James, Lakers slip past Suns, halt skid at three
Lebron James had 32 points, 11 rebounds and six assists as the Los Angeles Lakers snapped a threegame skid by beating host Phoenix 122-119 on Friday in the NBA Inseason Tournament.
Kevin Durant led the Suns with 38 points, and Bradley Beal added 24 — 20 in the first half. Devin Booker (right calf strain) missed a fourth straight game for Phoenix.
Anthony Davis returned after missing one game with a hip injury and had 18 points, 11 rebounds and four assists for Los Angeles.
Austin Reaves made a layup with 9:25 left — part of a 14-0 run — to give the Lakers their first second-half lead at 97-96. Reaves added two jumpers in the fourth to help Los Angeles stay ahead.
Cam Reddish had 17 points, including a corner 3 on a pass from James that put the Lakers up 118113 with 1:10 to go. Los Angeles grabbed three offensive rebounds on the possession before Reddish made the shot.
Durant scored 15 points in the third quarter as the Suns nursed a single-digit lead. Reddish hit a 3 at the buzzer to cut the Phoenix advantage to 96-89 heading to the fourth.
■ Timberwolves 117, Spurs
110: At San Antonio, Karl-anthony Towns scored 29 points and Anthony Edwards 28 for Minnesota in its fifth straight win. Victor Wembanyama and Devin Vassell had 29 points apiece for San Antonio, which lost its fourth in a row.
■ Rockets 104, Pelicans 101:
At Houston, Jalen Green scored 25 points and Alperen Sengun 24 for Houston, which overcame a ninepoint fourth-quarter deficit to win its fifth straight — its longest win streak since January 2021.
■ 76ers 114, Pistons 106: At Detroit, Joel Embiid had 33 points and 16 rebounds for Philadelphia, which won its seventh straight and dealt Detroit its seventh loss in a row. Starters accounted for 104 of the 76ers’ points.
■ Mavericks 144, Clippers 126: At Dallas, Luka Doncic scored 44 points on 17-for-21 shooting for Dallas, which handed Los Angeles its third straight loss since James Harden joined the Clippers’ lineup.
■ Jazz 127, Grizzlies 121: At Memphis, Tenn., Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson each scored 26 points for Utah, which halted a four-game skid. Desmond Bane led Memphis (1-8) with 37 points.
■ Hornets 124, Wizards 117: At Washington, Mark Williams had 21 points and 21 rebounds for Charlotte, which missed 22 of 28 3-point tries but had a 64-36 edge in rebounds.
■ Kings 105, Thunder 98:
At Sacramento, Calif., Domantas Sabonis had 17 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds for Sacramento in its seventh straight win over Oklahoma City.
■ Celtics 121, Nets 107: At Boston, Jaylen Brown hit five of Boston’s 19 3-pointers and totaled 28 points as the Celtics snapped a two-game skid.
G League
■ Clippers 109, Ignite 102: At Dollar Loan Center, Jordan Miller had 21 points to lead seven double-figure scorers for Ontario in both teams’ opener. John Jenkins and Tyler Smith each scored 22 points for the Ignite, who trailed 64-51 at halftime.
From staff and wire reports