LeBron James leads Lakers rally over Jazz, Nuggets stun Warriors
NBA superstar LeBron James helped Los Angeles Lakers erase a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter and carried them to a 106-101 victory over the Utah Jazz Wednesday.
James scored 33 points, of which 15 came in the fourth quarter after Anthony Davis went down hard earlier.
James keyed the comeback, his contribution including a huge dunk off a pass from Russell Westbrook that put the Lakers up by two with 2:08 remaining.
They wouldn’t trail again on the way to a victory that looked unlikely when star forward Davis rolled his ankle shortly before halftime when he landed on Rudy Gobert’s foot after rising to collect a pass.
Davis, who had 17 points on seven-ofnine shooting, clutched his ankle in pain before he was helped off the court by teammates.
The Lakers said X-rays were negative, and Davis would receive treatment over the upcoming All-Star break.
Davis was averaging 23.3 points and 9.1 rebounds per game this season. He had already missed 17 games with knee trouble.
Westbrook finished with 17 points and seven rebounds for the Lakers, who had 15 points from Malik Monk.
Donovan Mitchell led Utah with 37 points.
The Lakers’ win, which ended a threegame losing streak, was just one of the comeback victories that livened up the night.
NUGGETS EDGE WARRIORS
In San Francisco, Monte Morris drained a 3-pointer over Stephen Curry at the final buzzer to lift the Denver Nuggets to a 117116 victory over the Golden State Warriors, who led by eight with less than three minutes to play.
The Phoenix Suns rallied in the fourth quarter for a 124-121 victory over the Houston Rockets, pushing their winning streak to seven games and improving their league-leading record to 48-10.
The Brooklyn Nets rallied from 28 points down to stun the New York Knicks 111-106 at Madison Square Garden.
Brooklyn rookie Cam Thomas scored 16 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, draining a long 3-pointer with 7.7 seconds left to push the Nets’ lead to six points and essentially seal the win.
The shot had superstar Kevin Durant, watching from the bench as he continues to recover from a knee injury, on his feet celebrating.
In Chicago, DeMar DeRozan scored 38 points to lead the Bulls to a 125-118 victory over the Sacramento Kings and break a record set by NBA great Wilt Chamberlain. DeRozan became the first player in league history to score 35 or more points and connect on 50% or more of his shots in seven straight games.
Chamberlain did it in six straight games on two occasions, during the 1960-61 season and the 1962-63 campaign.
Coby White drained six 3-pointers on the way to 31 points for Chicago. Nikola Vucevic added 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, who notched a fifth straight win and edged ahead of the Miami Heat atop the Eastern Conference.
Detroit’s Jerami Grant drained the game-winner with 19.6 seconds remaining in Boston, lifting the Pistons to a 112-111 triumph that ended the Celtics’ nine-game winning streak.
Grant finished with 24 points for the Pistons, who had lost their last eight and 14 of their previous 16 games.
Jayson Tatum had a last chance for the Celtics, but his jump shot from the top of the key bounced off the rim.