Anthony Davis erupted for a season-high 55 points, four shy of his career high, and recorded his 10th consecutive double-double with 17 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers raced to a big lead then held off the host Washington Wizards, 130-119, on Sunday.
The Lakers scored their fifth win in the last six games, third win in a row, and fourth consecutive road victory with Sunday’s decision. Davis has been electric throughout Los Angeles’ resurgence, and the defeat of Washington was his strongest performance yet.
He shot an eye-popping 22-of-30 from the floor, was 9-of-9 at the free-throw line, and did his part in staving off an attempted fourth-quarter rally by the Wizards with a 6-of-8 shooting performance in the period. Sunday marked Davis’ second straight game with 44 or more points.
Lonnie Walker finished with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor for the Lakers. LeBron James added 29 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Russell Westbrook came off the bench to dish 15 assists and grab seven rebounds. Washington shot 49-of-105 from the floor, including 10-of-39 from 3-point range. Kristaps Porzingis finished with 27 points and nine rebounds, and former Laker Kyle Kuzma had 26 points.
Trail Blazers 116, Pacers 100
Jerami Grant scored 28 points and Damian Lillard had 21 points and six assists in his return to the lineup as Portland cruised to a victory over visiting Indiana.
Lillard missed the previous seven games due to his second right calf injury of the season. He was 5 of 10 from 3-point range and was 7 of 16 overall in 32 minutes. Anfernee Simons made five 3-pointers while contributing 22 points and six assists as Portland won its second straight game after losing seven of its previous eight.
Myles Turner recorded 24 points and nine rebounds and Buddy Hield had 22 points and 11 rebounds for Indiana. Andrew Nembhard added 16 points and eight assists while Bennedict Mathurin and Aaron Nesmith had 10 points apiece.
Suns 133, Spurs 95
Deandre Ayton scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Mikal Bridges added 20 points, 17 of them in a dominating first half, as visiting Phoenix produced a win over short-handed San Antonio.
Phoenix got back on track after having a six-game winning streak snapped by Houston at home on Friday. Devin Booker had 20 points for the Suns, with Dario Saric scoring a season-high 17, Jock Landale hitting for 12 and Landry Shamet adding 10.
The loss was the 11th in a row for the Spurs, their worst losing streak since they lost 13 straight in 1989. San Antonio was led by Keldon Johnson’s 27 points while Devin Vassell had 14.
Pelicans 121, Nuggets 106
Jose Alvarado had career highs of eight 3-pointers and 38 points, and host New Orleans defeated Denver.
Zion Williamson added 25 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 13 and Trey Murphy III and Willy Hernangomez had 12 each.
Nikola Jokic had 32 points and 16 rebounds, Aaron Gordon scored 19 points, Jamal Murray had 18 and Bruce Brown 13 for the Nuggets, who lost their second straight after a four-game winning streak.
Celtics 103, Nets 92
Jaylen Brown totaled 34 points and 10 rebounds as Boston struggled at times in the second half before pulling away in the final minutes for a victory over Brooklyn in New York.
Jayson Tatum bounced back from being held to a season-low 14 points in Friday’s overtime loss to Miami and added 29 points to go along with 11 rebounds.
Kevin Durant scored 31 points for the Nets but also committed four of his eight turnovers in the fourth quarter. Kyrie Irving added 18 points but shot 7 of 21.
Grizzlies 122, Pistons 112
Ja Morant had 33 points and 10 assists and Memphis never trailed while dispatching host Detroit for its fourth win in its last five games.
Morant’s 21 third-quarter points were a career high for a single quarter. Dillon Brooks had 22 points, five rebounds and five assists and Jaren Jackson Jr. also scored 22 points. Brandon Clarke supplied 14 points and 14 rebounds and John Konchar added 11 points and four steals.
Saddiq Bey’s 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds off the bench led the Pistons, who have lost four of their last five. Bojan Bogdanovic contributed 18 points and Killian Hayes added 13. Hamidou Diallo and Jaden Ivey chipped in 10 points apiece.
Knicks 92, Cavaliers 81
Jalen Brunson scored 23 points and Julius Randle had 18 points and eight rebounds as New York snapped a five-game home losing streak with a win over Cleveland.
RJ Barrett had 15 points for New York, which led wire-to-wire for its first home win since Nov. 11. Immanuel Quickley scored 12 points, and Isaiah Hartenstein had 10 points and nine rebounds.
Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 23 points and Darius Garland added 17, while Evan Mobley tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds. Cedi Osman had 10 points for the Cavaliers, who shot 34.9 percent from the field and 8 of 35 (22.9 percent) from 3-point range.
Kings 110, Bulls 101
Domantas Sabonis posted a triple-double, Malik Monk stalled a rally with two fourth-quarter hoops and Sacramento spoiled the ending of Chicago’s long road trip with a victory.
Monk had a team-high 20 points and Sabonis grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds to go with 11 points and a game-high 10 assists, propelling the Kings to a third straight win.
Zach LaVine almost single-handedly kept the visitors in the game with 41 points, but he couldn’t prevent the Bulls from suffering a third straight defeat to wrap up a 2-4 trip.
–Field Level Media
