The second round of the NBA Playoffs are in full swing, and on Saturday we saw two significant blowouts that were noteworthy. The Miami Heat beat the New York Knicks 105-86 at the Kaseya Center in south Florida to take a two games to one Eastern Conference second round series lead. Then the Los Angeles Lakers clobbered the Golden State Warriors 127-97 at crypto.com Arena to take a two games to one lead in the Western Conference second round series.
In the Heat win over the Knicks, Jimmy Butler of Houston, Texas led Miami offensively with 28 points. Three more Heat players reached double digits in points as guard Max Strus of Hickory Hills, Illinois had 19 points, center Bam Adebayo of Newark, New Jersey had a double double (17 points and 12 rebounds) and backup point guard Kyle Lowry of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania had 14 points.
It was a strong first half for Miami as they had a 58-44 lead. Miami’s lead was as high as 22 points as the Heat took a 95-73 lead on the Knicks thanks to a Lowry layup with four minutes and 11 seconds into the fourth quarter.
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In the Lakers win over the Warriors, center Anthony Davis of Chicago, Illinois led Los Angeles in points (25) and rebounds (13). Five more Lakers reached double digits in points as power forward LeBron James of Akron, Ohio and point guard D’Angelo Russell of Louisville, Kentucky had 21 points each. Shooting guard Lonny Walker IV of Reading, Pennsylvania and guard Dennis Schroder of Braunschweig, Germany had 12 points each off the bench, while shooting guard Austin Reaves of Newark, Arkansas had 10 points.
After taking a 59-48 lead at the half, the Lakers outscored the Warriors 68-49 in the second half. With a minute left in the third quarter, James made a seven foot field goal to give the Lakers an 86-66 lead.
Game four of Miami and New York and Los Angeles and Golden State takes place on Monday. For a preview, please click here.
