LeBron James shines as LA Lakers key in on defense in win over Houston Rockets
Clippers rally to beat Pelicans; Giannis blasts Bucks past Nets; Warriors beat Magic to end 10-game skid; Rose shines as Pistons rout Hawks
Sunday 19 January 2020 09:30, UK
LeBron James hit 31 points and dishes 12 assists as the visiting Los Angeles Lakers produced defensively in the second half to beat the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
LA Lakers 124-115 Houston Rockets
LeBron James produced his 31st double-double of the season, Kyle Kuzma chipped in 23 points and the visiting Los Angeles Lakers turned a third-quarter defensive clinic into a 124-115 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
The Lakers delivered an efficient offensive display without their leading scorer, Anthony Davis, by following James' lead. James paired a team-high 31 points with a game-high 12 assists to steward the Lakers. Their defensive might turned the tide in the third, which they won 32-17.
Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 20 points apiece for the Lakers, while former Rockets center Dwight Howard added 10 rebounds.
Russell Westbrook (35 points, nine rebounds, seven assists) and James Harden (34 points, seven assists) paced the Rockets, who have dropped three straight and four of five.
LA Clippers 133-130 New Orleans Pelicans
Kawhi Leonard scored 39 points and Lou Williams had 32 as the visiting Los Angeles Clippers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 133-130.
It was Leonard's fifth consecutive game with more than 30 points in the absence of second-leading scorer Paul George, who is sidelined by a hamstring injury. Montrezl Harrell added 24 points and Landry Shamet scored 11.
For the Pels, Derrick Favors (10-for-10 from floor) had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Brandon Ingram scored 21, JJ Redick tallied 19, while Lonzo Ball had a triple-double with 18 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, Jaxson Hayes scored 14 and Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 10 points.
Phoenix Suns 123-119 Boston Celtics
Devin Booker scored 39 points and fell an assist shy of his first career triple-double as the visiting Phoenix Suns held off the undermanned Boston Celtics 123-119.
Booker added 10 rebounds, Deandre Ayton had 26 points and 15 boards and Mikal Bridges scored a career-high 26, as the Suns won for the fourth time in their last five. Dario Saric scored 13 with 11 rebounds and five assists.
Marcus Smart scored a career-high 37 points on a team-record-setting 11 three-pointers, but the Celtics fell for the sixth time in their last eight. Jayson Tatum scored 26 with 10 rebounds, and Gordon Hayward had 22 points, seven boards and seven assists.
Boston played without starters Kemba Walker (left knee) and Jaylen Brown (thumb sprain).
Milwaukee Bucks 117-97 Brooklyn Nets
Giannis Antetokounmpo encountered little difficulty collecting 29 points and 12 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks led most of the way and cruised to a 117-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
Antetokounmpo posted his 37th double-double while also tying his career-high with eight turnovers, including four offensive fouls. The star forward made 12 of 20 shots and hit two three-pointers as the Bucks pushed their winning streak to six games and beat the Nets for the 16th time in the past 19 meetings.
Khris Middleton added 20 points, former Nets center Brook Lopez contributed 12 points while Donte DiVincenzo and Wesley Matthews finished with 11 points apiece. Kyle Korver chipped in 10.
Kyrie Irving scored 17 points, but the Nets lost their third straight and dropped to 2-10 in their past 12 games. Rookie Nicolas Claxton added 14 for the Nets, who took their third straight double-digit loss.
Orlando Magic 95-109 Golden State Warriors
D'Angelo Russell scored 26 points as the Golden State Warriors snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 109-95 victory over the Orlando Magic on Saturday in San Francisco.
Rookie Jordan Poole scored a career-high 21 points and Eric Paschall added 20 and nine rebounds for the short-handed Warriors, who recorded their first victory since winning four in a row from December 20-27.
Markelle Fultz scored 23 points and finished 10 of 14 from the floor for the Magic, who failed to take advantage of a 13-0 run to start the game. Nikola Vucevic collected 13 points and 13 rebounds and Evan Fournier finished with 12 points on 4 of 11 shooting from the floor for Orlando, which last won in the Bay Area in December 2012.
Toronto Raptors 122-112 Minnesota Timberwolves
Fred VanVleet scored 29 points in his return from a hamstring injury and Kyle Lowry added 28 as the visiting Toronto Raptors used a third-quarter charge to earn a 122-112 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Norman Powell scored 20 points and Pascal Siakam added 14 as the Raptors continued to get their regulars back on the court. Powell and Siakam returned from injury last weekend. Marc Gasol returned Friday. VanVleet was the latest to see the court again after missing the last five games.
Jarrett Culver scored 26 points and Robert Covington added 22 as the Timberwolves lost their fifth consecutive game. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 12 for Minnesota in his second game back from a 15-game absence because of a sore knee.
Andrew Wiggins had a triple-double in the defeat, scoring 18 points with 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
Portland Trail Blazers 106-119 Oklahoma City Thunder
Chris Paul tied his season high with 30 points to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 119-106 win over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday.
Paul was 11 of 15 from the floor in the game and added seven assists. Rookie Darius Bazley, starting at forward in Danilo Gallinari's absence, had a career-best 13 rebounds. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 22 points. Dennis Schroder added 15 - all in the final 15 minutes.
The Trail Blazers kept the game tight despite having just eight players available. Damian Lillard led Portland with 34 points, 24 of them in the first half.
Philadelphia 76ers 90-87 New York Knicks
Tobias Harris drained a go-ahead three-pointer with 28.2 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter as the visiting Philadelphia 76ers posted a 90-87 victory over the New York Knicks on Saturday.
Ben Simmons scored 21 points to reach the 20-point plateau in a career-best fourth straight contest for the 76ers, who snapped a six-game road losing skid.
Live NBA: Philadelphia @ Brooklyn
Josh Richardson scored 18 points and Furkan Korkmaz added 17, one night after he erupted for a career-best totals in points (24) and 3-pointers (six) in the 76ers' 100-89 victory over Chicago.
Marcus Morris Sr. scored 20 points and Julius Randle added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, who have lost eight of their last nine games.
Sacramento Kings 101-123 Utah Jazz
Bojan Bogdanovic made six threes and scored 30 points to help the Utah Jazz roll to a 123-101 victory over the Sacramento Kings in Salt Lake City.
Rudy Gobert recorded a season-high 28 points on 9-of-11 shooting and also had 15 rebounds and three blocked shots, and Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points as the Jazz won for the 16th time in their past 18 games.
Jordan Clarkson scored 20 points while Joe Ingles registered a season-high 12 assists and collected nine rebounds.
De'Aaron Fox recorded 21 points and eight assists for the Kings, who have lost four straight games and 13 of their past 16. Marvin Bagley III scored 17 points, Buddy Hield added 14.
Detroit Pistons 136-103 Atlanta Hawks
Derrick Rose scored 10 of his 27 points in the first quarter to set the tone, and the visiting Detroit Pistons shot 59.3 per cent from the field in a 136-103 rout of the Atlanta Hawks.
Rose, making only his third start, was 12-for-17 from the field and added nine assists. It was his eighth straight game of 20-plus points.
Live NBA: Miami @ San Antonio
Rose was one of six Detroit players who scored in double figures. He was joined by Svi Mykhailiuk with a career-high 25, Markieff Morris with 22, Andre Drummond with 16, Langston Galloway with 14 and Christian Wood with 10. Drummond had 17 rebounds for his 35th double-double, second best in the league.
The Hawks got 20 points from John Collins, 19 from De'Andre Hunter and 16 points and seven assists from Trae Young. Newly acquired Jeff Teague had 15 points and seven assists in his first game back with the team.
Cleveland Cavaliers 116-118 Chicago Bulls
Zach LaVine scored 21 of his game-high 42 points in the fourth quarter and Lauri Markkanen had 17 points to help the host Chicago Bulls rally past the Cleveland Cavaliers for a 118-116 victory on Saturday night.
Chicago trailed by as many as 19 points in the third quarter before opening the fourth on a 16-2 run to draw within 104-103 before eventually going on to take the win. Luke Kornet and Coby White both had 11 points for the Bulls, while Kris Dunn had 10.
Kevin Love scored 29 points to lead five Cavaliers in double figures. Collin Sexton added 26 points, Darius Garland and Osman had 16 apiece and Tristan Thompson scored 14.
