LeBron, Lakers snap skid; Blazers break Clippers run
LOS ANGELES — LeBron James had 36 points and 10 rebounds, and the visiting Los Angeles Lakers overcame their lowest-scoring first quarter of the season to end a five-game losing streak with a 123-107 win against the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 24 points off the bench, Kyle Kuzma scored 21, Rajon Rondo had 14 points and 10 assists, and JaVale McGee finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers.
Robin Lopez scored 20 points, Otto Porter Jr. had 19 points and nine rebounds, and Kris Dunn finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and nine assists for Chicago. Ryan Arcidiacono started in place of leading scorer Zach LaVine (knee) and had 14 points and six assists.
The Lakers scored 16 points in the first quarter, and the Bulls closed with an 11-1 run to take an 18-point lead into the second quarter. Los Angeles went ahead for the first time since making the first basket of the game when Kuzma put in a layup for a 66-64 lead with 8:48 left in the third quarter.
BLAZERS END CLIPPERS’ WIN STREAK WITH LATE SURGE
CJ McCollum scored 23 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 125-104 victory over the host Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.
Damian Lillard recorded 20 points and 12 assists as Portland won for the eighth time in the past 11 games. Jusuf Nurkic added 20 points and 12 rebounds, Enes Kanter contributed 14 points and nine rebounds, and Seth Curry scored 10 for the Trail Blazers.
Montrezl Harrell registered 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Lou Williams added 18 points for Los Angeles, which had a five-game winning streak halted. Shea Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 points, Landry Shamet added 11 and Ivica Zubac had 10 points and 15 rebounds.
Portland (41-26) is tied for fourth place in the Western Conference with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Clippers (39-30) are in seventh place.
The Trail Blazers outscored Los Angeles 40-20 in the final quarter to pull away.
SPURS 112, MAVERICKS 105
DeMar DeRozan scored 16 of his team-high 33 points in the first quarter and LaMarcus Aldridge had 10 of his 28 in the third to lead visiting San Antonio past Dallas.
Derrick White added 23 points and seven assists, and Davis Bertans dropped three 3-pointers, including two big ones in the fourth quarter. San Antonio ran its win streak to a seasonbest six games.
Dallas lost for a sixth consecutive game as rookie Luka Doncic, playing with a sore right knee, was limited to 12 points on 5-of-18 shooting. He was 1 of 7 from deep, a frustrating 1 of 9 from the free-throw line and committed nine of the Mavericks’ 14 turnovers. Jalen Brunson scored a career-high 34 points for Dallas.
BUCKS 130, PELICANS 113
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 24 points to lead six Milwaukee scorers in double figures in a win at New Orleans.
Khris Middleton added 23 points, Malcolm Brogdon scored 18, Eric Bledsoe and former Pelicans forward Nikola Mirotic had 14 each and Brook Lopez 13.
Elfrid Payton had his second consecutive triple-double for the Pelicans, who lost their fourth straight, finishing with 14 points, a career-high 15 rebounds and 11 assists. He is the first New Orleans player to have a triple-double in consecutive games since Chris Paul did it in 2008. 76ERS 106, CAVALIERS 99
Ben Simmons had 26 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to lead host Philadelphia past Cleveland.
Joel Embiid added 17 points and 19 rebounds for his 50th double-double of the season. Embiid also blocked four shots. JJ Redick scored 17 points for the Sixers, who were without Jimmy Butler as he was held out for a planned rest day.
Collin Sexton paced the Cavaliers with 26 points while Cedi Osman added 18 and Jordan Clarkson had 13.
PACERS 103, KNICKS 98
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 24 points as Indiana continued its home dominance of New York.
The Pacers rebounded from a pair of nationally televised double-digit defeats at Milwaukee and Philadelphia by beating the Knicks for the 13th time in their last 14 meetings in Indianapolis and completing their third season sweep of New York in the past five seasons.
The Knicks’ latest losing streak is at seven games. New York, which got 21 points from Emmanuel Mudiay, scored fewer than 100 points for the fourth straight game. —