Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – LeBron James and Austin Reaves combined for 72 points as the Los Angeles Lakers bounced back to score a battling 110-102 road win over the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA on Thursday. With Luka Doncic rested for injury management, James poured in 40 points and Reaves added 32 points to halt the Lakers’ mini-slump of two consecutive losses. Reaves had been ejected in Wednesday’s upset reverse against the Charlotte Hornets, but produced a monstrous performance at both ends of the court to help steer the Lakers to victory.
James, 40, meanwhile revealed that a lengthy sleep had helped fuel the 79th 40-point game of his career. “We got into the hotel at 3am and I slept all the way to about 11:30 this morning,” James said. “I got some rehab and then slept for another two and a half hours. I normally get the first bus to the venue but my body was like ‘no’. So I got the last bus, got ready for the game mentally and physically when I got here.”
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Lakers coach J.J. Redick, meanwhile, lavished praise on James’ competitive spirit. “He really just defies anything that is normal,” Redick said of James. “I believe I read the other day that he’s a billionaire — and he’s playing on the second night of a back-to-back at 40 after 22 years, with every freaking record and accolade. He sets the standard for how you’re supposed to approach this craft, and that’s to me the most incredible thing — the mindset to do it over and over and over again.”
– No Wemby, no problem –
In other action on Thursday, the San Antonio Spurs shrugged off the disappointment of losing Victor Wembanyama for the remainder of the season with a 120-109 defeat of the Phoenix Suns. The Spurs announced earlier Thursday that French star Wembanyama would likely miss the rest of the campaign after being diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. But the Spurs showed no sign of a hangover from that bombshell injury bulletin with a wire-to-wire win. De’Aaron Fox led the way for San Antonio with 26 points.
In Philadelphia, Payton Pritchard drained eight three-pointers from the bench to lead the scoring with 28 points as the Boston Celtics returned to action with a 124-104 romp over the 76ers. The Celtics took the lead early in the first quarter and never looked back, dominating a lackluster Sixers lineup to surge into a 72-56 lead at half-time. Boston continued to score at will in the second half, leading by as much as 29 points in the fourth quarter in cruising to victory. Jaylen Brown finished with 20 points while Jayson Tatum finished with a triple-double of 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. Paul George led Philadelphia’s scoring with 17 points. The reigning NBA champion Celtics improved to 40-16 to remain in second place in the Eastern Conference.
In New York, the Cleveland Cavaliers maintained their grip on first place in the East after battling past the Brooklyn Nets 110-97. Mitchell led the Cavs scoring with 26 points while Evan Mobley and Darius Garland chipped in with 18 points apiece. Jarrett Allen added 16 points with 20 rebounds. The Nets’ cross-town rivals, the New York Knicks, fared better in a nail-biting 113-111 overtime victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Knicks scoring with 32 points, while Miles McBride added 23 points and Jalen Brunson 22. But the hero for the Knicks was Mikal Bridges, who made a game-saving block on the buzzer at the end of the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime.
In other games on Tuesday, the Indiana Pacers took down the Memphis Grizzlies after a 50-point scoring blitz in the second quarter to set up a 127-113 victory. Tyrese Haliburton led the home side’s scoring with 22 points on a night when seven Pacers players finished in double figures.
© 2024 AFP
