Ball is no match for James
Lonzo Ball got an up-close look at the biggest baller of them all.
LeBron James recorded his 59th career triple-double in front of Ball and his brothers, Kevin Love scored 28 points and the Cavaliers won for the 16th time in 17 games, 121-112 over the Lakers in Cleveland on Thursday night.
James finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists to move into a tie with Larry Bird for sixth place on the career triple-doubles list. James also put away the Lakers in the final minutes with a dunk and short jumper, leading Cleveland to its 10th straight home win.
James said he was humbled to learn that Ball patterned his game after him. James has become a fan of Ball’s game.
“It’s always team,” James said when asked what he admires most about Ball. “He passes the ball. Pushes the ball up the floor. Someone you want to play with. This is a team game. Everyone gets so caught up in this whole individual thing and ... the whole team game gets overlooked.”
For Ball, his first on-court encounter with James was eye-opening.
“Watching him doesn’t do him justice,” Ball said. “He has that size, that speed. I’d say he’s the best player in the world right now.”
Brandon Ingram scored 26 for the Lakers and Ball had 13 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. Knicks 111, Nets 104: Courtney Lee scored 18 of his 27 points in the second half, Michael Beasley added 15, and visiting New York held off Brooklyn after losing forward Kristaps Porzingis to a sore left knee early in the second half. Porzingis motioned to the bench with 9:25 remaining in the third quarter after contesting a shot made by the Nets’ Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. The Knicks’ leading scorer had scored 13 points in nearly 18 minutes in the first half. Timberwolves 119, Kings 96: KarlAnthony Towns had 30 points and 14 rebounds in his league-leading 23rd double-double, Jimmy Butler added 21 points and nine assists and host Minnesota cruised past Sacramento. Andrew Wiggins scored 22 points for Minnesota (17-12), which has won three of four and is off to the third-best start in franchise history after 29 games. Pistons 105, Hawks 91: Andre Drummond had 12 points, 19 rebounds and a career-high nine assists, Tobias Harris added 19 points and visiting Detroit snapped a seven-game slide with a victory over NBA-worst Atlanta. Avery Bradley finished with 18 points and Langston Galloway scored 17 as the Pistons won for the first time since beating Phoenix on Nov. 29. Voting set: Debuting an NBA AllGame format in which players will pick teams in an effort to energize the event, the league has unveiled the voting schedule for its 2018 showcase. The NBA previously had announced that the Eastern versus Western Conference format would be scrapped for the first time, replaced by captains choosing sides in the latest effort to generate more enthusiasm and perhaps competitiveness for the game. The West has won six of the past seven games. The league announced Thursday that voting begins on NBA.com and the NBA App on Dec. 21. Voting through all other formats starts on Christmas Day before the annual five-game slate.