* Grizzlies, Clippers duelling for West’s fourth spot
* Knicks, 76ers tied in East
* Duncan scores 18 for Spurs
(Adds quotes)
April 23 (Reuters) – The San Antonio Spurs cemented their
position as the Western Conference top seeds for the second year
in a row after thrashing the Portland Trail Blazers 124-89 on
Monday.
Tim Duncan and Daniel Green each scored 18 points as the
Spurs overwhelmed Portland to finally see off the Oklahoma City
Thunder in the race for bragging rights in the West.
The Spurs franchise remains a master of consistency,
capturing three NBA titles in five seasons from 2003-07, but the
current crop will be hoping to travel deeper into the
post-season of a lockout-shortened season than last year’s team.
San Antonio was stunned by Memphis in a first-round series
defeat a season ago, though this year’s Spurs appear far
healthier and possess more depth for a playoff run.
“â??As we showed last year, somebody can sneak up and take you
out just as easily (with home-court),” Duncan told reporters.
“â??We’re glad to have it. We will be prepared for our
first-round opponent. Hopefully we’ll get a much better effort.”
Over in the East, the Philadelphia 76ers claimed the final
post-season spot in the conference with a 105-87 rout of the New
Jersey Nets.
Six players scored in double-figures for the visiting 76ers,
who have an identical 34-30 record as the Knicks but are below
New York by virtue of the tie-breaker between the teams with two
games to play.
Meanwhile, Memphis beat Cleveland 109-101 to move within
half a game of the Los Angeles Clippers for fourth spot in the
West.
Both teams have two games remaining and are set to face each
other in the first round of the playoffs but the Grizzlies could
earn home-court advantage if they manage to move ahead of the
Clippers by the end of the regular season.
(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by John
O’Brien/Patrick Johnston)
