Dario Šarić’s Sacramento Kings were defeated last night at home by the Los Angeles Lakers 127-120, while Ivica Zubac’s LA Clippers won against the Portland Trail Blazers 114-107.
Lakerswho played without injured stars Luka Doncic and LeBron James, was led to victory by Austin Reaves with a career-high 51 points, followed by Deandre Ayton’s 22 steals and 15 rebounds. Taking over after Doncic was sidelined with finger and calf injuries, Reaves surpassed his previous NBA record of 45 points set last February. He also had 11 rebounds and nine assists, missing what could have been his fourth career triple-double by one assist.
Rui Hachimura finished the game with 18 points, while LaRavia and Marcus Smart each added 11 for the Lakers. Code Sacramento the best was Zach LaVine with 32 points, while Domantas Sabonis (10 points, 14 rebounds) and Dennis Schröder (18 points, 12 assists) achieved a double-double performance. Dario Šarić played 4:28 minutes for Sacramento and was ineffective.
Clippers is up to a home win against Portland led by Kawhi Leonard with 30 points and 10 rebounds, while Ivica Zubac scored 21 points (9/14 field goal) and recorded eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks in just under 35 minutes on the court.
James Harden added 20 points and 13 assists, and John Collins had 16 points, as the Clippers extended their winning streak to 12 games against Portland.
Deni Avdija scored 23 points and Jrue Holiday had 21 for the Trail Blazers in their second game under interim head coach Tiago Splitter.
Head coach Chauncey Billups is out indefinitely after the arrested on charges related to the FBI’s gambling investigation. Shaedon Sharpe scored 19 points, Jerami Grant had 17, and Donovan Clingan had 10 rebounds for Portland.
Detroit Pistons won 119-113 at home Boston Celticsand Cade Cunningham participated in his team’s victory with 25 points and eight assists. Jalen Duren added 24 points and 17 rebounds for the Pistons.
The Celtics were not helped by an upbeat Jaylen Brown, who finished the game with 41 steals. Payton Pritchard had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Derrick White added 15 points.
Miami Heat defeated in the first home game New York Knicks with 115-107, and they were led by Norman Powell with 29 points. Jalen Brunson led New York with the most points in the game, 37, five of which were 3-pointers, and he also dished out seven assists. Mikal Bridges added 20 points for the Knicks, and Karl-Anthony Towns added 15 points and a game-high 18 rebounds.
Cleveland Cavaliers were 118-113 better than Milwaukee Bucks and it’s their second win in a row after their season-opening loss to the New York Knicks. Donovan Mitchell scored 10 of his 24 points in the final quarter, and Evan Mobley had 23 points with eight rebounds and six assists.
Mobley was 12 of 12 from the free-throw line, including six in the final 16 seconds, as the Cavaliers held on to the lead after building an 81-63 lead in the third quarter. Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was the best scorer of the game with 40 points to which he added 14 rebounds and nine assists. AJ Green scored 20 points and Ryan Rollins added 14 with eight assists.
Charlotte Hornets were away from home with a high score of 139-113 Washington Wizardsand LaMelo Ball contributed to the victory with a triple-double performance. Ball scored 38 points, including five 3-pointers, and had 13 rebounds and 13 assists for his 11th career triple-double.
The Hornets overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to score 44 points in the third quarter and continued to dominate with 44 more in the final quarter, spoiling the Wizards’ first home game. CJ McCollum led Washington with 24 points, while Alex Sarr scored 21 points.
Minnesota Timberwolves are in Minneapolis beat the Indiana Pacers 114-110, and Julius Randle led them to victory with 31 points. Minnesota was without Anthony Edwards in the game, who was injured just three minutes into the game.
Pascal Siakam from the Pacers led the scorers with 33 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. He added three steals to his nearly triple-double statistic.
(Hina | Photo: X)
