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.
Los Angeles Clippers 130-122 Dallas Mavericks
Leonard top scored with 36 points and provided nine rebounds and eight assists to lead the Clippers to a 130-122 win over the Mavericks in Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series on Friday.
Mavericks star Luka Doncic finished the game from the bench after spraining his left ankle, having recorded 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in 29 minutes.
Landry Shamet scored 18 points, Ivica Zubac added 15 and Marcus Morris Sr. had 14 points to help the second-seeded Clippers take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Montrezl Harrell added 13 points, Paul George had 11 on three of 16 shooting and Lou Williams scored 10.
Kristaps Porzingis registered 34 points and 13 rebounds, Seth Curry added 22 on nine of 11 shooting, and Tim Hardaway also scored 22 for the Mavericks.
Seventh-seeded Dallas shot 50.6 percent from the field and made 17 of 43 (39.5 percent) from three-point range, bettered by the Clippers' 52.2 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from behind the arc.
Doncic sprained his left ankle with 3:58 left in the third quarter while attempting to defend Leonard. He later returned for the start of the fourth only to leave again with 9:02 remaining as Dallas trailed by 15.
The score was tied at 23 after the opening period before Los Angeles erupted for 45 second-quarter points.
Shamet connected on a buzzer-beating three-pointer as the Clippers took a 102-85 lead into the final stanza, before Los Angeles resisted a late push from Dallas to see out the win.
Boston Celtics 102-94 Philadelphia 76ers
The Boston Celtics made three key defensive plays down the stretch, enabling them to overtake the Philadelphia 76ers 102-94 and grab a 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Kemba Walker scored a team-high 24 points, including a key jumper with 1:05 remaining that put third-seeded Boston up by four and set the stage for a possible sweep in the best-of-seven series.
Joel Embiid produced a game-high 30 points for the sixth-seeded 76ers, while Josh Richardson and Shake Milton added 17 points apiece and Tobias Harris registered 15 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
The 76ers led 94-92 after a pair of free throws by Embiid with 2:14 to go before the Celtics tightened the defensive screws, shutting out their rival the rest of the way.
Marcus Smart stole an Embiid pass that led to a clear-path foul on the 76ers, Jayson Tatum blocked an Embiid shot and a scrambling Celtics defense forced a badly missed three-pointer by Richardson in vital stops in the latter stages.
Though there were seven ties and six lead changes in the first three quarters, the Celtics led by as many as nine in the first, eight in the second and seven in the third.
Jaylen Brown converted a three-point play to give Boston the lead for good at 95-94 with 1:37 to go, Tatum made one of two fouls shots at the 1:23 mark to double the advantage, and Walker nailed his 20-footer to put the dagger in the 76ers 18 seconds later.
Smart then added four foul shots down the stretch to ice the win.
Denver Nuggets 87-124 Utah Jazz
Mike Conley scored 27 points and Rudy Gobert added 24 points and 14 rebounds to power the Utah Jazz to a 124-87 rout of the Denver Nuggets.
The victory gave the Jazz a 2-1 series lead over the Nuggets in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, with Game 4 on Sunday.
Donovan Mitchell added 20 points while Georges Niang scored a playoff career-high 16 points off the bench. Utah earned its second straight lopsided victory over Denver after going 18 of 37 from three-point range, Conley leading the with a career-playoff-best seven of eight from long distance.
Nikola Jokic scored 15 points and Jamal Murray added 12 to lead the Nuggets, both players adding five rebounds and six assists.
Gobert dominated on both ends of the court in the first half as he scored 20 points and collected 11 rebounds before halftime, including 12 points and eight rebounds in the first quarter alone. On defense, he spearheaded an effort that forced Denver to commit six turnovers and shoot just six of 18 (33.3) from the field over the first 12 minutes.
It opened the door for Utah to build a 56-31 lead at one stage in the first half following a 23-6 streak, before an 18-5 run at the start of the third set them well on their way to victory.
Toronto Raptors 117-92 Brooklyn Nets
Pascal Siakam scored 26 points and Fred VanVleet added 22 as the Toronto Raptors never trailed on their way to a 117-92 win over the Brooklyn Nets to take a 3-0 series lead for the first time in team history.
Siakam made 11 of 23 shots from the floor while collecting eight rebounds and five assists for Toronto, who shot 50.5 percent from the field and overwhelmed Brooklyn on the boards by a 56-42 margin.
VanVleet made eight of 13 shots and hit six three-pointers, including a buzzer-beater from beyond midcourt that put Toronto up 57-42 by half-time. He also hit another three-pointer with about a minute left in the third that helped Toronto take an 84-68 lead into the fourth quarter.
Reserve Serge Ibaka contributed 20 as the Raptors led by as many as 31 points and posted their second double-digit win of the series. Kyle Lowry nearly posted a triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Norman Powell also chipped in 11.
Tyler Johnson was elevated to the starting lineup and scored a playoff career-high 23 points while starting for Joe Harris, who missed the game for personal reasons.
Caris LeVert was limited to 15 points, and Brooklyn's starting tandem of Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Garrett Temple was a combined five of 30 from the floor. Jarrett Allen was held to four having not attempted a shot in a game where he grabbed 17 rebounds.
Brooklyn shot 33.3 percent, including 31.4 percent (16-for-51) from three-point range, setting a team record for attempts in a postseason game.