(3) Los Angeles Clippers (1-1) at (6) San Antonio Spurs (1-1), 9:30 p.m. (ET)
(SportsNetwork.com) - The only even series in the playoffs shifts to San Antonio Friday night when the defending champion Spurs host the Los Angeles Clippers at AT&T Center.
Of the eight postseason series, this is the only one in which both teams have a victory. Three are already 3-0, and four more are 2-0, but this one, which was expected to be exciting, has lived up to the hype.
Game 2 in Los Angeles was a classic, won ultimately by the Spurs, 111-107, in overtime.
Tim Duncan turned back the clock once again, this time with 28 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Duncan was forced to play 44 minutes, more than he logged in any of San Antonio's 23 playoff games last season, but the 38-year- old still found a way to produce when it mattered most.
"He continues to amaze me," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of his star big man.
Duncan became the fifth player in NBA postseason history to score at least 5,000 points. It was also his 100th career playoff game with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
The game was tied at 101-101 with less than two minutes to play in OT when Duncan hit an off-balance runner over the NBA's leading shot blocker, DeAndre Jordan. Patty Mills and Kawhi Leonard put in layups on the next two trips to make it 107-101.
The Clippers wouldn't go down without a fight. Chris Paul hit a 3-pointer on their next trip and after Mills made it a five-point game with a pair of free throws, J.J. Redick potted a 3 to make it 109-107.
Mills, who forced overtime with two foul shots late in regulation, stepped up to the line once again and put the game away with two more. He finished with a playoff career-high 18 points off the bench, while Leonard, the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year, tallied 23 points and nine boards for the reigning champs. Boris Diaw gave 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Blake Griffin posted a triple-double in the loss with 29 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. Paul scored 21 points and Jordan tallied 20 points and 15 boards. Redick chipped in 16.
"We made a lot of mistakes," said Clippers coach Doc Rivers. "I don't know if we played our best game tonight, I think that was pretty obvious, yet we still had a chance."
The Spurs avoided going down 0-2 in a first-round series for the first time since 1999.
Tony Parker injured his right Achilles in the fourth quarter and did not return. He finished 0-for-6 from the field and is questionable for Friday night.
Late in the fourth quarter, with the Spurs ahead, they employed the strategy of fouling Jordan, one of the league's worst free-throw shooters. He finished the stanza 6-for-17 from the stripe but went 3-for-6 late to pull the Clippers close.
Another issue to watch in this series has been the play of the benches. In Game 2, four San Antonio reserves played about 19 minutes each, while four Clippers starters logged 43-plus minutes.
The teams split two meetings this season in San Antonio.
Game 4 will be Sunday afternoon.