The win gave the Lakers a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, which continues with game four in New Orleans on Sunday.

Pau Gasol broke out of his playoff slump with 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who had 14 points and 11 rebounds from Andrew Bynum and 13 points from Lamar Odom.

Chris Paul had 22 points and eight assists for New Orleans, who managed to keep it close for much of the game but never really threatened after the Lakers took an early lead.

"They just had a collective effort tonight," Paul said. "Everybody pitched in and that's what we really can't let them do.

"We fought," Paul added. "We played a great first half. It's just, in the second half it got away from us." Bryant, who was held to 11 points in the Lakers' game-two victory on Wednesday, showed early that he was upping his intensity, knocking an attempted shot by Carl Landry out of bounds and then driving into the lane himself for a one-handed dunk. Bryant scored 15 points in the first quarter.

It took Gasol longer to warm up. The Spaniard, who had scored just eight points in each of the first two games, had only four points in the first half but hit a key three-pointer early in the fourth that gave the Lakers a 78-70 lead.

It was only Gasol's second three-pointer of this season and the second of his career in the playoffs.

"It was a low shot clock, Steve (Blake) got the ball there and I was open," Gasol said by way of explanation of the unexpected shot. "So I caught it, looked at the rim and made the shot." Gasol's return to form was a welcome development for the Lakers, not to mention for Gasol himself.

"It was just about playing my game and being assertive and being comfortable out there," Gasol said.

"Don't try to overthink it. Don't try to think about the last play. Just try to make the right play. It was a much better game on my part." The three-pointer launched a 10-1 scoring run that included seven points from Gasol, and the Lakers enjoyed a double-digit lead for much of the final period.

"The big aspect is Pau having that two, three minutes of offensive display there in the fourth quarter. It helped establish the lead and give us some room," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

"He is just too good a basketball player. He can shoot, he can handle the ball, he can do a lot of things. It's just a matter of him finding a comfort zone out there.

"I didn't expect him to find it out on the three-point line," Jackson added. "But we are not surprised when he makes those shots."

In New York, the Boston Celtics edged closer to the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 113-96 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday, taking a 3-0 series lead.

Paul Pierce led with 38 points, Ray Allen added 32, and Rajon Rondo had a Celtics' playoff-record 20 assists in his triple-double.

Rondo had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who pulled through two close games in Boston but never trailed in this one, dominating the first playoff game at Madison Square Garden in seven years.

Carmelo Anthony had 15 points and 11 rebounds but shot 4 for 16 for the Knicks.

Chauncey Billups was sidelined again with a knee injury and Amare Stoudemire was limited by back spasms and was 2 for 8 for seven points.

Game 4 is in New York on Sunday.

At Atlanta, Jamal Crawford scored a 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds left to cap a brilliant second half and lead Atlanta to a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series.

Zaza Pachulia of Atlanta and Jason Richardson of Orlando were ejected with 2:22 remaining after a confrontation under the basket. The teams swapped the lead four times after that near-brawl until Al Horford put the Hawks ahead for good with 46.6 seconds remaining.

But Crawford, who scored 18 of his 23 points after halftime, hit the biggest shot of all. With the shot clock winding down, he put up a jumper over Jameer Nelson that struck high on the backboard and went in.

Game 4 is Sunday night in Atlanta.