NBA playoffs roundup: Anthony Davis, Lakers paste Warriors by 30 in Game 3

Lakers 127, Warriors 97

Anthony Davis scored 25 points with 13 rebounds, and LeBron James added 21 points as the Los Angeles Lakers rebounded for a 127-97 blowout Saturday over the visiting Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals.

The Lakers took a 2-1 lead in the series.

D’Angelo Russell also scored 21 points as the Lakers returned home and found their energy again after a lackluster 127-100 defeat in Game 2. The victory came even as James did not take a shot from the field in the first quarter and did not score his first field goal until 5:22 remained in the first half.

Stephen Curry scored 23 points, and Andrew Wiggins added 16 points with nine rebounds for the defending champion Warriors, who also trailed 2-1 in their first-round series against the Sacramento Kings before advancing in seven games.

Klay Thompson scored 15 points for the Warriors, who shot 39.6 percent from the field and had 19 turnovers. Golden State converted 29.5% of its shots from 3-point range after shooting 50% from distance in Game 2.

The Warriors had the best of the early going as they opened a 30-23 lead after one quarter. The Lakers stormed back in the second quarter, using a 22-2 run to take a 51-42 lead with 2:23 remaining in the first half. Los Angeles led 59-48 at the break.

The Lakers continued their charge into the third quarter, taking their first 20-point lead at 86-66 following a close-range fadeaway jumper from James with 1:01 left in the period. Los Angeles took an 86-68 lead into the fourth quarter and coasted home to the victory.

The Warriors removed Curry, Thompson, and Draymond Green from the floor with 9:11 remaining and the Lakers up 98-72.

Davis went 7-of-10 from the field and 11-of-12 from the free-throw line after he was just 5-of-11 from the field and scored 11 points in Game 2. The star forward appeared to play through rib discomfort on his left side after he fell on top of Green in the first half.

Lonnie Walker IV and Dennis Schroder each scored 12 points for the Lakers, who improved to 4-0 in home games during the playoffs and play host to Golden State in Game 4 on Monday.

Heat 105, Knicks 86

Jimmy Butler, returning from an injury absence, scored 28 points to lead the host Miami Heat to a 105-86 win over the New York Knicks in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Miami leads the series 2-1. The Heat will host Game 4 on Monday night.

Knicks sixth man Immanuel Quickley left the game with 6:15 left in the fourth quarter due to his injured left knee.

The game got ugly with 14.7 seconds left in the third quarter as the teams scuffled underneath the Knicks’ basket. Three technical fouls were assessed: on Miami’s Cody Zeller for pushing Julius Randle, on New York’s Isaiah Hartenstein for pushing Zeller, and on Miami’s Caleb Martin for pushing Hartenstein.

Earlier in the game, the Knicks were so frustrated that two of their players — RJ Barrett and Josh Hart — were called for technical fouls.

Butler, who missed Game 2, won by New York, came back from his injured right ankle after five full days of rest. Butler rated a game-high plus-28 when he was on the court.

He got help from Bam Adebayo (17 points, 12 rebounds), Max Strus (19 points), and Kyle Lowry (14 points).

New York was led by Jalen Brunson, who had 20 points and a game-high eight assists. Hart (15 points, 12 rebounds) and Randle (10 points, 14 rebounds) had double-doubles for the Knicks.

Miami never trailed in the first quarter, led by as many as 13, and settled for a 29-21 advantage by the end of the period.

New York, which missed its first 15 shots from outside the paint, trailed by as many as 19 points in the second quarter. By halftime, Miami led 58-44. The Heat turned the ball over just three times in the first half.

Barrett scored six points in New York’s first two possessions of the third quarter as the Knicks cut their deficit to 61-50. But the Heat dominated the rest of the quarter, leading by as many as 21 points.

Miami, which entered the fourth quarter with an 87-70 lead, cruised from there.

For the game, Miami shot 38.9% from the floor, including 7-for-32 on 3-pointers (21.9%). New York shot 34.1% overall and 8-for-40 from deep (20.0%).

–Field Level Media contributed to this story