LeBron, Lakers rally past the Knicks
L.A . star scores 29 and adds 13 rebounds and 10 assists in the victory
LeBron James returned from a five-game absence due to injury and had a triple-double of 29 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from a 21-point, second-quarter deficit, beating the New York Knicks 122-115 in overtime Saturday night.
James missed the games due to swelling in his left knee, but Lakers coach Frank Vogel said prior to the game that James wanted to be part of “a big game against the Knicks on ABC.”
James was 13-for-24 from the field in 40 minutes. The Lakers led the entire five-minute overtime after James drove the length of the floor and dunked after RJ Barrett turned it over.
James posted his fourth triple-double of the season and tied a season high in rebounds.
Malik Monk scored 29 points and Anthony Davis added 28 points and 17 rebounds for the Lakers, who had dropped four of five coming in.
Barrett scored a career-high 36 points, and Julius Randle had 32 points and 16 rebounds for New York. The Knicks have lost eight of their past 10 games.
Heat 104, Hornets 86: Jimmy Butler scored 27 points, Bam Adebayo added 20 points and 12 rebounds and Miami handed slumping Charlotte its fourth straight loss. Tyler Herro had 19 points behind five 3-pointers for Miami (3420), which scored 27 points off 20 turnovers by Charlotte while holding the Hornets to 38.4 percent shooting from the floor. Terry Rozier had 16 points and Miles Bridges 15 for Charlotte (28-26), which fell to 1-9 on the second night of back-to-backs.
Suns 95, Wizards 80: Deandre Ayton had 20 points and 16 rebounds in an efficient 24 minutes and NBAleading Phoenix rebounded from a streak-ending loss to beat short-handed Washington. Ayton, playing his third game since returning from a sprained right ankle, and the Suns bounced back from a loss Thursday night at Atlanta that ended their 11-game winning streak. Phoenix led by 25 before the midpoint of the second quarter, 27 at half and 36 in the third quarter. The Wizards set offensive season lows — and the Suns defensive bests — for points in a quarter (11 in the second), half (33 in the first) and game. Grizzlies 135, Magic 115: Ja Morant scored 33 points in three quarters and Memphis led by as many as 31 points in a win over Orlando. Morant scored 22 points in the first half as Memphis won its second straight and for the fifth time in six games. The Grizzlies went on a 14-0 run in the first quarter and led 76-56 at the half. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 21 points for Memphis and Steve Adams added 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Grizzlies shot 50.5 percent (53-for-105) and held a 68-34 advantage in points in the paint.
Note: Veteran center Greg Monroe is back with the Milwaukee Bucks on a 10-day contract. Monroe, 31, played 165 games for the Bucks from 2015-17. He played five games earlier this season with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Washington Wizards while on 10-day contracts with each of those teams. In his five games of action this season, Monroe has averaged 5.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1 block in 16.2 minutes.