Lonzo’s 2nd triple-double lifts Lakers over Nuggets
Hours after the war of words between his father and the president of the United States escalated, Lonzo Ball did what he does best: He played basketball.
Ball notched his second career tripleto lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 127-109 win over the Denver Nuggets.
“I actually like this one,” said Ball, whose first career triple-double came in a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Lakers had lost five of their last six games before throttling the Nuggets to improve their record to 7-10. It was Ball’s best game at home, and the team’s as well. They notched a season high 36 assists and had seven different players in double figures.
Julius Randle led all scorers with 24 points. Brandon Ingram added 13, Kyle Kuzma 17 on seven-of-11 shooting, Brook Lopez 21, Kentavious Cadlwell-Pope 15 and Jordan Clarkson 18.
Ball scored 11 points with 11 assists, 16 rebounds and two blocked shots. He is the second player in Lakers history to have multiple triple doubles in his rookie season (the other is Magic Johnson). Ball also joined an elite group of players who have had two triple doubles within their first 20 games. In NBA history, only Oscar Robertson, Hambone Williams, Connie Hawkins, Magic Johnson, Ben Simmons and Ball have done it.
And in the not-that-meaningful-but-eerie-coincidence department was this: LeBron James was 20 years and 23 days old when he got his second career triple double. Ball was exactly the same age.
“The media will probably love him tomorrow and hate him again the next day,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said. “He’s going to stay level headed and keep doing what he does. We’re gonna keep saying we support him, he’s gonna keep getting better.”
Denver never led after the first quarter, and the Lakers built a lead they wouldn’t relinquish in the second.
They started the second quarter on an 18-2 run, and during that period the Lakers made 16-of-30 shots and had 11 rebounds, a season high for any quarter.
By halftime, the Lakers had scored 70 points and Ball was already close to the triple-double.
This season, no other rookie has even had a game with as many as 14 rebounds this season, and it’s been nearly 18 years since a rookie guard had at least 16 rebounds. Steve Francis had 17 rebounds in 2000.
It’s only been eight days since Ball’s first career triple-double and the week between was eventful.
His brother, LiAngelo, returned from China on Tuesday, where was questioned by police over alleged shoplifting.
On Wednesday, he played what he and Walton all agreed was the worst game he’s had this season. He went to the Lakers facility late that night to try to shoot out the negative feelings left in their loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
On Friday, his father questioned President Donald Trump’s influence on LiAngelo’s release from China. And on Sunday, Trump said on Twitter that he should have “left them in jail!”
“He’s got more on his plate than I could ever imagine anyone having especially at his age,” Walton said. “It’s our job to be here and let him know that we support him and we believe in him.
On Sunday, Ball offered another glimpse of why he deserves that faith.
(Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Raptors 100, Wizards 91
DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points, grabbed eight rebounds and added six assists as Toronto defeated Washington.
The Raptors had a three-point lead entering the fourth quarter and built it to nine. When the Wizards moved to within five, Raptors reserve guard Fred Van Vleet made a three-pointer with 1:15 to play.
The Wizards were playing without guard John Wall, who has a swollen left knee. Bradley Beal paced Washington with 27 points.
Pacers 120, Heat 95
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 26 points and Myles Turner added 25 as Indiana ended its six-game losing streak at American Airlines Arena with a road win over Miami.
Indiana shot 60 percent from the floor for its easiest win of the season.
Turner, who made 11-of-14 shots from the field, added seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Indiana also got 15 points from shooting guard Victor Oladipo, who leads the Pacers in scoring on the season.
Pistons 100, Timberwolves 97
Detroit rallied in the fourth quarter and then held on to beat Minnesota.
Andre Drummond had 20 points and 16 rebounds to lead Detroit, while Avery Bradley and Tobias Harris each added 18 points. The Pistons bounced back after dropping back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Timberwolves saw their three-game winning streak end.
Jimmy Butler had a team-high 26 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota. Andrew Wiggins added 24 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in 16 points and nine rebounds for the Timberwolves.
Suns 113, Bulls 105
T.J. Warren scored nine of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, and the Phoenix bench contributed 50 points in the Suns’ win over Chicago.
Devin Booker had 15 points and reserves Mike James and Troy Daniels combined for 29 as the Suns won their second straight and beat the Bulls for the third time in the past four tries.
Rookie Lauri Markkanen had careerhigh 26 points and added 13 rebounds for Chicago, which missed a chance to win back-to-back games for the first time this season.