SAN ANTONIO — Tim Duncan saved the Spurs with a rare 3-pointer at the end of the first overtime, and Manu Ginobili hit a layup with 1.8 seconds left in double OT to send San Antonio past the Phoenix Suns, 117-115 on Saturday in Game 1 of their first-round series.
Duncan finished with 40 points and 15 rebounds.
The Suns had controlled play for the first three quarters, leading by as many as 16 points despite early foul trouble for Shaquille O’Neal. The Suns had a six-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Spurs were down 93-90 with 1:10 to go after Leandro Barbosa’s fast-break layup.
With 15 seconds left, Michael Finley tied it at 93 for the Spurs with a 3-pointer.
With his team down 104-101, Duncan found himself all alone at the 3-point line. After only a slight hesitation, he fired and made his first 3 of the season with 3 seconds to play to make it 104-104.
Before Ginobili’s game-winning drive to the basket, Steve Nash made a 3-pointer from the corner to tie it at 115.
Tony Parker added 26 points for the Spurs, and Ginobili had 24.
Amare Stoudemire, who fouled out with 12 seconds left in the first overtime, led the Suns with 33 points. Nash had 25 points and 13 assists, Shaquille O’Neal scored 11 points.
The teams will meet again in San Antonio on Tuesday night before the Western Conference series shifts to Arizona.
Cavaliers 93, Wizards 86
CLEVELAND — Determined to make the Wizards swallow their words, LeBron James scored 32 points and Cleveland won Game 1 of the third consecutive first-round playoff series the Eastern Conference rivals have played.
Called ‘‘overrated’’ by Washington’s DeShawn Stevenson in the final weeks of the season, James scored 20 points in the second half to lead the defending Eastern Conference champions, who took a 1-0 lead in a best-of-seven series that appears to have a long way to go.
James sat out the early part of the fourth quarter to rest a troublesome back. But once he returned to the floor, the superstar forward came through.
With the score tied 84-84, James knifed his way down the lane and hit a layup between Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood with 1:37 remaining. Following a miss by Gilbert Arenas, James powered past Stevenson and dropped a floater with 55 seconds left in the game — and one tick to spare on the 24-second shot clock.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 22 points and 11 rebounds and Delonte West finished with 16 points for the Cavaliers.
Arenas scored 24 points in 27 minutes before fouling out with 13 seconds to go. Jamison added 23 and Stevenson had three on 1-of-9 shooting for Washington, which has lost to Cleveland in the opening round the past two seasons.
Hornets 104, Mavericks 92
NEW ORLEANS — Chris Paul had 35 points and 10 assists in his first career playoff game Saturday night, lifting the New Orleans Hornets to a 104-92 come-from-behind victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of their first-round series.
David West in his first playoff game since he was a rookie reserve, scored 23 points, and Tyson Chandler had 10 points and 15 rebounds to help New Orleans storm back from a 12-point halftime deficit and win going away.
