Ibrahim Oladamola
LeBron James helped the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 127-97 as they took a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semi-final.
James did not take a shot from the field in the first quarter but went on to score 21 points.
Jimmy Butler returned for the Miami Heat as they won 105-86 against the New York Knicks and took a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference semi-final.
Butler, who missed game two of the best-of-seven series with an ankle injury, scored 28 points, making nine of 21 shots from the floor and achieving 10 for 11 from the free-throw line.
The Heat and the Knicks next play at 00:30 BST on Tuesday, while the Lakers and the Warriors, who are defending champions, will play the fourth game of their play-off series at 03:00 on the same day.
“We wanted to get back to our roots, and defending and guarding,” said Davis after victory for the Lakers in game three.
“This is a tough team to guard but we know that we can do it and we did it well tonight, holding them to 97 points.”
He added: “It’s a battle. Two teams that want it and can score and can give each other a beat down any given night.
“We know they’re going to come out with a lot of firepower trying not to go down 3-1. We’ve got to have the mindset we had tonight.”
