San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
Anthony Davis scores 37 as Lakers rout Bulls.
Anthony Davis missed seeing his family members in the stands. They would have witnessed quite a performance had they been allowed in the arena.
Davis dominated with a season-high 37 points against his hometown team, Lebron James added 17 points and 11 rebounds and the Lakers beat the host Chicago Bulls 101-90 on Saturday.
The defending NBA champions improved to 9-0 on the road and a league-best 13-4 overall. And this one never was in doubt.
Davis scored 26 points in the highest scoring half by a Laker this season as Los Angeles grabbed a 63-33 lead. The seven-time All-star shot 14 of 21, nailing two 3-pointers, and grabbed six rebounds.
“It’s tough. Usually, when I come home I get to see my family,” he said. “They come to the games and support me. Being in the Western Conference my entire career so far, I only come home once during the season. I miss seeing them in the stands and coming out and cheering me on, supporting me. That was different.”
James, coming off a season-high 34-point outing in a
win at Milwaukee two nights earlier, had six assists and six turnovers. And the Lakers won their eighth in a row against Chicago.
The Bulls had won three in a row and matched a franchise record by scoring 115 or more in seven straight games. But against stingy Los Angeles, they struggled, particularly in the early going.
Zach Lavine led Chicago with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Coby White added 14 points and seven rebounds.
“The first half, we just did not play to our identity like we had been trying to play to,” coach Billy Donovan said. “I thought we penetrated and we charged too much. We didn’t find open people when they were there. They were really coming in and protecting the paint. We had some turnovers, gave up some offensive rebounds. The first half, it wasn’t who we’ve been.”
Jazz 127, Warriors 108: Donovan Mitchell had 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists as host Utah routed Golden State for its eighth straight victory.
Stephen Curry made five 3-pointers for the Warriors to give him 2,562 in his career — passing Reggie Miller for second place in NBA history. Ray Allen is first with 2,973.
Nets 128, Heat 124: Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Kyrie Irving took over late and had 28 and Brooklyn overcame Bam Adebayo’s careerhigh 41 points to beat visiting Miami.
James Harden finished with 12 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds as the Nets won for the first time with their three superstars playing together.
Nuggets 120, Suns 112 (2OT): Nikola Jokic had 29 points and 22 rebounds, Jamal Murray hit a difficult 3pointer to force overtime and visiting Denver outlasted Phoenix in two overtimes.
Murray hit an off-balance 3-pointer with Deandre Ayton in his face as time expired in regulation. Phoenix’s Jae Crowder responded with a 3pointer with 0.7 seconds left in the first overtime.
The Suns played without All-star guard Devin Booker for the first time this season. Averaging a team-high 22.9 points, he hurt his left hamstring Friday.
Rockets 133, Mavericks 108: Eric Gordon scored a season-high 33 points, Demarcus Cousins had his best game for Houston with 28 points and 17 rebounds and the Rockets beat host Dallas.
Luka Doncic scored 26 points while sitting the entire fourth quarter with the game out of reach. He was again without European sidekick Kristaps Porzingis, who rested his surgically repaired right knee as the Mavericks finished five games in seven days by completing their second back-to-back in that stretch.
76ers 114, Pistons 110: Joel Embiid had 33 points and 14 rebounds, and his two free throws with 7.2 seconds left helped visiting Philadelphia seal a victory over Detroit.
Ben Simmons added 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the 76ers, and he made a couple big free throws of his own in the final minute.
Timberwolves 120, Pelicans 110: Naz Reid scored 20 points and host Minnesota beat New Orleans to snap a four-game losing streak. Anthony Edwards scored 18 points, and Jared Vanderbilt set career highs with 16 points and 11 rebounds for Minnesota. Brandon Ingram led New Orleans with 30 points.