Pacers draw first blood against Knicks

David West scored 20 points and Paul George 19, and the visiting Indiana Pacers topped the New York Knicks 102-95 on Sunday in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal.

D.J. Augustin added 16 points and Roy Hibbert and George Hill 14 each for the Pacers, who built a 16-point lead while Carmelo Anthony was on the bench in foul trouble in the third quarter and easily held on to spoil the Knicks’ first second-round playoff game since 2000.

Anthony finished with 27 points on 10-for-28 shooting and 11 rebounds, but he was frustrated by the Pacers’ rugged defense and by the referees. Raymond Felton added 18 points, J.R. Smith 17 on 4-for-15 shooting and Kenyon Martin 12 for the Knicks.

Thunder 93, Grizzlies 91

Kevin Durant scored 35 points, including two jumpers in the final minute, to lift the host Oklahoma City Thunder past the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1 of a Western Conference semifinal.

The Grizzlies had a chance to force overtime when Quincy Pondexter was fouled on a three-pointer with the Thunder ahead 93-90 and 1.6 seconds left, but he missed the first free throw. Pondexter made his second attempt before purposely missing the third, but Durant swatted the rebound away.

Kevin Martin added 25 points for the Thunder, which outscored the Grizzlies 29-18 in the fourth quarters. The Grizzlies got 20 points and 10 rebounds from Marc Gasol and 18 points and 10 rebounds from Zach Randolph.

Almost unanimous

Miami Heat star LeBron James earned 120 of 121 first-place votes on his way to winning the MVP award for the fourth time. Thunder forward Kevin Durant was second and Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony, who got the other first-place vote, third.