(The Sports Xchange) – Highlights of Wednesday’s NBA playoffs games.
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Spurs 109, Mavericks
103
San Antonio center Tiago Splitter produced nine of his 17 points in the fourth quarter to help the Spurs defeat the Dallas Mavericks and regain control of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.
The Spurs now lead the best-of-seven matchup 3-2 and can close out the series in Dallas on Friday
Top-seeded San Antonio have won the last two games of the series after trailing 2-1.
Splitter added 12 rebounds and five assists on Wednesday while Tony Parker led the Spurs with 23 points. He made a three-point shot with 1:52 left in the game and assisted on a basket by Tim Duncan with 47 seconds remaining that helped San Antonio seal the win.
San Antonio took a nine-point lead at halftime and effectively held off every Dallas run.
Vince Carter was spectacular for Dallas, scoring a game-high 28 points and converting seven of nine three-point attempts.
Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, and grabbed 15 rebounds in the game. He reached the 20-point mark for the first time in the series.
Dallas guard Monta Ellis scored 21.
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Rockets 108, Trail Blazers 98
James Harden awoke from a game-long slumber and scored eight points over the last four minutes to lead the Houston Rockets to a 108-98 win over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game Five of their Western Conference series.
Harden finished with 17 points and seven assists to help Houston avoid elimination as they cut their series deficit to 3-2. Game Six is on Friday in Portland.
