State committed 17 more turnovers in Game 3 that led to 22 Memphis points.
The Grizzlies had their largest lead with 10:38 left in the fourth quarter when Randolph knocked down a step-back jumper for an 83-64 lead.
Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley, who again played with a mask because of a facial injury, had 11 points and five assists. Guard Courtney Lee finished with 11 points and four assists.
