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NBA Western Conference Playoffs: Round 1, Game 3

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Western Conference

Western Conference Playoffs

The third games are wrapped up in the Western Conference Playoffs, and things got heated in some of those ties. As expected before the playoffs, no one is getting swept in the West. Everyone is fighting for the place in the next round. And in these games, some players showed that they can carry their team and some can play like a team.

 

Denver Nuggets 87-124 Utah Jazz

The Nuggets will be searching for answers after suffering a second-straight blowout defeat to the Utah Jazz in a 124-87 result in Game 3 of their first-round matchup in the Western Conference Playoffs on Friday. Nikola Jokić led the Nuggets with 15 points while Mike Conley paced the Jazz with 27 points in his return to the lineup.

For four long days, Mike Conley was confined to his hotel in quarantine. He wasn’t about to be contained on the court.

Conley made a career playoff-high seven 3-pointers and scored 27 points in his return from quarantine, helping the Utah Jazz rout the Denver Nuggets for a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: He’s a terrific player,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “I know how glad our guys were to see him back.”

Conley left the NBA bubble for the birth of his son and returned Monday night. He went through a four-day separation that ended Friday.

Nikola Jokic led third-seeded Denver with 15 points, while Jamal Murray had 12 points on 5 of 16 shooting.

“I just think we have a target on our back,” Murray said. “Teams are prepared for us, and they’ve been giving us all they got. They did that tonight, and sometimes we think we’re good and we’re down 12 at the end of the first. I just think we’ve got to hold ourselves to a higher standard individually, as a squad, as a third seed.”

 

Los Angeles Clippers 130-122 Dallas Mavericks

Kawhi Leonard was in dominant form while Luka Doncic exited through injury as the Los Angeles Clippers edged the Dallas Mavericks to go ahead in the series.

Leonard had 36 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, leading Los Angeles to a 130-122 victory over the Mavericks on Friday night for a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference first-round series.

Landry Shamet had 18 points for the Clippers, who bounced back from their loss in Game 2 even though Paul George shot poorly again. Ivica Zubac added 15.

“We came out with more energy in the first quarter,” Leonard said. “They won that game in the first quarter.”

“That was a fast-paced game but for Kawhi, he can see the game even though it’s fast and he’s never in a rush and knows where to go,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said.

Doncic had a triple-double but also limped off the court after spraining his left ankle in the third quarter. He returned to play a little of the fourth before checking out for good and going back to the locker room area. Doncic finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists but had a rough night, shooting just 4 for 14 from the field and 4 for 10 from the foul line.

Dallas’ Coach Carlisle said the good news was the injury was to the left ankle, not the one that has troubled the second-year guard.

Kristaps Porzingis had 34 points and 13 rebounds for the Mavericks. Seth Curry and Tim Hardaway Jr. each added 22 points.

Paul George shot 3 for 16. He was just 4 for 17 in Game 2.

Houston Rockets 107-119 Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder are still alive. After double-digit losses in Games 1 and 2 of their first-round series against the Houston Rockets, the Thunder bounced back in Game 3 with a wild 119-107 win in overtime to make the series 2-1.

Dennis Schroder scored 29 points, Chris Paul added 26 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder dominated in overtime to beat the Houston Rockets.

“We just wanted to fight,” Paul said. “We know how tough it is coming back down 3-0. The team wanted to fight tonight, and I think that’s what we did.”

James Harden scored 38 points for Houston, but fouled out 53 seconds into overtime — the first time he’s fouled out this season.

The Thunder scored the first 12 points of overtime, powered by two 3-pointers from Paul, to take a 116-104 lead.

The Thunder had a tough time in the first two games, losing by double digits in Games 1 and 2 to fall behind 2-0. After those two results, what was expected to be one of the most competitive first-round series was suddenly looking like it could be a sweep. Oklahoma City made sure that didn’t happen. Coming through in the clutch to secure the win and give themselves a chance in this series.

Harden was disappointed that the Rockets missed a chance to take a commanding lead in the series.

“We definitely let one get away,” he said. “Especially in that last minute and I think, throughout the course of the game we just made too many mental mistakes and gave them an opportunity to score and it’s that simple.”

The Thunder had a balanced scoring attack, with Shai-Gilgeous Alexander adding 23 points and Danilo Gallinari had 20.

Los Angeles Lakers 116-108 Portland Trail Blazers

More of a spectator than a supporter for LeBron James in the first half, Anthony Davis had a message for his teammate.

“I told LeBron at half I’ve got to take some of the pressure off of him,” Davis said.

With both superstars rolling and another dominant defensive effort, the Lakers again looked like the best of the West.

James had 38 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, Davis scored 23 of his 29 points in the second half, and the Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 116-108 on Saturday night for a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.

Damian Lillard scored 34 points playing with a dislocated left index finger, and CJ McCollum added 28 for the Trail Blazers.

“It wasn’t our night to make those shots,” Lillard said. “The effort was there. The aggressiveness was there. We just didn’t make the shots that we usually make.”

Carmelo Anthony added 20 points in his first good game of the series. He was 4 for 17 in the first two games and he started Game 3 with seven straight misses before making his eighth by tipping in his own miss.

”It came down to a fourth-quarter game. Anthony Davis made his perimeter shots and we came up empty too often,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said.

 

We hope you enjoyed the article ‘NBA Western Conference Playoffs: Round 1, Game 3.’  Which result surprised you the most? Who do you think will advance into the next round? Let us know!

 

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