Lakers snap losing skid to Trail Blazers
▶ Pacers cool off red-hot Celtics
LeBron James scored 28 points as the Los Angeles Lakers snapped a 16game losing streak to the Portland Trail Blazers by holding on for a 114-110 win on Saturday.
James also added seven assists and Rajon Rondo came off the bench to deliver 17 points and 10 assists for the Lakers, who led by 17 points in the third quarter.
The Lakers would squander that big lead but somehow managed to overcome their late mistakes and hold on for the win thanks to James’ free-throw shooting and some clutch baskets by JaVale McGee.
The Trail Blazers had won 16 straight against the Lakers dating to December 2014.
Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum each scored 30 points for Portland.
The Lakers seized a 17-point lead in the third after a 16-0 run, but the Blazers answered with a 22-8 surge to cut the margin to just six points with 3:34 left on the clock.
Sloppy play once again came back to hurt the Lakers as they committed seven turnovers in the fourth quarter and finished with 20 overall.
Elsewhere, Victor Oladipo drained a clutch three-pointer with three seconds left on the clock as the Indiana Pacers cooled off the red-hot Boston Celtics with a dramatic 102-101 victory.
Oladipo finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers who trailed by four points with 37 seconds to go before charging back.
Marcus Morris had a team-high 23 points and six rebounds for the Celtics, who shot 43 percent overall in a tightly contested game in front of a crowd of 17,500 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse arena.
James Harden scored 25 points in his return to the Houston lineup, and the Rockets defeated the Chicago Bulls 96-88.
The NBA’s reigning MVP Harden scored 11 straight points in a two-minute span of the third quarter as the Rockets went on a 15-0 run.
Harden had missed three games with a sore left hamstring, suffering the injury in a loss to Utah on October 24.
In Philadelphia, Joel Embiid continued to manhandle other teams around the NBA, scoring a game-high 39 points and snagging 17 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 109-99 win over the Detroit Pistons.