Kawhi Leonard tallied 29 points as San Antonio Spurs advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs with a 103-96 victory over Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday.
Tony Parker delivered 27 points for the Spurs, who eliminated the Grizzlies by winning the Eastern Conference series in six games.
The Spurs next face Houston Rockets in a best of seven series that gets underway on Monday.
Elsewhere, DeMar DeRozan delivered 32 points as Toronto Raptors rebounded after blowing a 25-point second half lead to defeat Milwaukee Bucks 92-89 to reach the second round.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 points and 12 rebounds for San Antonio, who won for the first time in Memphis this season.
The Grizzlies got 26 points from Mike Conley and 18 from Marc Gasol. This was Conley’s fifth straight game with 20 points or more.
Zach Randolph finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
San Antonio survived a strong challenge from Memphis by outrebounding the Grizzlies 46-28.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Memphis was a good test and now his team is better prepared to go on a long postseason run.
Veteran Parker shot 78.6 % from the field (11-of-14), the best he’s ever shot in a post season game.
In Milwaukee, Raptors used a 9-0 surge late in the fourth quarter at Milwaukee’s Bradley Center arena to win the first-round Eastern Conference series, eliminating the Bucks in six games.
The results: Eastern Conference : Toronto Raptors 92 bt Milwaukee Bucks 89; San Antonio Spurs 103 bt Memphis Grizzlies 96 .
