PHOENIX — Anthony Davis scored 34 points, Dennis Schroder added 24 and the Los Angeles Lakers held on for a hard-fought 109-102 win over the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of the first-round playoff series on Tuesday night.
It was a big bounce-back game for the Lakers, and especially Davis, who struggled in Game 1 and took personal responsibility for the team’s 99-90 loss on Sunday. His 3-pointer with 2:15 left on Tuesday put Los Angeles up 98-92 and ended a late Suns rally.
LeBron James added 23 points and nine assists. Davis made 18 of 21 free throws and added 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Game 3 is on Thursday in Los Angeles.
Devin Booker led the Suns with 31 points and made all 17 of his free throws. Deandre Ayton had 22 points, 10 rebounds and shot 11 of 13 from the field.
MAVERICKS 127, CLIPPERS 121
LOS ANGELES — Luka Doncic scored 39 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 28 and Dallas again outshot the NBA’s best 3-point team in a victory over the Clippers to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points and Maxi Kleber had 13. Hardaway hit a playoff career-high six 3-pointers and Doncic had five as Dallas was 18 of 34 from long-range. The Mavs made 17 3-pointers in winning Game 1 on Saturday.
The Clippers were led by Kawhi Leonard, who scored 30 of his 41 in the first half. Paul George had 28 points and 12 rebounds.
NETS 130, CELTICS 108
NEW YORK — Joe Harris tied a franchise playoff record with seven 3-pointers, Kevin Durant scored 26 points and Brooklyn routed Boston for a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.
Harris had a career playoff-high 25 points and James Harden added 20 as the Nets unleashed their lethal offense after winning Game 1 largely with defense.
Game 3 is Friday in Boston, where the Nets will attempt to build on their first 2-0 lead in a series since they swept the New York Knicks in the first round in 2004.
This one might be headed toward the same result, with the Celtics unable to do much scoring in Game 1 or stop the Nets from doing tons of it in Game 2.
Marcus Smart scored 19 points and Kemba Walker had 17 for the Celtics. Leading scorer Jayson Tatum had only nine points on 3-for-12 shooting before leaving after just 21 minutes when he was poked in the right eye.
