NBA: San Antonio 96, LA Clippers 86

LOS ANGELES, May 19 (UPI) -- Tim Duncan scored 11 of his 19 points during a big third quarter Saturday, carrying the San Antonio Spurs to a 96-86 playoff win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Trailing 53-43 at the half, the Spurs used Duncan's performance to outscore the Clippers 26-8 in the third quarter and then went on to take a commanding 3-0 lead over LA in their Western Conference semifinals series.

Duncan grabbed 13 rebounds and Tony Parker had 23 points and 10 assists for the top-seeded Spurs, who sank nine 3-pointers.

Kawhi Leonard added 14 points and nine boards and Manu Ginobili scored 13 points for San Antonio.

Blake Griffin pumped in 28 points and hauled down 16 rebounds but Chris Paul was held to 12 points on 5-of-17 shooting for the Clippers, who will attempt to avoid elimination in Sunday's Game 4.