Lakers beat Suns to take 2-1 series lead

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Each time Anthony Davis sprawled to the ground after a tough foul or a difficult finish, he felt the cheers of about 7,000 frenzied Los Angeles Lakers fans lifting him back up.

The big man can't wait until a full Staples Center has got his back. In the meantime, his Lakers intend to keep pushing their way past the Phoenix Suns, who pushed back too late in Game 3.

Davis had 34 points and 11 rebounds, LeBron James added 21 points and nine assist and Los Angeles celebrated its first home playoff game in more than eight years with a 109-95 victory over Phoenix on Thursday night.

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 - and the first postseason game for this championship core in front of its home crowd.

Bucks 113

Heat 84

MIAMI (AP) - Another game. Another blowout.

The Milwaukee Bucks have a chance to sweep the Miami Heat out of the playoffs, and they're making the task of dispatching the reigning Eastern Conference champions look very simple.

Khris Middleton scored 22 points, Jrue Holiday added 19 points and 12 assists and the Bucks took a 3-0 lead in their East first-round series with a 113-84 victory in Miami on Thursday night.

Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds for Milwaukee, which can finish the sweep and move into the East semifinals with a win Saturday afternoon.

"The last two games haven't been easy," Antetokounmpo said. "Obviously, we were up 30, but it's not easy. ... I'll say this: I'll say by us doing our job, I'm not surprised that we're able to win a game because once we focus on ourselves, play together, have fun and be tough, good things are going to happen. And in these three games, good things have happened for us."

Miami has lost three games by 29 points or more this season - all against Milwaukee, two of them in the last two games of this series. The Bucks held leads of 51 and 36 points against Miami in games earlier this season; the margin got to 32 on Thursday night.

And as if Milwaukee needed another edge, there's this: No team in NBA history has ever squandered a 3-0 series lead.

Nuggets 120

Trail Blazers 115

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Denver newcomer Austin Rivers stole the spotlight from Nikola Jokic with a fourth-quarter outburst against Portland.

Jokic dominated as usual, with 36 points and 11 rebounds in the Nuggets' 120-115 victory Thursday night over the Trail Blazers. But Rivers propelled Denver to a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.

Signed late last month when the Nuggets were struggling with injuries, Rivers hit four 3-pointers during a crucial stretch in the final quarter and finished with 21 points. Third-seeded Denver had 20 3s overall.

"It feels good. I don't know how much I can elaborate on that, this feels really good," Rivers said. "This game can bring you the lowest feeling in the world. I swear, some of these nights you feel so low. And this game can make you feel so good about yourself too."

The Blazers struggled from 3-point range and got poor shooting from their bench players despite cheers from the biggest home crowd allowed at the Moda Center this season. Damian Lillard led all scorers with 37 points.

Game 4 is Saturday at the Moda Center.