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• 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."

• Ancelotti salutes Madrid's 'commitment and desire' following Sociedad victory

  Carlo Ancelotti hailed Real Madrid's commitment and desire as they edged closer to securing the LaLiga title with a 1-0 victory at Real Sociedad.

  Arda Guler scored the only goal as Los Blancos extended their lead to 14 points over second-placed Barcelona, who host Valencia in their game in hand on Monday.

  The 19-year-old was making his first start since arriving from Fenerbahce, as Ancelotti rotated his squad ahead of Madrid's Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich.

  And the Italian was pleased by the character demonstrated by his players, who stretched their winning streak to six league matches.

  "It was clear that everyone thought we were coming here for a walk," he told reporters. "The only ones who didn't think so were the players. They had commitment and attitude. They had the desire and enthusiasm to keep winning.

  "We have a spectacular squad. They have this attitude that they feel like they have to win every game. There are four points left to clinch the LaLiga title, and we are very close."

  Guler added on Realmadrid TV: "This is the best club in the world and scoring is one of the best feelings.

  "This is Real Madrid, the quality of the players is incredible. We're all always ready to play, and I think we've shown that here. I'm waiting patiently, and I'm still working hard every day."

  Ancelotti's rotation meant a first start in eight months for Eder Militao, who marked his return from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee with a clean sheet.

  "I've come back to play 90 minutes and I feel like a player again after many months out," the defender said. 

  "We have to keep winning, we know that nothing is won yet. We have a big advantage, but we have to keep doing a serious job until the end."

• 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.