BACK in charge of their Western Conference semifinal series once more, the Los Angeles Lakers will see if their advantage can stick this time.
The Lakers took a 2-1 series lead Saturday (Sunday in Manila) with a dominating 127-97 victory in Game 3 as the scene shifted to Los Angeles.
With another home game on Monday (Tuesday in Manila), the Lakers have a chance to move a victory away from their first Western Conference final since they were 2020 NBA champions.
Anthony Davis scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Lakers on Saturday, while LeBron James added 21 points. Neither played more than two minutes in the fourth quarter with the outcome well in hand.
In the other game, the New York Knicks, and Miami Heat in the playoffs– a shoving match, tight defense, poor offense …
What’s this, the 1990s?
It feels like it.
The Miami Heat lead the New York Knicks 2-1 in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series. Game 4 is set for Miami on Monday night (Tuesday in Manila).
“I don’t want to say we dominated them,” James said. “I think we played the game the right way. One thing we were not very good at in Game 2, we weren’t very forceful at the rim. We allowed their pressure to get us on our heels in Game 2. We’re very good when we get into the paint. That’s just who we are.”
Davis had just 11 points in Game 2, while James had 23. Davis was more assertive in Game 3, by shooting 7 of 10 from the field and drawing enough fouls to go 11 of 12 from the free-throw line. He was 5 of 11 from the field in Game 2 and took just one free-throw attempt.
However, Davis appeared to come away with an injury to his left rib cage on Saturday when he fell on the Warriors’ Draymond Green in the first half. He remained in the game but appeared to clutch at his side often. Even so, he sounded more than ready to take the court for Game 4.
The Lakers pulled out the victory at Golden State in Game 1, with the Warriors orchestrating a resounding response. Golden State will have to rebound again in order to even the series before it heads back to San Francisco for Game 5 on Wednesday. — Field Level Media
