James hurt late as Lakers downed again by Clippers
LOS ANGELES — Lebron James scored 30 points before leaving the court gingerly with less than five minutes to play in the
Los Angeles Lakers’ 114-101 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
The Lakers said James felt soreness in his left leg that appeared to occur after he backed down Paul George to draw a foul in the paint. James had sat out Monday’s game at Utah to rest the persistent pain in his left foot, but he was having one of his best games of the season before his latest injury.
James, on pace to pass Kareem Abduljabbar this season to become the NBA’S career scoring leader, hit four 3-pointers and added eight rebounds and five assists while finishing one shy of his season high in points.
George scored 29 points as the Clippers extended their recent domination of their arena roommates with their ninth straight victory over the Lakers.
Norman Powell added 18 points for the Clippers, who had seven scorers in double figures during their fifth victory in the past six games without injured star Kawhi Leonard.
Anthony Davis had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers (2-9), who lost their fourth in a row. Russell Westbrook added 14 points and nine assists, but the Lakers have the NBA’S second-worst record under new coach Darvin Ham.
■ Bucks 136, Thunder 132, 2OT: At Oklahoma City, Jevon Carter had career highs of 36 points and 12 assists for Milwaukee (10-1), which was without top scorers Giannis Antetokounmpo (sore left knee) and Jrue Holiday (right ankle sprain). Shai Gilgeous-alexander scored 39 points for Oklahoma City in its fourth straight loss.
■ Magic 94, Mavericks 87: At Orlando, Fla., Franz Wagner scored 22 points for Orlando, which overcame a 10-point second-quarter deficit, held a 49-29 edge in rebounds and held Luka Doncic to fewer than 30 points for the first time this season. Doncic, the NBA’S top scorer, had 24 points on 9-for-29 shooting.
■ Nets 112, Knicks 85: At New York, Kevin Durant had 29 points, 12 assists and 12 rebounds for host Brooklyn, becoming the first NBA player since Michael Jordan to score at least 25 points in each of his team’s first 12 games of a season. Durant beat New York for a 13th straight time.
■ Nuggets 122, Pacers 119: At Indianapolis, foul-plagued Nikola Jokic scored 24 points in 21 minutes for Denver, which overcame an 18-point third-quarter deficit in its fourth straight win. Bennedict Mathurin scored 23 of his 30 points in the first half for Indiana.
■ Grizzlies 124, Spurs 122, OT: At San Antonio, Ja Morant and Desmond Bane each scored 32 points for Memphis, which handed San Antonio its fifth straight loss. Devin Vassell had 22 points for the Spurs but missed a 3-point try as overtime ended.
■ Kings 127, Cavaliers 120: At Sacramento, Calif., Domantas Sabonis scored 21 points for Sacramento, which didn’t trail while handing Cleveland (8-3) its second straight loss. Donovan Mitchell had 38 points on 16-for-28 shooting for the Cavaliers.
■ Trail Blazers 105, Hornets 95:
At Charlotte, N.C., Damian Lillard hit six 3-pointers and totaled 26 points for Portland, which shot 53.3 percent and overcame a 12-point third-quarter deficit to hand Charlotte its sixth straight loss.
■ Pelicans 115, Bulls 111: At Chicago, Brandon Ingram scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half, including seven straight late in the fourth quarter that put New Orleans ahead to stay. Demar Derozan led Chicago with 33 points.
■ Raptors 116, Rockets 109: At Toronto, Fred Vanvleet hit seven 3-pointers and totaled 32 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, for Toronto, which moved to 5-1 at home and dealt Houston its seventh loss in eight games.
■ Jazz 125, Hawks 119: At Atlanta, Lauri Markkanen scored 32 points for Utah, which recovered after blowing a 15-point thirdquarter lead to win its fourth straight and halt Atlanta’s three-game win streak.
■ Suns 129, Timberwolves 117: At Minneapolis, Devin Booker had 32 points and 10 assists and Mikal Bridges 31 points for Phoenix, which led by 27 and scored 32 points off 19 turnovers by Minnesota.
■ Celtics 128, Pistons 112: At Boston, Jayson Tatum scored 31 points and Jaylen Brown 30 for Boston, which built a 24-point fourth-quarter lead in its fourth straight win.