SUNS ECLIPSE LAKERS IN TESTY DUEL
LOS ANGELES (AFP) — LeBron James exploded for 38 points but it was not enough to prevent the Los Angeles Lakers from sliding to a 114-104 defeat against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.
A testy clash between the Western Conference rivals saw Phoenix star Devin Booker ejected for two technical fouls during the second half before the Suns rallied to close out the win.
James led the scorers and chipped in six assists and five rebounds, but a Lakers offense still missing the injured Anthony Davis failed to fire consistently.
The Suns’ victory saw them leapfrog the Lakers into second place in the Western Conference with 23 wins and 11 defeats.
The NBA champions Lakers are third at 24-12.
Dario Saric led Phoenix’s scoring with 21 points — including 10 in the fourth quarter — while Mikal Bridges added 19.
Booker’s ejection came midway through the third quarter, with the 24-year-old tossed for arguing and appearing to bounce a ball towards an official.
Elsewhere, Nikola Jokic bagged the 50th regular season triple-double of his career as the Denver Nuggets halted the Milwaukee Bucks’ five-game winning streak with a 128-97 drubbing.
Serbian star Jokic dominated a one-sided encounter at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum, as Denver never looked back after taking the lead midway through the first quarter before romping to victory.
Jokic’s ninth triple of the season included 37 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds while Jamal Murray added 24 points for the visitors.
The Nuggets improved to 20-15 with the win while the Bucks fell to 21-14 following the loss to remain third in the Eastern Conference.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks’ scorers with 27 points, but the home side was always struggling to get in the game after conceding a 37-23 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In other games, Kemba Walker scored 25 points as the Boston Celtics rolled to a third straight win with a 117-112 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Walker’s points tally included six three-pointers as the Celtics’ all-round offensive game subdued a Clippers team jolted by the sudden withdrawal of Kawhi Leonard shortly before tip-off at the TD Garden.
Paul George led the scorers for Los Angeles with 32 points while Reggie Jackson — a late replacement for Leonard — added 25 for the visitors.