SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs nearly headed to Denver down 0-2.

After squandering most of a 17-point fourth-quarter lead, the Spurs held on for a 97-88 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night to even the first-round playoff series.

Manu Ginobili had eight points in the fourth quarter and Tim Duncan added seven points in the final 12 minutes to save the Spurs from losing two home games against sixth-seeded Denver.

Duncan led San Antonio with 22 points and five blocked shots. Tony Parker had 20 points, Ginobili had 17, all but two in the second half, and Michael Finley added 14.

The Nuggets got within 91-88 on a 3-pointer by Allen Iverson with 45 seconds to play, but Duncan’s layup and free throws by Finley and Parker put the Spurs on even footing with Denver, which won Game 1 95-89 on Sunday.

Cavs 109, Wizards 102

CLEVELAND – Usually a member of Cleveland’s supporting cast, Drew Gooden stepped into a co-starring role in Game 2.

With LeBron James playing cautiously on a sprained left ankle, Gooden scored 19 of his 24 points before halftime Wednesday night, powering the Cavaliers to a 109-102 victory over the Washington Wizards and a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.

Gooden normally doesn’t have many offensive plays called for him by Cleveland coach Mike Brown, who may have to rethink that philosophy after the forward came through on a night when James was clearly not himself.

The Wizards, though, made it interesting in the final minute.

They kept pecking away at Cleveland’s lead and closed within 105-102 on a 3-pointer by Jarvis Hayes with 18 seconds left.