NBA wRap: Hawks take 3-2 lead, Griz advance

MANILA, Philippines – The Atlanta Hawks secured a critical Game 5 victory over the Brooklyn Nets while the Memphis Grizzlies finally put down the pesky Portland Trail Blazers to set a date with the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinals.

All the details of both games, and more, right below in Tuesday’s, April 30, NBA wRap.

Atlanta Hawks 107 – 99 Brooklyn Nets

The Hawks looked like they were on their way to an easy win when they established a 14-point lead in the third period, but Brooklyn went on an 11-0 run to trim the deficit to 3 in the final quarter.

The Hawks’ lead fell to two, 97-95, with 2:20 to go following a 3-pointer by Joe Johnson. But on the next few possessions, a jumper by Al Horford and layup by Jeff Teague extended the #1 seed’s lead back up to six.

Brooklyn couldn’t answer, and Teague eventually sealed the win with a floater.

Horford led his team with 20 points and 15 rebounds:

Jeff Teague sets up Al Horford for the flush in transition! #NBARapidReplay http://t.co/9y2JBNAAOM

— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2015

DeMarre Carroll finished with 24 points, making it the third straight game he’s scored at least 20. Needless to say, he’s likely to earn a raise during free agency. Teague put up 20 points and 8 dimes.

Johnson put up 18 for Brooklyn while Jarrett Jack scored as much to go with 6 dimes. Alan Anderson was superb as well, registering 23 points and 4 3-pointers. He also had this nice finish:

Memphis Grizzlies 99 – 93 Portland Trail Blazers

Just when it looked like Memphis would coast to an easy Game 5 win, Portland’s second-year man C.J. McCollum scored 16 points in the third quarter that erased a double-digit Grizzlies lead. He finished with a career-high 33 points and hit 7 triples, but the Trail Blazers just didn’t have enough firepower to take down Memphis.

A big fourth quarter from Jeff Green, where he scored 9 points, sealed the win late for Memphis after Portland stayed within striking distance. Thanks to a long jumper by Courtney Lee later that put his team up nine, Portland had no choice but to play the foul game. Unfortunately for them, Memphis was superb at the foul line.

Marc Gasol had 26 points and 14 rebounds to lead Memphis. Lee put up 20.

Throwback Thursday, the Vince Carter edition:

Mike Conley, who needed facial surgery after taking an elbow in Game 3, was present for Game 5 but didn’t play, and by the looks of his injuries, he might be out for a while:

<iframe src=”https://vine.co/v/e7qjnx3izg5/embed/simple” width=”600″ height=”600″ frameborder=”0″></iframe><script src=”https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js”></script>

Officially, there is no timetable yet for his return.

Insult to injury for Meyers Leonard and the Blazers? Yup.

{source]<iframe src=”https://vine.co/v/e7b21MPJ33x/embed/simple” width=”600″ height=”600″ frameborder=”0″></iframe><script src=”https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js”></script>

The question now for the Trail Blazers is LaMarcus Aldridge. Will he re-sign with the team this offseason or will he bolt? Many say it’s 50-50. Only time will tell.

– Rappler.com