Heat, Lakers head home, seek 2-1 leads over Knicks, Warriors

MIAMI (AP) —Miami and New York arewonderingwho will be able to play.Golden State and the Los AngelesLakers are wondering which team will land the next punch.

A pair ofGame 3s await as the NBA’s conference semifinals continue Saturday— the fifth-seeded Knicks visit the eighth-seeded Heat in the East,while the sixth-seeded Warriors visit the seventh-seeded Lakers inthe West. Both series are tied 1-1.

Both havefollowed the same script: The road teams won Game 1, thosevictories goingtoMiamiandtheLakers,while the home teams won Game 2 to even theseries. TheKnickssqueaked theirs out 111-105;theWarriorsrolled 127-100.

“We’ll bebetter,” Lakers big man Anthony Davis said. “I’ll be better.”

In Miami, alleyes are on Jimmy Butler and his sprained right ankle. It kept himout of Game 2 on Tuesday, and there is some optimism he can playSaturday. Butler took to social media to show that he was puttinghimself through a shooting workout Thursday night.

“Our guyslove to compete, any place, anywhere, against any team,” Heat coachErik Spoelstra said. “We have the three days off in between. Itdefinitely helps, or at least in theory helps us gear up. But if wecould have played this game (Thursday), our guys would have lovedthat as well.”

The Knickshave enjoyed road success all season. Including playoffs, they’re26-18 away from Madison Square Garden this season — onlyPhiladelphia (28-17), Boston (27-17) and Milwaukee (26-17) havebeen better. Sacramento was also 26-18 away from home.

It’s NewYork’s best road record since 1996-97, the fourth-best road mark infranchise history and a huge jump from their .306 road winningpercentage over the last eight seasons before this one.

“When you goon the road, there’s less distractions,” Knicks guard Josh Hartsaid. “You’re not worried about family, tickets, where you’re goingto eat after the game, you have nothing, only basketball.”

Golden Statehas struggled on the road all season; the Warriors’ 13-32 recordaway from home is better than that of only three teams’ — Detroit,Houston and San Antonio, the franchises that finished at the bottomof the NBA and have the best chance at winning the lotteryandrightto draft French phenom Victor Wembanyama.

But theWarriors won two road playoff games against the Kings in Round 1and now will try to win another in Los Angeles.

“It’s goingto be a whole lot tougher, Game 3 in LA,” Warriors guard StephenCurry said after Game 2. “It’s a big morale boost to give ourselveslife and belief that our game can carry on the road. So, I’mexcited about the opportunity and the challenge ahead.”

This will bethe fifth time the Lakers go into Game 3 of a series tied at 1-1since LeBron James went to Los Angeles.

In thoseprevious Game 3s, they’re 4-0.

“Give creditwhere credit’s due. They played exceptionally well and we didn’t,”James said after Game 2. “The series is tied 1-1, so that’s wherewe’re at.”

KNICKS ATHEAT

Series tied1-1. Game 3, 3:30 p.m. EDT, Saturday, ABC

— NEED TOKNOW: A three-day break with no games is likely what the doctors(and athletic trainers, massage therapists and everyone elseinvolved in player health for both teams) ordered. Miami got Game1, New York got Game 2 and the crowd in Miami tends to not beoverwhelmingly pro-Heat when the Knicks are in town. There are manytransplants from New York in South Florida, and they’ll let theirpresence be known Saturday.

— KEEP AN EYEON: Bam Adebayo. Miami’s center blamed himself for the Game 2 loss,has struggled from the field by shooting only 43% over his lastfive games and knows that the Heat need more. If he gets goingearly, everything else tends to open up for Miami’s shooters andslashers.

— INJURYWATCH:VictorOladipo’s season is overand Tyler Herro is still weeksaway from any hope of a return for Miami, which is waiting to seeif Butler (ankle) can play and Max Strus has any ill effects fromhis bruised back in Game 2. For the Knicks, Jalen Brunson wasplaying on a bad ankle in Game 2, and Julius Randle came back froman ankle sprain.

— PRESSURE ISON: Miami. The Heat did what they were supposed to do at MSG,getting a split and taking home-court advantage. If they let it goin Game 3, it’ll be quite an emotional boost for the Knicks.

WARRIORS ATLAKERS

Series tied1-1. Game 3, 8:30 p.m. EDT, Saturday, ABC

— NEED TOKNOW: The Warriors have won at least one road game in each of theirlast 28 playoff series, the longest streak in NBA history. Theyknow they’ve got to win at least one in Los Angeles during thisseries to keep alive their hopes of a fifth title in nineyears.

— KEEP AN EYEON: The foul line, especially the one that the Lakers happen to beshooting from in each half. Game 2 was the 225th time in their fourseasons together that the Lakers got more than 37:00 of action fromJames and/or Davis, and the first such game where they combined toshoot no more than one free throw. They shot one in a combined61:02 of Game 2.

— INJURYWATCH: Golden State’s Kevon Looney was dealing with an illness inGame 2, but other than all the aches and pains that accompanybasketball this late in a season, the Warriors and Lakers both seemOK on the health front.

— PRESSURE ISON: The Lakers. Golden State outscored LA 84-47 in the middle twoquarters of Game 2. The defending champs are still powderkeg-levelexplosive, and if they get a second straight win in this series,they’ll become even more dangerous.