JAMES HITS ASSISTS MILESTONE IN WIN
But the Sockers aren’t making anything look easy right now, and it turned out that Farber’s looping shot from near midfield was the game-winner in an 8-7 victory against the Sonora Soles in front of an announced crowd of 2,907 at Pechanga Arena San Diego.
In a play they’d planned in practice for weeks against any team desperately employing a sixth attacker, Sockers goalie Boris Pardo threw a long pass to Farber, who volleyed his shot into an open net to give the Sockers a two-goal lead with 2 minutes, 9 seconds left in the fourth period.
“It was a matter of putting my foot on the ball,” Farber said afterward. “But it was kind of a tough ball.”
As they had done all game, however, the Soles fought back, and San Diego would ultimately need Farber’s last tally when Sonora kept the sixth attacker in and Adrian Miller scored with 29 seconds remaining.
From there, the Sockers were able to run out the clock, though the game ended in near fisticuffs when Sonora’s Ivan Acuna shoved San Diego forward Brandon Escoto headfirst into the boards.
Acuna was red-carded with less than a second left on the clock, and while the teams scuffled and then calmed down, Escoto laid on the turf for several minutes before being helped to the locker room.
On “Star Wars Night,” with the Sockers wearing black jerseys emblazoned with Darth Vadar on their chests, San Diego had three players score twice — Farber, Leo De Oliveira and Slavisa Ubiparipovic.
Farber got credit for scoring with 4:03 left to give San Diego a 7-6 lead, but it was not pretty. The ball he intended as a pass bounced off Sonora defender Jesus Alberto Avendano, then hit the post, and then caromed off Avenando again and over the goal line.
The win was the sixth straight for the Sockers, who haven’t lost since their season opener, but they are struggling to put a full 60 minutes together. A week ago, they trailed visiting Tacoma by three before winning 8-6, and on Sunday, they were two goals down midway through the third period against a 2-5 Sonora team playing for the second night in a row.
“Everybody circles us on their calendar,” Sockers head coach Phil Salvagio said by way of explanation.
“It’s good to be hated,” he added with a shrug and smile.
There are concerns, however.
The Sockers’ all-time leading goal scorer, Kraig Chiles, has been hobbled by ankle and hamstring issues, and then played only a couple minutes on Sunday before leaving with what the team described as a hip injury.
tod.leonard@sduniontribune.com
Lebron James became the ninth player in NBA history to reach 9,000 assists and Anthony Davis scored 23 points as the Los Angeles Lakes defeated the Dallas Mavericks 108-95 on Sunday night.
James — who turns 35 today — reached the milestone with 4:35 remaining in the first quarter when he fired an outlet pass to Davis three-quarters of the way down the court for a dunk. It was one of 13 assists on the night for James as he finished with 13 points.
Davis was 8 of 12 from the field in his 26th game this season with 20 or more points. Kentavious Caldwell-pope added a season-high 19 points, including four 3-pointers, and Dwight Howard scored 15. All of Howard’s points came in the second quarter.
Luka Doncic led Dallas with 19 points but struggled from the field one night after recording his ninth triple-double of the season. The secondyear guard shot 5 of 14 and missed all six of his 3-point attempts. Delon Wright came off the bench to score 14.
Doncic got to shake hands with Lakers great Kobe Bryant courtside after the game.
Lakers 108, Mavericks 95
Los Angeles — which won two straight after a four-game losing streak — led most of the way. It was up 35-31 midway through the second quarter before going on a 12-2 run to take control. The Mavericks committed four turnovers during the spurt which led to seven Lakers points, including a pair of dunks by Howard.
The Lakers’ largest lead was 17 midway through the third quarter.
Pelicans 127, Rockets 112: Lonzo Ball highlighted a season-high 27-point performance with a career-high seven 3-pointers, and host New Orleans beat undermanned for its fourth straight victory.
E’twaun Moore hit five 3s and scored a season-high 25 points for New Orleans, which trailed by nine early in the fourth quarter before suddenly seizing complete control against a Houston squad without its three most productive players: James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Clint Capela.
Brandon Ingram added 27 points and Jrue Holiday 25 for New Orleans, which will enter the new year having won five of six games as they await the debut of No. 1 overall draft pick Zion Williamson. Derek Favors had 12 points and 17 rebounds.
Daniel House Jr. scored 22 and Eric Gordon, returning for the first time since having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in mid-november, added 20 points.
Harden, who’d been listed as questionable with a sprained toe after scoring 44 in a victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night, was scratched from the lineup for the first time this season.
Thunder 98, Raptors 97: Shai Gilgeous-alexander matched his career-high with 32 points, Chris Paul had 25 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists and visiting Oklahoma City beat Toronto for its sixth win in seven games.
Nuggets 120, Kings 115: Will Barton scored 19 points, including two free throws with eight seconds left, to help Denver hold off visiting Sacramento for its ninth victory in 10 games.
Grizzlies 117, Hornets 104: Dillon Brooks scored 20 points, rookie Brandon Clarke added 18 and host Memphis sent Charlotte to its fifth straight loss.