LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anthony Davis had 34 points and 11 rebounds,
LeBron James added 21 points and nine assist and the Los Angeles
Lakers celebrated their first home playoff game in more than eight
years with a 109-95 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night
in Game 3.
Dennis Schröder added 20 points and the seventh-seeded defending
NBA champs took a 2-1 lead with their second straight victory in
the first-round series. Los Angeles pulled away from erratic
Phoenix in the second half for the second straight game, and a
fierce late rally by the Suns came up short.
Game 4 is Sunday in Los Angeles.
Deandre Ayton had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the
second-seeded Suns, who are in an early hole in their first
postseason series in 11 years. Phoenix also came unglued in the
final minute when Devin Booker and Jae Crowder both were sent to
the locker room early.
Booker scored 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting, but the star guard
was ejected with 35.4 seconds to play after committing a flagrant
foul against Schröder. Moments later, Crowder got a technical foul,
following Booker off the court after apparently trying to confront
Schröder.
Phoenix also got another quiet game from Chris Paul, who played
just 2 1/2 minutes in the fourth quarter even though coach Monty
Williams said the star point guard's shoulder had healed. Paul had
seven points and six assists in 27 minutes.
Roughly 7,000 masked fans watched inside Staples Center as the
Lakers hosted their first playoff game in their downtown arena
since April 28, 2013. Los Angeles won its 17th title in the Florida
bubble last October and the legions of fans confined to watching
their beloved team’s rebirth on television turned up in force for
this streak-breaking win.
Davis scored 18 points in the third quarter while staking the
Lakers to a 17-point lead, and Wesley Matthews hit back-to-back
3-pointers early in the fourth quarter while Los Angeles pushed its
margin to 21.
Cameron Payne hit three 3-pointers in a late rally, but the Suns
couldn't get closer than eight points.
Phoenix won the series opener in impressive fashion, but the
Lakers answered with much-improved play in a 109-102 victory in
Game 2. The Suns were the NBA's best road team during their
outstanding regular season, but the Lakers are proving to be the
nightmare matchup most expected when the champs slipped to the
bottom of the bracket due to injuries.
Williams said before the game that Paul was “a full go” after
his bruised right shoulder that clearly limited him in both games
in Phoenix. The 11-time All-Star point guard still didn't appear to
be playing at his usual strengths at Staples Center, his former
home with the Clippers.
Both teams got off to solid offensive starts in Game 3, but both
then fumbled through a dismal second quarter featuring just 28
points on combined 9-for-39 shooting. The Lakers also got a worry
when Davis came down awkwardly and appeared to be moving gingerly
both before and after halftime.
But Los Angeles made a 16-6 run out of the break led by James,
who increased his aggression and broke down Phoenix's defense. The
Lakers took their biggest lead of the series midway through the
third quarter when Schröder's three-point play put them up 67-51,
and Davis made a series of tough buckets to keep LA's lead at
double digits even without a 3-pointer in the quarter.
TIP-INS
Suns: F Abdel Nader (knee) remained the only player in the
series unavailable due to injury. ... Mikal Bridges had six points
in 34 minutes.
Lakers: Starting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope went to the
locker room in the third quarter after bruising his left
quadriceps. He didn't return. Caldwell-Pope scored five points in
26 minutes. ... Andre Drummond had six points and 11 rebounds.
LONG TIME COMING
The Lakers' eight-year, two-month gap between home playoff games
was an unprecedented stretch in franchise history.
Before the six-year postseason drought that ended last season,
the Lakers had only missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons once
in their first 66 seasons of existence.
The Lakers' most recent playoff game at Staples was Game 4 of a
first-round sweep by San Antonio in 2013. That was the season that
began with championship aspirations and ended with Kobe Bryant and
Steve Nash sidelined by injuries.
KING VS JAE
James had another yet lively meeting with Crowder — his former
Cleveland teammate, his opponent in last year's NBA Finals against
Miami, and the Lakers fans’ least-favorite Phoenix player, as
evidenced by numerous derogatory chants of his name.
James got a standing ovation when he drew an offensive foul on
Crowder with seven minutes to play.
Crowder also struggled from the field, to Staples Center's
delight: He missed his first seven shots, including six 3-pointers,
before finally hitting a jumper with 6:43 left.
BIG SWITCH
Torrey Craig and Frank Kaminsky effectively bumped Dario Saric
from the Suns' rotation for Game 3. Saric, who scored six points in
26 minutes and occasionally got roasted on defense by James in the
first two games, didn't play.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and
https://twitter.com/AP_Sports