Bulls beat Wizards, cut deficit to 2-1
WASHINGTON — Mike Dunleavy scored 35 points, one shy of his career-high, Jimmy Butler hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 24 seconds remaining, and the Chicago Bulls hung on Friday night for a 100-97 win over the Washington Wizards, trimming the deficit to 2-1 in their Eastern Conference first round series.
Dunleavy went 12 for 19 from the field, including a career-high eight 3-pointers on 10 attempts, for the Bulls.
Nets 102, Raptors 98
NEW YORK — Joe Johnson scored 29 points, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett brought a charge to their first playoff game in Brooklyn, and the Nets earned a 2-1 lead in their first-round series. Johnson made the clinching free throws with 3.1 seconds left after the Nets blew almost all of a 15-point, fourth-quarter lead. Deron Williams added 22 points and eight assists for the sixth-seeded Nets, who host Game 4 on Sunday night.
Rockets 121, Trail Blazers 116
PORTLAND, Ore. — Troy Daniels hit a 3-pointer with 11.9 seconds left and Houston narrowed Portland’s first-round playoff advantage to 2-1.
James Harden broke out of a slump with a career playoff-best 37 points and Dwight Howard added 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Rockets.
LaMarcus Aldridge had more than 40 points in each of Portland’s victories in the first two games in Houston. But Omer Asik did a good job of shutting him down in Game 3, holding the All-Star forward to 23 points.
