Kawhi Leonard recorded 36 points, nine rebounds and eight assists to lead the Las Angeles Clippers over the Dallas Mavericks 130-122 on Friday night to grab a 2-1 lead in a Western Conference first-round playoff series near Orlando.
Dallas star Luka Doncic finished the game watching from the bench due to a sprained left ankle. Doncic had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in 29 minutes, but he hit just 4 of 14 shots from the floor.
Landry Shamet scored 18 points, Ivica Zubac added 15 and Marcus Morris Sr. had 14 points to help the second-seeded Clippers move in front in the best-of-seven series. Kristaps Porzingis registered 34 points and 13 rebounds, Seth Curry added 22 on 9-of-11 shooting, and Tim Hardaway also scored 22 for the Mavericks.
Doncic sprained his left ankle with 3:58 left in the third quarter. He couldn’t put weight on the leg and hopped off the court. Doncic returned at the start of the fourth quarter, but he left for good with 9:02 remaining and the Mavericks trailing by 15. Doncic underwent X-rays on the ankle, which he also injured in Game 1 of the series.
Toronto Raptors 117 – Brooklyn Nets 92
Pascal Siakam scored 26 points, Fred VanVleet added 22 and Toronto Raptors never trailed in taking a commanding lead over Brooklyn in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
The second-seeded Raptors own a 3-0 series edge for the first time in team history. They can close out the Nets on Sunday night in Game 4.
The Nets’ Tyler Johnson was elevated to the starting lineup and scored a playoff career-high 23 points while starting for Joe Harris, who missed the game for personal reasons.
Boston Celtics 102 – Philadelphia 76ers 94
Boston made three key defensive plays down the stretch and overtook Philadelphia to grab a 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Kemba Walker scored a team-high 24 points, including a key jumper with 1:05 remaining that put third-seeded Boston up by four and set the stage for a possible sweep in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is set for Sunday.
Joel Embiid led all scorers with 30 points for the sixth-seeded 76ers.
Utah Jazz 124 – Denver Nuggets 87
Mike Conley scored 27 points and Rudy Gobert added 24 points and 14 rebounds to power Utah to a 2-1 series lead over Denver in their first-round series in the Western Conference playoffs. Game 4 is on Sunday.
Donovan Mitchell added 20 points while Georges Niang scored a playoff career-high 16 points off the bench. Utah earned its second straight lopsided victory over Denver after going 18-for-37 from 3-point range. Conley led the way, going a career-playoff-best 7-for-8 from long distance.
Nikola Jokic scored 15 points and Jamal Murray added 12 to lead the Nuggets. Both players added five rebounds and six assists. Denver shot just 37.5 percent from the floor, compared to 51.2 percent for the Jazz.
–Field Level Media
