Anthony Davis and LeBron James felt the Los Angeles Lakers had impressively executed their gameplan to beat the Toronto Raptors, whose coach Darko Rajakovic hit out at the officials.
The Lakers have won back-to-back games for the first time in a month after edging to a 132-131 home win on Tuesday.
Davis scored 20 of his season-high 41 points in the fourth quarter and was was 13 of 17 from the field and 13 of 14 from the free throw line while adding 11 rebounds and six assists.
He made all eight free throw attempts in the final minute as the Lakers held on despite late 3-pointers by Toronto's Dennis Schroder and Gary Trent Jr.
LeBron James had 22 points and 12 assists to help the Lakers win their second straight after a four-game skid.
Scottie Barnes scored 26 points and RJ Barrett added 23 with 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who had won three of four.
The 14 free throw attempts for Davis were a season high and ultimately proved decisive.
"He was able to get a lot of touches and guys were finding him," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said about Davis.
"And it was his ability to get to the free throw line and knock down free throws. It is just a matter of reading the game and seeing how it's going."
Davis added: "It was all of us, it was not just me.
"We had big-time stops. We got rebounds, and they wanted me to get the ball as far as free throws, but the team was just making the right reads and trying to finish."
It was a welcome win for the Lakers after they had also narrowly defeated cross-town rival the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
They are now back to .500 at 19-19 for the season and 13-6 at home, as they look to put their miserable 3-10 run after winning the NBA Cup behind them.
"We knew we had an advantage on the interior and we just tried to get it to [Davis] early and often and late," said James.
Los Angeles hosts the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, while the Raptors are on the road against the Clippers a day earlier.
The Lakers shot 23 free throws in the fourth quarter and 36 overall, while Toronto shot only 13 in total, with Davis going 11-for-11 at the line in the final period.
"It's outrageous. What happened tonight, this is completely B.S.," Rajakovic said, per ESPN.
"This is shame. Shame for the referees. Shame for the league to allow this. Twenty-three free throws for them, and we get two free throws in the fourth quarter?
"Like, how to play the game? I understand respect for All-Stars and all that, but we have star players on our team as well.
"How [is it] possible that Scottie Barnes, who is All-Star-caliber player in this league, he goes every single time to the rim with force and trying to get to the rim without flopping and not trying to get foul calls, he gets two free throws for a whole game?
"They had to win tonight? If that's the case, just let us know, so we don't show up for the game. Just give them a win. But that was not fair and this is not happening first time for us."
LeBron was asked about the Raptors complaints and simply replied: "I feel like they fouled and we didn't."
Doncic hails 'team player' Washington after Westbrook confrontation
Luka Doncic saluted "team player" P.J. Washington following his confrontation with Russell Westbrook during the Dallas Mavericks' victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Mavericks prevailed 101-90 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series, with Doncic falling just shy of a triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Although, it was a feisty affair at the American Airlines Center, where Washington and Westbrook were both ejected after an altercation following the latter's foul and shove on Doncic.
The five-time NBA All-Star was grateful for Washington's support and intervention, paying tribute to his team-mate.
"The things he does, he's a team player," Doncic said. "He helps all of us. I'm just really happy we've got him on our team.
"I'm used to [getting subjected to extra physicality. I just try to stay calm and keep playing basketball."
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd was also pleased by the togetherness demonstrated by his players with emotions running high.
"We're all competing for each inch to try to win," he said. "This series is going to be more mental as it goes on, just because of the physicality.
"It's very physical, but the mental aspect of this series, we have to be sharp and we have to understand what's taking place. I thought the guys did a great job of protecting one another."
Durant urges Suns to use fans' frustration as 'fuel' towards playoff recovery
Kevin Durant has urged the Phoenix Suns to use their supporters' frustrations as 'fuel' to reduce their first-round series arrears against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Suns fell 3-0 behind in the series as they went down 126-109 in Game 3 at Footprint Center, where Anthony Edwards led the way for the Timberwolves with 36 points.
No team has overturned a 3-0 deficit in NBA playoff history, and the home fans' disappointment in their side's performance was evident with many heading for the exits long before the contest's conclusion.
Durant, who finished with 25 points, empathises with the supporters.
"They expect so much out of us, and they pay their hard-earned money, and they deserve to react how they want to react," he said. "It's on us as players to use it as fuel, and hopefully it ignites us for the next game [on Sunday]."
The Suns have now lost five successive playoff games - the joint-longest streak in their history - and face the prospect of getting swept for the first time in a quarter of a century.
"I've never been swept a day in my life," guard Bradley Beal said. "I'll be damned if that happens."
Head coach Frank Vogel added: "There's no quit in our group. This group does not want the season to come to an end. We want this really bad, so it is disappointing. It is frustrating.
"We're all very invested in this, and we're all pouring everything we have to bring these fans a team they could be proud of, and we feel like we can still do that, but we haven't played well enough in this series."
NBA: Haliburton lifts Pacers to 2-1 lead; Wolves take 3-0 lead and Mavs go up 2-1 on Clippers
Tyrese Haliburton capped his first career playoff triple-double with a three-point play with 1.6 seconds left in overtime that gave the Indiana Pacers a 121-118 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Friday's Game 3 of an Eastern Conference quarterfinals series.
Haliburton's winning shot and 18-point, 10-rebound, 16-assist performance lifted the sixth-seeded Pacers to a 2-1 lead in this best-of-seven series, which resumes in Indianapolis with Sunday's Game 4.
Indiana also received a big effort from Myles Turner, who set a playoff career-high with 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
With the game tied at 118-118, Haliburton was fouled by Patrick Beverley as he drained a 15-foot floater with time winding down. The All-Star point guard then calmly hit the ensuing free throw for a three-point Indiana advantage.
The third-seeded Bucks were able to get a shot off before the buzzer, but Khris Middleton's 3-point try missed the mark as time expired.
Middleton did record a playoff career high of 42 points to go along with 10 rebounds on a night Milwaukee was again without Giannis Antetokounmpo due to a strained left calf that's sidelined him the entire series.
Damian Lillard scored 19 of his 28 points in the second half for Milwaukee, which overcame a 17-point third-quarter deficit to force overtime on Middleton's 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds remaining in regulation.
Doncic leads Mavericks to chippy win
Luka Dončić fell just shy of a triple-double and the Dallas Mavericks turned up the defense in a chippy 101-90 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers for a 2-1 lead in their first-round series.
Doncic finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and Kyrie Irving scored 19 of his 21 points in the final 13-plus minutes, including eight in the final 78 seconds of the third quarter.
The Mavericks continued their strong defense from Tuesday’s Game 2 road win and won at home three years after losing all three first-round home games in a seven-game loss to the Clippers.
Game 4 is Sunday in Dallas.
James Harden and Norman Powell each scored 21 points but stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard had little impact, combining for just 16 points on 7 for 18 from the field.
An already testy game reached a boiling point midway through the fourth quarter, when Russell Westbrook slung Doncic around after fouling him.
Westbrook was called for a technical for that contact and for shoving P.J. Washington after Washington confronted him. Washington was also called for a tech during the sequence, and already had one from an earlier shoving match with Terance Mann.
Edwards, balanced Timberwolves handle Suns
Anthony Edwards scored 36 points to lead six players in double figures and the Minnesota Timberwolves rolled to a 126-109 win over the Phoenix Suns to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round series.
Edwards had nine rebounds and five assists, Rudy Gobert added 19 points with 14 rebounds and Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in 18 points and 13 boards as Minnesota took a 3-0 series lead for the first time in franchise history.
They can complete the sweep in Game 4 on Sunday.
Minnesota for the third straight game used a big third quarter to turn a close game into an easy win. The Wolves hit 7 of 11 3-pointers during the surge, including four from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, for a 95-73 lead entering the fourth.
Phoenix never got the deficit below double digits in the fourth and is one loss away from getting swept for the first time since 1998-99.
Bradley Beal scored 28 points and Kevin Durant added 25 for the Suns, who played without starting guard Grayson Allen (sprained left ankle). He led the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage this season.
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