Harden spurs Nets to rout of Lakers
Raptors send Bucks to their 5th straight defeat
LOS ANGELES — James Harden scored 23 points and Joe Harris added 21 with six 3-pointers as the Brooklyn Nets routed the Los Angeles Lakers 10998 Thursday night for their season-best fifth straight victory.
Kyrie Irving had 16 points and seven rebounds as Brooklyn easily won this matchup of NBA title contenders and improved to 4-0 on a five-game West Coast road trip even without Kevin Durant, who missed his third straight game with a strained left hamstring.
Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 15 points and hit five of the 18 3-pointers by the Nets, who pulled away comfortably in the second half.
Anthony Davis and Dennis Schröder sat out for Los Angeles, leaving the defending champions without two of their top three scorers.
LeBron James scored his 35,000th career point while getting 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers. Kyle Kuzma added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles, which lost for the second time in 10 games.
Davis missed his second straight game after aggravating his strained right calf and Achilles last weekend. The Lakers also played without Schröder, a late scratch under the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
RAPTORS 110, BUCKS 96: In Milwaukee, Norman Powell’s efficiency ensured Toronto would extend Milwaukee’s longest skid in four years.
Powell matched a season high with 29 points, Pascal Siakam had 27 and the Raptors beat Milwaukee to hand the Bucks their fifth consecutive loss.
Powell shot 9 of 12 overall, 4 of 7 from 3-point range and 7 of 8 from the freethrow line. He had 15 points in the first quarter and made a pair of 3-pointers to start a 21-4 run that put the Raptors ahead for good.
The Bucks last dropped five straight games from Jan. 25 to Feb. 3 in 2017. Milwaukee’s entire slide has come without guard Jrue Holiday, who has missed six consecutive games due to health and safety protocols.
Toronto wasn’t at full strength for this one either and still defeated the Bucks for the second time in three nights.
The Raptors beat the Bucks 124-113 on Tuesday despite losing Kyle Lowry to a sore left ankle early in the third quarter. Lowry didn’t play at all Thursday, though the Raptors said it was due to a sprained left thumb rather than his sore ankle.
HEAT 118, KINGS 110: In Sacramento, Calif., Jimmy Butler had 13 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for his third consecutive triple-double, helping Miami beat Sacramento.
Bam Adebayo also had a triple-double with 16 points, 10 assists and 12 rebounds to help Miami win for the first time in Sacramento in nearly five years. Tyler Herro scored 27 points, and Kelly Olynyk added a season-high 22.
Marvin Bagley III had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Sacramento..
POSTPONEMENT: As Texas’ severe weather and power outages continue, the NBA has postponed another Mavericks game.
The Mavericks will not play the Rockets on Friday in Houston, the league announced Thursday, citing a “government shutdown of Toyota Center because of severe weather conditions.” The NBA has not set a makeup date. The Mavericks, who also had their Wednesday home matchup against the Pistons called off, will go at least eight days — from last Sunday’s loss to the Trail Blazers to Monday’s home matchup against the Grizzlies — without a game.
It’s the first weather-related postponement for the Rockets, who were on an East Coast road trip when Texas’ crisis started. The NBA had already postponed four Spurs games between Feb. 16-22 because of a COVID-19 outbreak among San Antonio’s players.
ALL-STAR GAME: The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have completed details for the March 7 All-Star Game in Atlanta, saying Thursday it will generate more than $2.5 million for historically Black colleges and COVID-19 relief efforts.
The game has been criticized by some of the league’s top players, who voiced concerns about having it during a pandemic. But the charitable elements were a major factor in the league pressing on.