SAN ANTONIO – Danny Green scored seven of his 16 points in overtime Tuesday night, and the San Antonio Spurs overcame an injury to Kawhi Leonard to beat James Harden and the Houston Rockets 110-107 for a 3-2 lead in their second-playoff series.
Leonard had 22 points and 15 rebounds in 38 minutes before exiting with an injured right ankle. Leonard stepped on Harden’s foot with 5:37 left in the third quarter, then played limited minutes before sitting out overtime.
Harden had 33 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He had a chance at potential tying 3-pointer in the final seconds of overtime, but was blocked from behind by Manu Ginobili.
Game 6 is Thursday at Houston.
Each team stalled at the start of overtime. Patrick Beverley made a 3-pointer with two minutes remaining for the first points of the period, giving Houston a 104-101 lead.
Green made a go-ahead 3-pointer and converted a three-point play to make it 109-107 Spurs with 30.1 seconds left. He also made a foul shot down the stretch.
Two questionable plays closed regulation with the score 101-101.
Harden was whistled for a charge after dribbling all but a few seconds off the shot clock before driving to the basket on Jonathon Simmons. The Spurs failed to take a shot on their final possession, with Patty Mills banking in a 3-pointer after the buzzer sounded.
NOTES
CELTICS: Guard Isaiah Thomas can’t believe Draymond Green of the Warriors is calling anyone else a dirty player, let alone his Boston teammate, Kelly Olynyk.
“I don’t know how he can call anybody dirty,” Thomas said. “But it is what it is. Everybody’s got a comment or something to say about others, I guess.
“It’s a joke that he said that.”
Green said on his podcast that he doesn’t respect Olynyk and thinks he’s a dirty player. Green was reacting to an incident Olynyk had with Kelly Oubre Jr. of Washington, who was suspended for a game after shoving Olynyk after a hard screen.
Green later tweeted something seemingly meant as a response to Thomas, whose Celtics are tied with the Wizards 2-2 with Game 5 on Wednesday: “Just get through that series bro … ”
Olynyk also took exception to Green’s criticism of him.
“It’s ridiculous,” Olynyk said. “I mean (I) know who I am, I know what I do, what I stand for. My teammates know and that’s all that matters.”
PACERS: George Irvine, the former coach, died at 69 after battling cancer.
He became Indiana’s head coach in 1984 after three seasons as an assistant with the team. He went 48-116 in two seasons and later returned as the Pacers’ interim coach in 1988-89. Irvine got a second chance with Detroit in 1999-2000 and stuck around for one more season.
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