NBA

Pierce goes to the bank for game-winning shot

Wizards 103, Hawks 101: It was a play added to the Washington offense a day earlier, and it was drawn up for a guy, Paul Pierce, who’s been doing this sort of thing for the better part of two decades.

With three defenders near him, Pierce made a fall-away, 21-foot jumper that went in off the backboard at the buzzer to lift the Wizards over the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night, despite playing without John Wall and after letting a 21-point lead evaporate.

As he left the court after giving the Wizards a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series, Pierce was asked on TV whether he called “Bank!” Pierce is 37, and he has a nerve in his back that acts up from time to time, including in the first half on Saturday.

On Saturday, Washington was missing Wall, its All-Star point guard, for a second consecutive game because of a broken left hand, but it was the Hawks who seemed out of sorts most of the evening.

Grizzlies 99, Warriors 89: Zach Randolph scored 22 points and Marc Gasol added 21 points and 15 rebounds as Memphis beat visiting Golden State to take a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal.

Mike Conley and Courtney Lee both finished with 11 points for Memphis, which has won two straight with Conley, their point guard from Ohio State, back in the lineup.

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