The Phoenix Suns continued their dominant mid-season run with a 114-104 victory over the Lakers in Los Angeles.
The Suns were on fire from deep early, leading to an eight-point first-quarter lead.
They maintained that advantage throughout the rest of the game, despite losing point guard Devin Booker to an ejection in the third.
The @Suns move up to 2nd in the West! pic.twitter.com/ZwmzdFbZ6g — NBA (@NBA) March 3, 2021
The win marked Phoenix's 15th success in their last 18 games and propelled the Suns over the Lakers to sit second in the Western Conference.
The Boston Celtics also claimed a third-straight victory by holding off the Los Angeles Clippers 117-112.
Kawhi Leonard was a late scratching for the Clippers, with Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown taking advantage of his absence as they combined for 43 of Boston's points.
With Jaylen Brown back in the lineup, we were able to secure a 117-112 victory over the Clippers for our third consecutive win. pic.twitter.com/Jw3SJ8fZLa — Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 3, 2021
The Celtics almost gave up an 11-point lead down the stretch, but two clutch free throws from Daniel Theis were ultimately enough for the hosts to scrape by.
Immanuel Quickley's 26-point effort was not enough for the New York Knicks to extend their win streak to four as they fell to the San Antonio Spurs 119-93.
Trey Lyles led the way for the Spurs with 18, while the Knicks' loss pushed them back to sixth in the Eastern Conference.
Elsewhere, the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Washington Wizards 125-111, the Denver Nuggets demolished the Milwaukee Bucks 128-97 and the Atlanta Hawks grinded out a 94-80 victory over the Miami Heat.
