NBA Playoffs: Bucks One Win Away From Shutting Off Heat; Lakers, Nuggets Take 2-1 Series Leads In West

 The Round of 16 in the NBA Playoffs continued with three Thursday contests.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

At Miami:

Khris Middleton scored 22 points and pulled in eight rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks, with six players scoring in double figures, iced the Miami Heat 113-84 on the road in game three of their conference quarterfinal series.

The Bucks, up three games to none, will go for the four-game sweep with a game-four victory in Miami on Saturday afternoon (10:30 AM Pacific Time, TNT).

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

At Los Angeles:

Anthony Davis scored 34 points and grabbed eleven rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers downed the visiting Phoenix Suns 109-95 in game three of their series and took a two-games-to-none series advantage.

LeBron James added 21 points (to go with his nine rebounds) and Dennis Schroeder 20 to the Lakers' coffers.

DeAndre Ayton topped the Suns with 22 points while grabbing eleven boards.

At Portland, Oregon:

Nikola Jokic scored 36 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Austin Rivers tacked on 21 points as the Denver Nuggets regained home-court advantage in their conference quarterfinal series with the Portland Trail Blazers after winning game to 120-115 on the road and seizing a two-games-to-one series lead.

Damian Lillard topped the Blazers with 37 points while C.J. McCollum added 22 (to go with his nine rebounds).