Malik Beasley scored 25 points and Austin Reaves added 17 as the new-look Los Angeles Lakers earned a 124-111 victory Thursday over the visiting Golden State Warriors in the first game back from the All-Star break for both teams.
After his lowest-scoring first half of the season, LeBron James finished with 13 points on 5-of-20 shooting for the Lakers, who won for the third time in their last four games (with two of those victories against the Warriors). Anthony Davis scored 12 points with 12 rebounds for Los Angeles.
James, who scored five points in the first half, saw his streak of scoring at least 20 points end at 37 games. He added nine rebounds and eight assists.
Klay Thompson scored 22 points and Ty Jerome added 20 for the Warriors, who were without Stephen Curry (leg) and Andrew Wiggins (personal). Golden State lost for the fourth time in its last five games and remained stuck on seven road victories, the lowest among postseason-eligible teams.
Jazz 120, Thunder 119 (OT)
Lauri Markkanen scored 43 points, including three clutch free throws in the final seconds, and grabbed 10 rebounds as Utah rallied to beat Oklahoma City in overtime at Salt Lake City.
Markkanen scored 18 points in the fourth quarter to help the Jazz overcome a nine-point deficit and force an extra session. He also hit three foul shots with 4.6 seconds to go in OT to put Utah up by one. Jordan Clarkson added 24 points for the Jazz.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was on Markkanen’s All-Star team on Sunday, led the Thunder with 39 points and seven assists and also pulled down eight rebounds. However, he missed a game-winning attempt at the OT buzzer.
Kings 133, Trail Blazers 116
De’Aaron Fox took advantage of a short-handed and travel-weary Portland roster to pour in 31 points as Sacramento romped at home behind Domantas Sabonis’ seventh triple-double of the season.
The Trail Blazers elected to hold Damian Lillard and Jerami Grant out of the game after Portland, following a long weather-related delay on the runway and eventual flight cancellation on Wednesday night, was unable to travel into the California capital until Thursday morning.
The 11 players who suited up for the Trail Blazers didn’t appear to be bothered by the nuisance early in the game, as Portland blasted out to 11-2, 19-4 and 27-11 leads en route to a 37-29 advantage through 12 minutes. But the rest of the night belonged to the Kings, who scorched the Portland defense for 54-percent shooting en route to their 15th 130-point game of the season and their fourth win in six games.
Nuggets 115, Cavaliers 109
Nikola Jokic had 24 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists for his 22nd triple-double of the season as Denver beat host Cleveland for its fourth straight win.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 25 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 17, and Jamal Murray put up 16 points and nine assists in his return to the lineup for the Nuggets, who remain unbeaten when Jokic has a triple-double.
Evan Mobley had 31 points and nine rebounds, Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland scored 22 points each, and Jarrett Allen had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Cleveland took its second loss in a row after a seven-game winning streak.
76ers 110, Grizzlies 105
James Harden had 31 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and Joel Embiid threw down a clutch dunk with 23.3 seconds left to help Philadelphia rally from a 17-point deficit to beat Memphis at home.
Despite missing the morning shootaround due to a non-COVID illness, Embiid finished with 27 points, 19 rebounds, six assists and six blocked shots. He shot 7 of 25 from the field and 13 of 17 from the free-throw line.
Desmond Bane scored 25 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 18 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots for the Grizzlies. Ja Morant scored 15 on 3-of-16 shooting, Dillon Brooks had 11 points and Xavier Tillman swept 12 rebounds.
Celtics 142, Pacers 138 (OT)
Jayson Tatum scored the final four points of overtime to help Boston defeat Indiana in Indianapolis.
Tatum had 31 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. He broke a 138-138 tie by making two free throws with 56.2 seconds remaining and then scored the game’s final basket after collecting an offensive rebound with 10.4 seconds to play. Jaylen Brown added 30 points and 11 rebounds, and Malcolm Brogdon came off the bench to score 24 points in his first game in Indiana since the Pacers traded him to the Celtics in the offseason.
Myles Turner connected for a career-high eight 3-pointers and tied a career high with 40 points for the Pacers, who made 22 3-pointers in the game. Turner made 8 of 10 shots from behind the arc. Indiana point guard Tyrese Haliburton finished with 22 points and 14 assists, but missed a long 3-point attempt at the end of regulation with the teams tied 125-125.
Mavericks 142, Spurs 116
Luka Doncic scored 28 points and dished out 10 assists in three quarters of play and Kyrie Irving added 23 points as Dallas swamped hapless San Antonio to snap a three-game losing streak.
It was just the third game the Mavericks’ new dynamic duo have played together since a trade brought Irving to Dallas from the Brooklyn Nets on Feb. 6, and the Mavs lost the prior two contests. Tim Hardaway Jr. put up 22 points for Dallas, with Christian Wood scoring 16, Justin Holiday hitting for 15, and Reggie Bullock contributing 12, Josh Green 11 and Dwight Powell 10.
San Antonio extended its franchise-record losing streak to 15 games. Malaki Branham led the Spurs with 23 points while Keldon Johnson added 22, Charles Bassey scored 16, Keita Bates-Diop had 15, Zach Collins amassed 13 points and 12 rebounds and Devonte’ Graham threw in 10 points.
Magic 108, Pistons 106
Wendell Carter Jr. closed out a 14-point, 14-rebound performance with a tip-in at the buzzer to elevate host Orlando over Detroit.
Carter’s game-winning basket — initially negated for offensive goaltending before the call was overruled on video review — came after Paolo Banchero’s driving attempt to break a 106-106 stalemate was unsuccessful.
Banchero finished with 11 points, almost nine fewer than his team-leading season average, on 4-of-13 shooting from the floor. His struggles were reflective of collective shooting woes for the Magic, who hit just 41.1 percent of their field-goal attempts for the game. On the other end of the floor, the Pistons shot 45.7 percent from the floor but committed 21 turnovers.
Raptors 115, Pelicans 110
Pascal Siakam scored 17 of his 26 points in the third quarter and Toronto held on to defeat visiting New Orleans.
Jakob Poeltl added 21 points and a career-best 18 rebounds for the Raptors, who have won three in a row. O.G. Anunoby returned from a wrist injury to score 12 points, but Toronto was without Fred VanVleet (personal).
Brandon Ingram had 36 points for the Pelicans, who lost for the third time in four games. CJ McCollum added 23 points.
–Field Level Media
