Spurs rally late to upend Lakers
SAN ANTONIO — Jakob Poeltl and Davis Bertans walked off the court to huge cheers and the embrace of San Antonio Spurs veterans Pau Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge.
In a game filled with All-Stars like Aldridge, DeMar DeRozan and LeBron James, the Spurs relied on a gritty effort from Poeltl, Bertans and their bench to salvage a victory.
DeRozan finished with 36 points and nine assists and the Spurs had eight players score in double figures in a 133-120 come-from-behind victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
James finished with 35 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for Los Angeles, but was held to four points and no rebounds in the fourth quarter. James bristled when told Bertans and Poeltl were not players anyone expected would beat the Lakers.
"Why not," James said. "Why wouldn't you think they could beat you? They're NBA players. They made big shots. Bertans made big shots. He made four 3s in the fourth quarter."
The Spurs' young posts combined to score 23 points in the final quarter, with Poeltl finishing with 14 and Bertans 13.
"We really clicked with our second unit," Poeltl said. "We had so much fun together out there playing. I sure found my spots there."
The Spurs' bench outscored the Lakers' 5226, including 14 from Patty Mills, in winning the season series 3-1.
Los Angeles led by as many as 15 points, but was outscored 32-13 beginning early in the fourth quarter
and fell behind 121-114.
NETS 106, RAPTORS 105
D'Angelo Russell scored 29 points, including six in overtime, and the Brooklyn Nets snapped an eight-game losing streak by beating the Toronto Raptors.
Brooklyn picked the most unlikely way to end its skid, snapping a 12-game slide against Toronto with its first victory over the Raptors since April 3, 2015.
Jarrett Allen made the goahead basket for the Nets with a little more than a minute left, their only basket in overtime not made by Russell.
Kawhi Leonard scored 32 points for the Raptors, but Toronto couldn't get a look for him on its final possession and had to settle for Fred VanVleet's 3-pointer that just missed.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 17 points for Brooklyn.