ATLANTA (AFP) - The Atlanta Hawks defeated Brooklyn 96-91 to take a 2-0 lead in their play-off series on Wednesday, just hours after announcing the club's sale to a group headed by US business tycoon Tony Ressler.

Paul Millsap paced the Hawks attack by scoring 19 points as the Eastern Conference regular-season champions held onto home-court advantage in their best-of-seven first-round series.

Prior to the game, the Hawks announced the sale of the franchise to a group whose members include seven-time NBA all-star Grant Hill. Nothing is official yet as the deal requires the approval of the NBA board of governors.

In other play-off action on Wednesday, the Memphis Grizzlies breezed past the Portland Trail Blazers 97-82 to take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference series.

In Los Angeles, the San Antonio Spurs edged the Los Angeles Clippers 111-107 in overtime to even their series at 1-1.