LeBron James dominates with 38 points as Lakers beat Blazers; Thunder topple Rockets in overtime; Antetokounmpo stars as Bucks win against Magic; Heat go 3-0 up over Pacers
Sunday 23 August 2020 07:45, UK
A LeBron James-led Los Angeles Lakers earned a 2-1 series lead with victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, while the Oklahoma City Thunder came through overtime to beat the Houston Rockets.
James drained 38 points as well as providing 12 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Lakers to a 116-108 victory over the Trail Blazers in Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round series on Saturday.
Anthony Davis scored 23 of his 29 points in the second half and finished with 11 rebounds, eight assists and three blocked shots, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope contributed 13 points and Alex Caruso added 10 points and seven assists to help the Lakers take a 2-1 lead in the series.
Portland star Damian Lillard contributed 34 points and seven assists while playing with a dislocated left index finger. CJ McCollum registered 28 points and eight rebounds, Carmelo Anthony had 20 points and four steals and Jusuf Nurkic added 10 points.
Lillard made five of 11 shots from three-point range and was eight of 20 overall but made just two of nine field-goal attempts in the second half. The Trail Blazers connected on 41.1 per cent of their shots and were 12 of 35 from three-point range.
The Lakers shot 50 per cent from the field and made 10 of 30 from behind the arc, as well as finishing 28 of 43 from the free-throw line while the Blazers landed 18 of 19.
Portland moved within 95-92 early in the fourth quarter before Davis got hot, scoring eight in a 10-4 run that put the Lakers up 105-96 with 5:30 remaining.
James drove for a hoop to make it 111-100 with 1:36 left and sunk a three-pointer to make it a 14-point differential with 58.1 seconds left as the Lakers closed it out.
Chris Paul drilled a three-point heave as part of a 12-0 run to open overtime as the City Thunder beat the Rockets 119-107 in Game 3.
Paul finished with 26 points, six rebounds and five assists, as a three-guard lineup worked wonders for Oklahoma City, who now trails the series 2-1 ahead of Game 4 on Monday.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Dennis Schroder scored a team-high 29 points off the bench along with five rebounds and five assists. Danilo Gallinari added 20 points and seven boards for the Thunder.
James Harden posted a game-high 38 points, seven rebounds and eight assists with just one turnover but fouled out for the first time this season when he picked up his sixth foul with 4:07 left in overtime. The Rockets responded with a zero of seven start from the floor in the extra period.
Jeff Green paired 22 points with seven boards off the Houston bench, while Eric Gordon scored 18 points but missed 16 of 24 shot attempts. The Rockets shot just 15 of 50 on three-pointers.
Gilgeous-Alexander drilled a corner three-pointer with 13.8 seconds left that gave the Thunder a 104-103 lead, before Danuel House Jr., who helped off Gilgeous-Alexander and surrendered the open look, sank a free throw with 9.5 seconds left to knot the score and force the overtime.
Paul missed a reverse layup attempt at the buzzer to end regulation, closing a wild sequence that capped the fourth quarter.
Bam Adebayo had a hoop, two offensive rebounds and three free throws down the stretch as the Miami Heat built a 3-0 lead over the Indiana Pacers in their Eastern Conference first-round series thanks to a 124-115 win.
Jimmy Butler finished with a team-high 27 points, including 17 for 20 from the free-throw line, for the Heat, who outscored the Pacers 43-21 from the stripe, getting 24 more opportunities.
Goran Dragic chipped in with 24 points and a team-high six assists, and Adebayo compiled a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds for Miami. Tyler Herro added 20 points, Duncan Robinson had 15 and Jae Crowder 11 for the Heat.
Malcolm Brogdon recorded postseason career-highs with 34 points and 14 assists - both game-highs - for the Pacers, who outshot the Heat 48.8 percent to 45.3. T.J. Warren went for 23 points and Victor Oladipo had 20 for Indiana, while Myles Turner produced a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double.
The fifth-seeded Heat led by as many as 20 points in the second quarter and 74-56 at the half before the fourth-seeded Pacers scored the first seven points of the third quarter to kick-start a comeback.
Indiana got within 94-90 at period's end, and closed within two on three occasions in the final period, including one final time at 114-112 before Adebayo (two), Butler (four) and Dragic (two) produced eight three throws to extend the advantage.
Giannis Antetokounmpo collected 35 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to drive the Milwaukee Bucks to a 121-107 victory over the Orlando Magic and a 2-1 lead in the series.
Antetokounmpo made his first eight shots and finished 12 of 14 from the floor. He also received help from fellow All-Star Khris Middleton, who finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists after struggling from the field in the series' first two games.
Orlando's Nikola Vucevic finished with 20 points on eight of 19 shooting and grabbed five rebounds, while D.J. Augustin had 24 points and six assists and Terrence Ross mustered 20 points as the Magic's biggest contributors off the bench.
Milwaukee's overwhelming performance built on their comfortable victory in Game 2. The Bucks turned stingy defense into easy offense, scoring 50 points in the paint and 14 in transition, complementing that with a 17 of 37 mark from three-point distance.
The Bucks led by as many as 34 points in the third quarter. The Magic got within 104-92 with 7:22 to play in the fourth, but an emphatic Antetokounmpo driving dunk capped a 9-0 spurt to get Milwaukee's lead back over 20 points with 5:24 remaining.
Milwaukee's Marvin Williams and Orlando's James Ennis III were ejected from the game in the second quarter after both players were assessed with double technical fouls for a physical tussle after battling underneath the basket for a rebound.
