Lakers down Rockets in overtime for 3-0 series lead, Celtics beat Sixers

The Los Angeles Lakers, fuelled by 29 points from LeBron James, bushed the Houston Rockets 112-108 successful an overtime thriller to instrumentality a 3-0 stranglehold successful their NBA playoff series.

James, the 41-year-old superstar playing successful his 19th postseason, came up with a bargain and a game-tying three-pointer with 13.6 seconds near successful regularisation connected Friday.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 4Ex-Barca defender Bellerin dents Real Madrid’s La Liga situation astatine Betis
• list 2 of 4Alcaraz’s French Open threepeat imagination ended by wrist injury
• list 3 of 4UEFA bans Benfica’s Prestianni for six games for verbally abusing Vinicius
• list 4 of 4Boston marathoner reflects connected helping collapsed runner arsenic video goes viral

He could not get a imaginable game-winner to driblet astatine the buzzer, but added a bargain and a artifact successful a frantic overtime arsenic the Lakers pushed the Rockets to the brink of elimination successful the best-of-seven Western Conference series.

No NBA squad has travel backmost from a 0-3 shortage to triumph a playoff series.

“Just trying to prehend the opportunity,” James, who added 13 rebounds, six assists and 3 steals, told broadcaster Prime. “My guys spot maine to effort to marque plays and I’m blessed to beryllium capable to bash it.”

The Lakers volition person a accidental to adjacent retired the bid successful Houston connected Sunday. It is not a presumption galore expected them to beryllium successful with league-leading scorer Luka Doncic sidelined by a hamstring strain and cardinal violative contributor Austin Reaves retired with an oblique injury.

The young Rockets, with seasoned prima Kevin Durant sidelined by a sprained ankle, were led by Alperen Sengun’s 33 points and 16 rebounds.

They rallied from an aboriginal 15-point shortage and led by six with less than 30 seconds near successful regulation.

But their mistakes caught up with them. A Houston turnover was followed by a foul connected Marcus Smart arsenic helium attempted a three-pointer.

Smart made each 3 escaped throws to chopped the Lakers’ shortage to 101-98 and acceptable the signifier for James’s game-tying basket.

Sengun missed a imaginable go-ahead handbasket earlier James was off-target from beyond the arc and they went to overtime, Smart scoring 8 of his 21 points successful the other league arsenic the Lakers pulled away.

Celtics clasp disconnected 76ers

Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored 25 points apiece to pb the Celtics to a hard-fought 108-100 triumph implicit the 76ers successful Philadelphia and a 2-1 pb successful their Eastern Conference series.

The Sixers had grabbed crippled 2 successful Boston to knot the bid astatine 1 crippled apiece.

In a crippled that neither squad led by much than 10 points, the Celtics took a five-point pb into the 4th quarter.

Tyrese Maxey’s three-pointer concisely enactment the Sixers up 85-84 with 8:42 remaining, and Philadelphia were wrong 1 erstwhile Tatum drilled a three-pointer that pushed Boston’s pb to 100-96 with 1:57 near to play.

Payton Pritchard added different three-pointer with the shot-clock winding down earlier Tatum – who missed astir of the play aft suffering a torn Achilles tendon successful past year’s playoffs – drained a dagger trey that sealed it for Boston.

“We conscionable were resilient,” Tatum told broadcaster Prime. “We stuck with it. It’s a crippled of runs – bully squad and just, you’ve got to answer.”

Maxey scored 31 points to pb the Sixers. Paul George added 18 and rookie VJ Edgecombe added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Sixers prima Joel Embiid, inactive recovering from an exigency appendectomy earlier this month, was ruled retired soon earlier the game.

“He’s conscionable not ready,” said Sixers manager Nick Nurse, whose squad volition effort to adjacent the bid erstwhile they big crippled 4 connected Sunday.

Tatum, right, dribbles the shot against Vj Edgecombe astatine Xfinity Mobile Arena successful Philadelphia [Mitchell Leff/Getty Images via AFP]

Spurs bushed Trail Blazers without Wembanyama

Stephon Castle had 33 points and the San Antonio Spurs overcame the lack of Victor Wembanyama to bushed the Portland Trail Blazers 120-108 connected Friday nighttime for a 2-1 bid lead.

Dylan Harper added 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who trailed by 15 points successful the 3rd quarter. Game 4 of the first-round bid volition beryllium connected Sunday astatine the Moda Center.

Before the game, Spurs manager Mitch Johnson announced that Wembanyama would not play portion helium continues to retrieve from a concussion helium sustained successful Game 2 connected Tuesday night.

Jrue Holiday had 29 points for the Trail Blazers, who were making their archetypal location playoff quality since 2021, but could not yet instrumentality vantage of Wembanyama’s absence.

Portland led 82-67 successful the 3rd 4th but the Spurs clawed backmost with a 21-5 tally to instrumentality an 88-87 pb into the last period. Castle’s step-back jumper and a brace of escaped throws gave the Spurs a 105-95 pb midway done the 4th and the Trail Blazers collapsed.

Wembanyama – the league’s archetypal unanimous Defensive Player of the Year and 1 of 3 finalists for the Most Valuable Player grant – went down successful the 2nd 4th of the Spurs’ 106-103 Game 2 nonaccomplishment successful San Antonio.

Johnson would not elaborate connected Wembanyama’s condition, lone to accidental helium was progressing. He averaged 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and a league-best 3.1 blocks per crippled this season. His presumption for Sunday’s crippled was not known.

Luke Kornet started against the Trail Blazers arsenic Wembanyama watched from the bench, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Portland went connected a 15-2 tally successful the archetypal fractional to spell up 50-43 and led 65-59 astatine the interruption aft Jerami Grant’s 3-pointer.

In the last moments of the half, Fox was handed an violative foul erstwhile helium charged towards the handbasket and elbowed Deni Avdija successful the face. Johnson challenged the telephone and it was overturned to a antiaircraft foul connected Avdija, who had chipped a bony but kept playing.