LeBron James and Marcus Smart recorded double-doubles as the Los Angeles Lakers took a stranglehold on their first-round playoff series against the host Houston Rockets with a 112-108 overtime victory in Game 3 on Friday.

After James (29 points, 13 rebounds) forced OT with a 3-pointer, Smart scored eight of his 21 points in the extra period to put the Lakers up 3-0 in the Western Conference series.

Smart added a team-high 10 assists while Rui Hachimura put up 22 points for the Lakers, who will look for a sweep of the best-of-seven set on Sunday at Houston.

The Rockets were without leading scorer Kevin Durant for the second time in the series. Durant, who missed Game 1 with a knee contusion, was a late scratch due to a left ankle sprain sustained in the fourth quarter of Game 2. Alperen Sengun paced the Rockets with 33 points and 16 rebounds while Amen Thompson chipped in 26 points and 11 assists.

Spurs 120, Trail Blazers 108

Stephon Castle hit for 33 points and rookie reserve Dylan Harper added career bests of 27 points and 10 boards as visiting San Antonio roared back to beat Portland in Game 3 of a first-round Western Conference playoff series.

San Antonio erased a 15-point third-quarter deficit and took a 2-1 lead in the series. The Spurs won with Victor Wembanyama on the bench after the star was ruled out before the game because of concussion protocol. De’Aaron Fox added 18 points, with Luke Kornet racking up 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Jrue Holiday finished with 29 points to lead Portland. Scoot Henderson added 21 points, and Deni Avdija produced 19 points and nine assists.

Celtics 108, 76ers 100

Jayson Tatum scored 11 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter as visiting Boston defeated Philadelphia in Game 3 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.

Jaylen Brown matched Tatum with 25 points, while Payton Pritchard added 15 points for the Celtics, who lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.

Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points on 12-of-31 shooting for the Sixers. Paul George (18 points) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (17) also made key contributions, but VJ Edgecombe pitched in just 10 points on 5-of-17 shooting, 0-of-7 from long range.

–Field Level Media

Dansby Swanson hit the go-ahead two-run home run in the ninth as the visiting Chicago Cubs rallied for a 6-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a three-game series on Friday.

The Cubs won their 10th straight game as they came back from a 4-0 deficit, scoring all their runs over the final three innings.

Swanson was 2-for-3 with two runs, a triple, homer and four RBIs. Alex Bregman was 2-for-5 with a solo home run and Moises Ballesteros had two hits and a run.

Pete Crow-Armstrong led off the ninth with a single and was plated on Swanson’s homer off Tanner Scott (0-1).

Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan kept the Cubs at bay as he yielded one run on four hits over 6 1/3 innings with 10 strikeouts.

Yankees 12, Astros 4

Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered and drove in four and visiting New York ran its winning streak to seven by taking control early in its victory over Houston.

The Yankees lost Giancarlo Stanton to tightness in his lower right leg in the sixth. Will Warren (3-0) allowed two hits on seven hits in six innings. Chisholm had his first three-hit game of the season and third multi-hit game in four games after not getting a multi-hit game in his first 21 games. Ryan McMahon, Ben Rice and Jose Caballero also hit solo homers.

Yainer Diaz homered and had an RBI single for the Astros, who lost for the 14th time in 18 games.

Orioles 10, Red Sox 3

Adley Rutschman hit the first of his two two-run homers in Baltimore’s three-homer first inning and the Orioles went on to rip visiting Boston.

Rutschman, who has three home runs in two games since being activated from the injury list earlier this week, finished with six RBIs. The Orioles blasted six home runs — four of them solo blasts. Gunnar Henderson began the homer parade, and Rutschman and Dylan Beavers joined him with long balls in the inning. Samuel Basallo and Coby Mayo later went deep.

Wilyer Abreu hit a homer for Boston in the second inning, and he, Marcelo Mayer and Trevor Story each finished with two of their team’s 10 hits. The Red Sox have lost four games in a row.

Marlins 9, Giants 4

Liam Hicks and Connor Norby smacked home runs and Kyle Stowers, Xavier Edwards and Otto Lopez collected three hits apiece as Miami opened a six-game California swing with a romp over San Francisco.

Benefitting from a season-high-tying 16 hits of support, Sandy Alcantara (3-2) snapped a three-game personal winless streak with six comfortable innings, helping the Marlins win for the fourth time in their last five games.

Luis Arraez and Jung Hoo Lee had three hits apiece for the Giants, who tallied 11 hits but lost their second straight.

Guardians 8, Blue Jays 6

Angel Martinez launched a pair of two-run home runs and visiting Cleveland held on to defeat Toronto.

Daniel Schneemann had a solo shot for the Guardians in the opener of a three-game series. Gavin Williams (4-1) allowed six runs and seven hits in six innings.

Jesus Sanchez and Kazuma Okamoto homered for the Blue Jays.

Rockies 4, Mets 3

Michael Lorenzen tossed a season-high seven innings and earned the win for visiting Colorado, which beat New York in the opener of a three-game series.

Jake McCarthy laced the tiebreaking RBI double in the sixth while Troy Johnston had what proved to be the decisive two-run single an inning later for the Rockies. TJ Rumfield hit a run-scoring groundout in the fifth while Ezequiel Tovar finished with two hits.

Marcus Semien hit into a run-scoring double play in the second and Brett Baty delivered a two-run single in the eighth for the Mets, who had won two straight following a 12-game losing streak.

Pirates 6, Brewers 0

Paul Skenes took a perfect game bid into the seventh inning and Konnor Griffin celebrated his 20th birthday with his first career homer to pace visiting Pittsburgh over Milwaukee in the opener of the three-game series.

Skenes (4-1) retired the first 20 hitters before Jake Bauers lined a 3-2 pitch for a single up the middle with two outs in the seventh for the Brewers’ only hit. The Pirates, who played their first game in 1882, have yet to throw a perfect game. Their last no-hitter came in 1997.

Skenes, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, struck out seven without a walk in a dominant 93-pitch outing. Mason Montgomery followed with a perfect eighth and Isaac Mattson preserved the one-hitter despite a two-out walk in the ninth.

Rays 6, Twins 2

Junior Caminero hit a pair of tape-measure home runs and drove in three runs and Jonathan Aranda also homered twice to lead Tampa Bay to a victory over visiting Minnesota.

It was the fifth career multi-homer game for Caminero, who has hit six home runs during a nine-game hitting streak. Drew Rasmussen (2-0) picked up the win, allowing one run on five hits over six innings.

Brooks Lee homered and doubled in a 3-for-4 game and Royce Lewis also homered for Minnesota, which took its seventh loss in the last eight games.

Braves 5, Phillies 3

Michael Harris II delivered a pinch-hit double to drive in two runs and help Atlanta rally for a win and hand visiting Philadelphia its 10th straight loss.

The losing streak is the longest for Philadelphia since it dropped 11 in a row in 1999. The Braves have won all four games against the Phillies and have won nine of their last 10 games. Ronald Acuna crushed a two-run homer to pull Atlanta even in the fifth.

Trea Turner hit a solo shot and Bryce Harper smashed a two-run blast to put the Phillies up 3-2 in the sixth. For Harper, it was the 800th extra-base hit of his career as he became only the 27th player, and 10th left-handed hitter, to reach that milestone prior to his 34th birthday.

Mariners 3, Cardinals 2

Josh Naylor hit a tiebreaking home run and George Kirby won his third straight start as Seattle defeated host St. Louis in an interleague matchup.

Naylor’s leadoff homer to right-center field in the sixth was the difference. The Mariners snapped a streak of eight consecutive road defeats.

Kirby (4-2) allowed two runs on five hits over six-plus innings. Andre Pallante (2-2) pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on four hits. The right-hander fanned a season-high eight, one shy of his career best.

White Sox 5, Nationals 4

Sam Antonacci delivered a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and Munetaka Murakami homered as host Chicago edged Washington.

Seranthony Dominguez worked around a Luis Garcia Jr. double in the ninth for his sixth save, sending the Nationals to their third straight loss.

Garcia had two hits for the Nationals, while Miguel Vargas had a pair of hits for the White Sox, who have won four of their last five.

Royals 5, Angels 3

Veteran Mike Trout set a franchise record for most career games played at any one position with his 1,367th appearance in center field, but Los Angeles fell to host Kansas City in the opener of their three-game series.

The Royals scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning against Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi (0-3), who allowed five runs on five hits in five innings.

The Angels rallied for three runs in the seventh against left-hander Noah Cameron, who had a shutout going for six innings. Cameron (2-1) got the win with three runs allowed on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings.

Athletics 8, Rangers 1

Nick Kurtz, Carlos Cortes and Tyler Soderstrom each hit solo homers in the first inning as the Athletics opened a three-game series against Texas with a victory in Arlington.

Cortes also hit a three-run homer and Zack Gelof slugged a two-run shot among his two hits for the Athletics, who have won three of their last four games. Kurtz also singled, walked and scored two runs. Luis Severino (1-2) allowed one run on six hits over 6 2/3 innings.

Josh Jung doubled in a run and Corey Seager and Josh Smith had two hits apiece for Texas. Nathan Eovaldi (2-4) gave up six runs on six hits over six innings.

Reds 9, Tigers 8

Nathaniel Lowe belted a two-run walk-off home run, lifting Cincinnati to a victory over Detroit.

After Detroit closer Kenley Jansen (0-1) recorded two quick outs in the ninth, Spencer Steer singled. Lowe then connected on his second homer of the game and the season. Matt McLain also homered twice for Cincinnati, which overcame a 5-0 deficit.

Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter homered in the eighth to give Detroit an 8-7 lead. The Tigers had won 10 of their past 13 entering the Friday contest, which was the opener of a three-game interleague series. Javier Baez and Riley Greene also went deep for the visitors.

–Field Level Media