In one of the most competitive NBA playoff series thus far, the Los Angeles Clippers head to Tennessee with a two-game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies to close out Thursday's NBA playoff schedule. It's not to say Memphis has struggled to a great degree as they find themselves back at FedExForum down 0-2. The series has been one of the more intriguing story lines with newly-crowned Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol going up against Lob City.
NBA playoff schedule 2013: Clippers visit Grizzlies to highlight Thursday’s action
The Miami Heat head to Milwaukee to face the Bucks and the Los Angeles Clippers play at Memphis on Thursday.
Memphis fell 112-91 in the series opener, but Game 2 ended in entertaining fashion as Clippers point guard Chris Paul banked a floater off the glass at the final buzzer to break a 91-all tie. Lionel Hollins' team will need a big game overall to avoid a nearly-insurmountable 0-3 deficit, which would put them on deck to end their season at the hands of the Clippers for the second year in a row.
The Clippers and Grizzlies tip at 9:30 p.m. ET, and they will air on TNT.
Leading into the night-cap on TNT will be the Miami Heat, who head to Milwaukee for a 7 p.m. ET tip against the Bucks. After a blowout victory in Game 1, the Heat needed a little more work in Game 2 to win 98-86 thanks to a quick fourth-quarter burst that earned separation from the Bucks. So with two fairly easy Miami victories, the Bucks face a 0-3 deficit and a final blow to point guard Brandon Jennings' wild prediction that Milwaukee would upset the No. 1 seed in a six-game series.
Tipping in between the two TNT games, the Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets face off at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBATV.
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The series tied at one game apiece, Brooklyn eyes a rebound after a resounding Game 1 win led to a lack of urgency in the ensuing contest. The injury-plagued Bulls rode the determination of forward Joakim Noah, who has been playing on a bum foot, and the Nets shot 35 percent from the floor to lose 90-82. With the series heading to Chicago and considering Nets guard Joe Johnson, like Noah, is dealing with his own plantar fasciitis injury, the pressure will be on Brooklyn to find the motor that led to a dominating Game 1 win.
| Game | Time | TV |
| Heat at Bucks | 7 p.m. ET | TNT |
| Nets at Bulls | 8:30 p.m. ET | NBATV |
| Clippers at Grizzlies | 9:30 p.m. ET | TNT |
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