LeBron, Lakers cruise past Rockets on the road, 117-100
HOUSTON — LeBron James scored 26 points in just more than three quarters and the Los Angeles Lakers never trailed in a 117-100 rout of the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.
Anthony Davis added 19 points and 10 rebounds in three quarters to help the Lakers to their second straight blowout over the Rockets after a 120-102 victory Sunday night.
Los Angeles led by 20 or more for most of the game on a night James Harden made just 5 of 16 shots and the Rockets were outrebounded 55-42.
The Rockets scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, but a three-point play by James ended the modest run and made it 100-76 with about 10 ½ minutes to go. He went to the bench for good after that.
Christian Wood had 18 points and eight rebounds and Harden had 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a game where none of Houston’s starters played in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers were up by six in the first quarter before scoring the next 12 points, with five from James, to make it 28-10 with five minutes left in the quarter. They were up 35-14 after the first quarter and had a 7148 lead at halftime.
LA had a 25-point lead in the third quarter before scoring the next five points, with a 3-pointer and a block by Davis, to make it 9565 with about two minutes to go in the quarter.
FINED
Houston’s DeMarcus Cousins and LA’s Markieff Morris were both fined on Tuesday following an altercation during Sunday’s game that led to Morris’ ejection. Morris was fined $35,000 and Cousins $10,000. The incident started when Morris knocked Jae’Sean Tate to the ground in the lane with a hard shoulder to the chest and Cousins quickly pushed Morris to the ground. Cousins then turned and was bending down to help Tate off the court when Morris jumped up, charged at Cousins and shoved him with both hands.
SPURS 112, THUNDER 102
OKLAHOMA CITY — Lonnie Walker IV scored 24 points and San Antonio beat Oklahoma City, allowing the Spurs to finish a five-game trip with four wins.
Keldon Johnson added 18 points for the Spurs, who won their 2,200th game since joining the NBA in 1976.
The Spurs committed a season-low four turnovers.
76ERS 137, HEAT 134, OT
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid had 45 points and 16 rebounds, Dakota Mathias’ only basket of the game was a go-ahead 3-pointer with 26.1 seconds left and Philadelphia hung on to beat undermanned Miami in overtime.
Embiid had one of the great games of his career and carried the Sixers with a perfect third quarter and clutch buckets in OT to put them on the brink of victory.
It was little-known Mathias with the stunner that won it. Mathias, who went undrafted in 2018 and signed this season with the Sixers as a two-day G League player, got the ball from the top of the arc and buried it for the 134-132 lead.
JAZZ 117, CAVALIERS 87
CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points and Utah rolled to a win over injury-depleted Cleveland, wrapping up their six-game road trip.
Utah went 4-2 on its 10-day journey.
NETS 122, NUGGETS 116
NEW YORK — Kevin Durant had 34 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds, Bruce Brown made a huge contribution while starting for the absent Kyrie Irving, and Brooklyn rallied from 18 down to beat Denver.
Brown scored 16 points, including the tying and go-ahead baskets down the stretch. Durant followed with Brooklyn’s next six points, including a 3-pointer that
essentially put it away at 120-113 with 27 seconds to play.
NBA, UNION STIFFEN VIRUS PROTOCOLS
With five games called off this week already and more teams dealing with virus-related issues, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association enacted additional rules in the hope of keeping the season going safely.
For “at least the next two weeks,” the league and union said, players and team staff will have to remain at their residence when in their home markets and are prohibited from leaving their hotels when on the road — with exceptions primarily for practices and games.
Utah’s game in Washington today was postponed because contact-tracing issues among the Wizards meant they wouldn’t have eight available players for that matchup. Orlando’s game in Boston today is also off, the third postponement since Sunday involving the Celtics.
Boston’s most recent list showed eight players as unavailable because they are adhering to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, which means they either tested positive or contact-tracing data showed they may have been exposed to someone who is positive.
NETS, NBA REVIEWING IRVING’S ACTIONS
The Brooklyn Nets and the NBA are looking into Kyrie Irving’s actions after a video showed the point guard at an indoor family gathering while not wearing a mask.
General manager Sean Marks said that the team is reviewing the circumstances with both Irving and the league to determine his compliance with health and safety protocols.
Marks added in a statement that a date for Irving’s return to the team has yet to be finalized.
Asked if he was confident Irving would be back with the Nets this season, coach Steve Nash responded: “Sure.” But he offered no clarity about when that might happen.