NBA PLAYOFF ROUNDUP : Spurs Oust Trail Blazers in Extra Period, 100-97

David Robinson scored 20 points and had a key layup in overtime at San Antonio to lead the Spurs past the Portland Trail Blazers, 100-97, Friday, eliminating the Trail Blazers from the playoffs.

“It feels great,” Robinson said. “We showed a lot of character down the stretch. We were able to pull it together.”

Robinson’s field goal with 31 seconds remaining in overtime gave the Spurs a 98-97 edge. With six seconds to play, Willie Anderson made two free throws.

“We gave everything we had tonight, but just didn’t come away with the victory,” Portland guard Clyde Drexler said. “We almost won it, but almost doesn’t mean anything in this game.”

Dale Ellis led the Spurs with 21 points.

The Trail Blazers, runners-up last year to the NBA champion Chicago Bulls, have not been knocked out of the playoffs this early since a 1989 first-round sweep by the Lakers.

San Antonio, after winning the series, 3-1, faces the winner of the Phoenix Suns-Lakers series.

“I feel the Spurs can play with anybody right now,” Robinson said. “I think we have the ability to get to the finals, and that is my ultimate goal.”

After Anderson’s free throws, three-point attempts by Portland’s Cliff Robinson and Terry Porter missed the mark as time ran out.

The Trail Blazers had battled back from 15 points down at halftime and took an 88-87 lead with four minutes remaining in regulation on a field goal by Clyde Drexler. He followed up with a free throw after a foul by Ellis to make it 89-87.

But Sean Elliott’s basket tied it, 89-89, and the teams went into overtime when Ellis missed a shot at the buzzer.

Elliott and Anderson each scored 17 points for the Spurs, and Robinson grabbed 17 rebounds.

Trail Blazer Coach Rick Adelman said his team’s offense simply wasn’t working.

“We had a lot of opportunities, but we weren’t taking advantage of anything,” Adelman said. “We were going into the teeth of their defense, but we weren’t moving the ball once we were in there.”

Mark Bryant led the Trail Blazers with 21 points, Drexler had 17, Jerome Kersey 15 and Cliff Robinson 14.

New Jersey 96, Cleveland 79--Chris Morris scored 22 points on nine-for-12 shooting and Derrick Coleman had 21 points, 14 rebounds, nine blocked shots and eight assists at East Rutherford, N.J., to lead the Nets to a victory that sends the series back to Cleveland for the deciding game.

“This was one of the greatest games of my career,” Coleman said. “I would have enjoyed it even if I was sitting on the sidelines. Even with all our injuries, you never know what will happen. Basketball is a strange game.”

The Nets, who have not won a postseason series since ousting the defending champion Philadelphia in 1984, will meet the Cavaliers in Sunday.

Reserve guard Maurice Cheeks and fourth-string center Dwayne Schintzius also played important roles for New Jersey, which has lost starters Kenny Anderson and Chris Dudley to season-ending injuries.

The short-handed Nets set team playoff records for margin of victory and fewest points allowed. They had never given up fewer than 94 points in a playoff game or won by more than 15 points.

New Jersey also set an NBA playoff record for fewest points in a fourth quarter, scoring only eight points in the fourth after the outcome was decided.

New Jersey matched its largest first-half lead of 16 points in the first minute of the third quarter, but Daugherty scored seven points during a 14-2 run that closed Cleveland to 59-55.

The sixth-seeded Nets didn’t fold, however, outscoring Cleveland, 29-6, in the final 7:44 of the third quarter for an 88-61 lead. Morris led the way with 11 points in the quarter.

The Nets’ eight-point fourth quarter didn’t have an effect because Cleveland managed only 18 in the quarter. The 26 points combined in the quarter also was an NBA playoff record-low.

Brad Daugherty scored 29 points for Cleveland, which won 11 more regular-season games than the Nets and is the third-seeded team in the Eastern Conference playoffs.