Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – LeBron James delivered a master class at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, scoring 33 points in a triple-double as his Los Angeles Lakers ended the New York Knicks’ five-game NBA winning streak 128-112. James added 11 rebounds and 12 assists, while Austin Reaves contributed 27 points. The Lakers managed to keep Knicks All-Stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson in check, despite the absence of Anthony Davis with a strained abdominal muscle.
“We paid attention to details,” James said. “Without AD it’s got to be a collective group; not one of us can do it by ourselves. So it was good for us to come in with a team aspect to get stops together, clean the glass, and then share the ball offensively.” The 40-year-old James undoubtedly set the tone with another standout performance in the Manhattan arena he called “the greatest in the world.”
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“He led tonight with his spirit, his force, his voice,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “Obviously, he played a fantastic statistic game, but from the beginning, it was very clear that he was on a mission.” Josh Hart had a triple-double of 26 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists for the Knicks, but Towns was held to 11 points on three-of-12 shooting, and Brunson finished with a modest 17. The Lakers improved to 28-19 and remained fifth in the Western Conference, one game behind the Denver Nuggets.
The Nuggets, fueled by reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic’s 22nd triple-double of the season, fended off a furious late rally by the Hornets to triumph 107-104 in Charlotte. Serbian star Jokic scored 28 points with 13 rebounds and 17 assists, but it almost wasn’t enough as the Hornets erased a 17-point first-half deficit and took a 104-100 lead with 51.6 seconds remaining on back-to-back baskets by Miles Bridges. Jokic answered with a three-point play, drawing a foul on a put-back basket, and put Denver back in front with a pair of free throws.
Jokic then fed Jamal Murray for a running layup that completed the scoring. Bridges scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Hornets, but Charlotte slumped to a fourth straight defeat. Elsewhere, Aaron Wiggins scored a career-high 41 points and pulled down 14 rebounds for the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder in a 144-110 romp past the Sacramento Kings. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 29 points as the Thunder bounced back convincingly from a loss at Golden State.
In Miami, Bam Adebayo drained a jump shot as time expired to lift the Heat to a 105-103 victory over the Spurs in San Antonio, where Spurs star Victor Wembanyama sat out because of illness. Adebayo finished with 30 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists for the Heat, who shrugged off continuing uncertainty over the future of star Jimmy Butler.
There were welcome victories for the Washington Wizards and Utah Jazz. Washington snapped a 16-game losing streak with a 105-103 victory at the Minnesota Timberwolves, while the Jazz ended their eight-game slide with a 113-99 home win over the Orlando Magic. Kyle Kuzma scored 31 points to lead the Wizards, who hadn’t won a game since January 1 and notched just their second road win of the season against a Timberwolves team playing without ailing star Anthony Edwards.
Utah got the job done at home as Collin Sexton scored 22 points and Lauri Markkanen added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz, who withstood a 37-point performance from Magic forward Franz Wagner and took full advantage of a nightmare night for Magic star Paolo Banchero, who scored nine points on four-of-19 shooting.
In Indianapolis, Pascal Siakam drilled a three-pointer to put the Pacers up for good with 3:21 remaining in a 132-127 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, who dropped their eighth straight despite 34 points and 17 assists from Trae Young.
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