Mavs spoil Thomas’ debut with Lakers
Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 22 points, Harrison Barnes had 21 and the last-place Dallas Mavericks spoiled Isaiah Thomas’ strong debut with the Lakers, beating Los Angeles 130-123 on Saturday night.
Thomas finished with 22 points and already looks like a better fit in coach Luke Walton’s offense than he did in an ill-fated 15game stint with Cleveland after the offseason trade that sent Kyrie Irving to Boston.
The diminutive guard’s first half with the Lakers was his highest-scoring half of the season, a team-high 16 points.
Thomas, who was part of a four-player deal at the trading deadline that also brought Channing Frye, missed the first 36 games recovering from a hip injury.
Doug McDermott had eight points in his Dallas debut following a deadline deal that brought him from New York and was part of a youthful closing lineup that outscored the Lakers 13-5 in the final 3:09.
The Lakers had a season-best, four-game winning streak stopped for the third time in a month.
Nowitzki, Barnes and starting guard Wesley Matthews all sat in the last three minutes, and rookie guard Dennis Smith Jr. put Dallas ahead for good at 119-118 on a layup. Smith finished with 14 points, and the Mavericks had a season high in points.
76ERS 112, CLIPPERS 98 >> Joel Embiid had 29 points and tied a career high with 16 rebounds, and Philadelphia beat Los Angeles for its third straight victory.
JJ Redick and T.J. McConnell each had 17 points for the 76ers, who were 10 of 17 (58.8 percent) from 3-point range in the first half and shot 55.1 percent overall to lead 69-55 at halftime.
Los Angeles got within 95-93 with 5 minutes left, but a tough shot by McConnell in the paint and Redick’s 3-pointer were part on an 8-0 spurt that sealed it.
NUGGETS 123, SUNS 113 >> Wilson Chandler scored 26 points, Will Barton had 25 point and Denver used an extended second-half run to take control in a victory over Phoenix.
PELICANS 138, NETS 128 >> Anthony Davis had 44 points and 17 rebounds, Rajon Rondo had a triple-double, and New Orleans recovered after blowing a 28-point lead to beat Brooklyn in two overtimes.
• The Pelicans waived guard Rashad Vaughn two days after acquiring him a trade that sent forward Dante Cunningham to the Brooklyn Nets.
BUCKS 111, MAGIC 104 >> Giannis Antetokounpo had 32 points and Jason Terry came off the bench to score 11 points in the second half in the Milwaukee’s victory over Orlando.
WIZARDS 101, BULLS 90 >> Tomas Satoransky scored a career-high 25 points on 10of-12 shooting and Washington beat Chicago.
Satoransky’s career game ended early. He fell hard to the court and hit his head after being fouled with 2 minutes left in the game. He was taken to the locker room bleeding from the right temple.