OAKLAND, California — The San Antonio Spurs held off a furious final rally to beat the Golden State Warriors 94-82 in Game 6 on Thursday night and advance to the Western Conference finals.
Tim Duncan had 19 points and six rebounds, Kawhi Leonard scored 16 points and the Spurs won the series in six games.
Tony Parker shook off a poor start to score 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter. Tiago Splitter added a career-playoff high 14 points for San Antonio, which led by 13 late in the third quarter.
Stephen Curry shot 10 of 25 from the floor to score 22 points on a nagging left ankle. Jarrett Jack had 15 points as the injury-saddled Warriors wore down. The Spurs outshot Golden State 45 percent to 39 percent.
Second-seeded San Antonio will open the conference finals at home against Memphis on Sunday.
Knicks 85, Pacers 75
Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points to help the New York Knicks stay alive in the Eastern Conference semifinals with an 85-75 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 on Thursday night.
Reserves J.R. Smith and Chris Copeland each had 13 points for the Knicks, who trail 3-2 and will need a victory Saturday in Indiana to force a seventh game back here Monday. They are trying to become the ninth NBA team to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a series.
Anthony, who didn’t make a basket in the fourth quarter of either game in Indiana, made a jumper midway through the fourth quarter after Indiana closed within four points. He followed with two free throws, Raymond Felton made a layup, and the Knicks were never in jeopardy again.
Paul George had 23 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Pacers, who played without point guard George Hill because of a concussion and committed 19 turnovers.