ATLANTA: Paul George and David West hit key 3-pointers at the end as the top-seeded Indiana Pacers held off the Atlanta Hawks 91-88 to even the NBA opening-round series at two wins apiece.

Elsewhere Saturday, Miami moved to a 3-0 series lead by defeating the Charlotte Bobcats 98-85, Vince Carter hit a three pointer after the buzzer to down Western Conference top seeds San Antonio 109-108 and Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Memphis Grizzlies 92-89 in overtime.

In a game they had to have, the Pacers finally showed some grit and regained the home-court edge. George put the Pacers ahead 86-85 with a jumper beyond the arc, and West hit another trey with 1:33 remaining.

Atlanta had a chance after Kyle Korver was fouled in the corner and knocked down three free throws, taking advantage of a do-over after the Pacers were called for a lane violation on the third attempt. But George pulled down an offensive rebound to set up George Hill's driving shot with 56 seconds left.

Pero Antic missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have forced overtime.

Game 5 is on Monday in Indianapolis.

George scored 24 points and West added 18. Paul Millsap led the Hawks with 29, but the All-Star forward struggled in the final minute.

In Dallas, Carter hit a double-pump 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Dallas Mavericks a 109-108 victory in Game 3 and a first-round series lead over the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs.

Carter took an inbound pass from Jose Calderon with 1.7 seconds left in the left corner. After a quick pump fake in front of Manu Ginobili, Carter released the ball just before the buzzer. The winning shot was held up on review.

Ginobili had given the Spurs a 108-106 lead on a layup before Dallas called timeout to set up the play for Carter.

Game 4 is Monday night in Dallas.

Monta Ellis kept the Mavericks close in the fourth quarter and finished with a game-high 29 points, while Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 22 points.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, LeBron James had 30 points and 10 rebounds, as the Miami Heat took an iron grip of its Eastern Conference first round series against the Charlotte Bobcats.

Dwyane Wade added 17 points for the Heat, who can close out the best-of-seven Monday night.

James, who was an efficient 10 of 18 from the field, pushed his record to 18-0 against the Bobcats since joining the Heat in 2010. Miami has won 19 straight overall against Charlotte.

Al Jefferson had 20 points for the Bobcats, who are still searching for the first postseason win in franchise history.

At Memphis, Tennessee, reserve Reggie Jackson scored a playoff-best 32 points, and Oklahoma City tied up its first-round Western Conference series against Memphis at two apiece.

Jackson had only scored 15 points combined in this series, but the guard shook off his shooting woes by hitting 11 of 16. He outscored Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who struggled through their worst scoring game of the series. Durant was 5 of 21 for 15 points, while Westbrook was 6 of 24 for 15 points.

Game 5 is Tuesday night back in Oklahoma City.

Obama: Reported comments by NBA team owner 'racist'

Meantime, President Barack Obama said on Sunday that comments reported to have been made by the owner of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers basketball team were "incredibly offensive racist statements."

The NBA is investigating an audio recording posted online of Clippers owner Donald Sterling allegedly telling his girlfriend not to post photographs of herself with black people and not to bring African-Americans to Clippers games, league officials said on Saturday.

"When ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance you don't really have to do anything, you just let them talk," Obama said when asked about the controversy during a news conference in Kuala Lumpur with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Obama said he was confident NBA Commissioner Adam Silver would deal with the issue.

"Obviously the NBA is a league that is beloved by fans across the country," Obama, America's first black president, said. "It's got an awful lot of African American players steeped in African American culture."

He said the controversy was also an example of how the United States continues to wrestle with the legacy of race, and he likened that struggle to Malaysia's effort to foster a harmonious multi-ethnic society.

Celebrity news site TMZ.com published the 10-minute recording on its website late on Friday, describing it as a taped conversation between the billionaire Sterling and a model who goes by the name V. Stiviano.

"The audio recording posted by TMZ is truly offensive and disturbing, and we intend to get to the bottom of it as quickly as possible," Silver said on Saturday night.

The recording was sharply criticized by civil rights leaders, fans and players. It was not immediately clear when and how the conversation was recorded.