Thunder beat Rockets in OT, cut series deficit to 2-1

Thunder beat Rockets in OT, cut series deficit to 2-1
Chris Paul of the Oklahoma City Thunder attempts a hook shot during Game Three of their playoff series with the Houston Rockets on August 22, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images/AFP)
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Updated 23 August 2020
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Thunder beat Rockets in OT, cut series deficit to 2-1

Thunder beat Rockets in OT, cut series deficit to 2-1
  • Pacers on the brink of elimination
  • Lakers, Bucks also lead 2-1 after impressive wins

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida: Dennis Schroder scored 29 points, Chris Paul added 26 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder dominated in overtime to beat the Houston Rockets 119-107 on Saturday night and cut their deficit in the Western Conference series to 2-1.
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.
Houston missed its first seven shots of overtime before Danuel House made a 3-pointer with less than a minute left. By then it was too late.
Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is Monday.
The Thunder had a balanced scoring attack, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander adding 23 points and Danilo Gallinari had 20. Jeff Green had 22 points for the Rockets. They have played the entire series without Russell Westbrook, who is out with a strained right quadriceps.

LAKERS 116, TRAIL BLAZERS 108
LeBron James had 38 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, Anthony Davis scored 12 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, and Los Angeles beat Portland for a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference first-round series.
The Lakers shut down the high-scoring Blazers for the second straight game after the No. 1 seed was knocked off in Game 1. This was Portland’s highest-scoring performance in the series and it wasn’t close to good enough.
Damian Lillard scored 34 points despite a dislocated left index finger and CJ McCollum added 28 for the Trail Blazers. They will try to even the series in Game 4 on Monday.
Portland was down only three with about 9 1/2 minutes left. But Davis then re-entered and started scoring from everywhere, turning lob passes into dunks or stepping outside for jumpers.

BUCKS 121, MAGIC 107
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 35 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists and Milwaukee beat Orlando for a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference playoff series.
Antetokounmpo was 12 of 14 from the field and the top-seeded Bucks shot 56.1% from the floor. Khris Middleton had 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is Monday.
D.J. Augustin scored 24 points for Orlando. Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross added 20 points each.
Orlando forward James Ennis and Milwaukee forward Marvin Williams were both in the second quarter after exchanging shoves.

HEAT 124, PACERS 115
Jimmy Butler scored 27 points and Miami held off Indians’ comeback attempt to take a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference playoff series.
Goran Dragic added 24 points, Bam Adebayo had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Tyler Herro scored 20 points for the Heat. They can sweep the series Monday.
Malcolm Brogdon set career playoff highs with 34 points and 14 assists for the Pacers. T.J. Warren scored 23 points, and Victor Oladipo added 20.