Hornets slip past depleted Lakers
Miles Bridges had 26 points, Ish Smith provided a huge boost off the bench with 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting and the Charlotte Hornets held off the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers, 117-114, Friday night at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.
Russell Westbrook scored 35 points for the Lakers, but missed a potential winning 3pointer with 0.7 seconds left.
LeBron James missed his second game in a row because of left knee soreness, and Anthony Davis did not play due to right wrist soreness. Lakers coach Frank Vogel said he held out his star center as a precautionary measure after Davis scored 31 points Thursday night in a loss at Philadelphia.
LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier each had 20 points for the Hornets. Carmelo Anthony added 19 points for the Lakers, and rookie Austin Reaves had 16.
The Hornets were coming off a game Wednesday night where they scored a franchiserecord 158 points against Indiana. Kelly Oubre Jr. who had 39 points on 10 3-pointers in that game, did not play due to a sprained ankle.
Other games
Grizzlies 119, Jazz 109: Ja Morant had 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his fourth career tripble-double and host Memphis pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Utah. Brandon Clarke added 22 points for Memphis, and Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 18 points and matched his season high with six blocks.
Nuggets 116, Pelicans 105: Nikola Jokic scored 22 of his 29 points in the second half to go with 13 rebounds and 10 assists and visiting Denver held off short-handed New Orleans.
Heat 121, Clippers 114: Jimmy Butler scored 26 points and host Miami withstood another furious comeback from Los Angeles.
Hawks 108, Celtics 92: John Collins and Trae Young each scored 21 points and host Atlanta beat Boston for its sixth consecutive victory.
Trail Blazers 125, Rockets 110: Anfernee Simons scored 27 points, CJ McCollum had 26 and Portland handed Houston its franchise-record 10th straight home loss.
Pacers 113, Thunder 110: Domantas Sabonis had 24 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assist and Indiana outlasted host Oklahoma City in overtime.
Spurs 131, Bulls 122: Dejounte Murray had 29 points and 12 assists and the Spurs beat Chicago in DeMar DeRozan’s return to San Antonio
Magic 119, Pistons 103: Franz Wagner scored 24 points and outplayed fellow rookie Cade Cunningham and host Orlando beat Detroit in a matchup of the NBA’s worst teams.