Anthony Davis dominated yet again as the Los Angeles Lakers claimed the series lead, 2-1, following their Game 3 win against the Phoenix Suns, 109-95.
Both the Lakers and the Suns had a sluggish first half scoring-wise. As both squads have two of the top-six defenses in the league, they exchanged solid defensive possessions to force each other into tough shots.
The second quarter had a combined 28 points, with the Suns scoring just 12 points.
In the third quarter, however, the Lakers came out with the necessary energy. Led by LeBron James, who consistently looked to attack the basket after a slow first half, L.A. climbed to a double-digit lead.
Phoenix couldn’t muster a single basket against the Lakers’ stingy defense, trailing 91-70 with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
However, Los Angeles became careless with the basketball and turned it over multiple times. Cameron Payne took advantage by making consecutive 3-pointers, but the Lakers slowed down the pace and came out on top.
Here are three takeaways from the game: