LAKERS BOUNCE BACK, EVEN SERIES.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Anthony Davis had 31 points and 11 rebounds and the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers bounced back from an opening loss to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 111-88 on Thursday night in Game 2 of the first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Lebron James had 10 points, six rebounds, seven assists and six turnovers.. He had 23 points, 17 rebounds and a playoff career-high 16 rebounds in Game 1.
The Trail Blazers stunned the Lakers 100-93 in Game 1, but things went horribly wrong in Game 2. A poor performance got worse when All-star guard Damian Lillard dislocated the index finger on his left hand in the third quarter. He left the game for good, and the team said X-rays were negative.
Lillard was held to 18 points after ripping the Lakers for 34 in Game 1.
Davis scored 21 points in the first half to help the Lakers take a 56-39 lead. The Trail Blazers’ highpowered offense shot 35 percent in the half.
Early in the third quarter, Davis aggressively grabbed a defensive rebound, then fired a long pass to Kentavious Caldwell-pope for a breakaway jam that gave the Lakers a 63-41 lead.
The Lakers continued to pour it on and led 88-58 after three quarters. Los Angeles led by 32 points in the period.
Most of the starters for both teams sat out the fourth quarter.
BUCKS 111, MAGIC 96
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points and 20 rebounds, and Milwaukee rode a fast start to beat Orlando and tie the Eastern Conference first-round series at a game apiece.
Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic followed up his 35-point effort in the opener by scoring 32 points.
HEAT 109, PACERS 10
Duncan Robinson hit his first six shots, all from 3-point range, and finished with 24 points to help Miami beat Indiana and take a 2-0 lead in their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
Robinson opened the game by making the Heat’s first three baskets, all 3s.
Goran Dragic scored 20 points for Miami.
Victor Oladipo led Indiana with 22 points.