Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The Los Angeles Lakers shook off the early exit of injured star Luka Doncic on Thursday, rallying without him in the second half for a 119-115 NBA victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Austin Reaves, again coming off the bench in his second game back from a 19-game injury absence, scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, drilling a pair of back-to-back three-pointers to give the Lakers their first lead of the game early in the final frame.
“Losing Luka, you know nothing’s going to be easy after that because he does so much for us,” said Reaves, who connected on 12 of 17 shots, including five three-pointers. “But we bonded together.” LeBron James scored 17 points and handed out 10 assists for Los Angeles, who halted the 76ers’ five-game winning streak. The Lakers withstood a 35-point performance from Sixers center Joel Embiid. Tyrese Maxey added 26 points and 13 assists for Philadelphia.
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Doncic, who came into the contest leading the league in scoring with 33.4 points per game, exited late in the second quarter with what Lakers coach JJ Redick later confirmed was a sore left hamstring. The Lakers were down by nine when Doncic departed, rubbing the back of his left thigh and grimacing in discomfort and clear frustration. With Doncic absent, the 76ers opened the third quarter on a 6-0 scoring run to push their lead to 14. “We didn’t break,” Reaves said. “We continue to play hard on every possession and good things happen.”
The short-handed Washington Wizards pulled off a 126-117 upset of the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons. The struggling Wizards landed a big name at the NBA trade deadline this week in acquiring Anthony Davis from Dallas. But with new arrivals yet to be available, the Wizards had just 10 players in uniform, and that proved enough as Will Riley scored 20 points and Sharife Cooper added 18 to lead six Washington players to score in double figures. The Wizards drilled 18 three-pointers as the Pistons, who had won five of their prior six games, made just eight. Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Duncan Robinson added 21 points for Detroit, who saw All-Star Jalen Duren depart early with a sore right knee.
Charlotte rookie Kon Knueppel scored 24 points to lead the Hornets to an eighth straight victory, 109-99 over the Rockets in Houston. LaMelo Ball added 20 points for the Hornets, who took a 16-point lead into the fourth quarter and pushed the advantage to as many as 22. Kevin Durant scored 31 points for Houston, who slumped to another defeat one night after a lopsided loss to the Boston Celtics.
– Spurs top Mavs – San Antonio superstar Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to propel the Spurs to a 135-123 victory over the Mavericks in Dallas. Wembanyama added six assists, two steals and three blocked shots, connecting on nine of 14 shots, including five three-pointers. Sensational Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg scored 32 points for his fourth straight game of 30 or more. Naji Marshall also scored 32, but the Mavs never led in the second half.
Golden State’s Pat Spencer scored a career-high 20 points and Gui Santos chipped in 18 to help the short-handed Warriors rally from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit for a 101-97 victory over the Suns in Phoenix. Dillon Brooks led the Suns with 24 points but missed a potential go-ahead basket in the waning seconds as the Warriors, with star Stephen Curry sidelined by a sore knee, escaped with the win.
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