Bragging rights in L.A. claimed by the Clippers

Marcus Morris scored 22 points and the Clippers dominated the shorthanded Lakers in a 10486 victory on Sunday to end a twogame skid.

Kawhi Leonard had 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and Paul George added 16 points for the Clippers.

The Lakers trailed the entire game in which they were without injured AllStars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, as well as Andre Drummond and Wesley Matthews. They’ve dropped six of nine.

Montrezl Harrell led the Lakers with 19 points against his old team. Marc Gasol was the Lakers’ only starter in double figures with 11 points.

“Credit the Clippers’ defense,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “They got up into us and we didn’t handle their pressure at all and we had a tough shooting night.” Nuggets 119, Magic 109: Aaron Gordon scored 24 points and Jamal Murray added 22 as Denver prevailed at home. Center Nikola Jokic scored 17 points and distributed 16 assists. Pelicans 122, Rockets 115: Lonzo Ball had 27 points and a careerhigh eight 3pointers as New Orleans won in Houston.

Ball made all four of his 3point attempts in the first quarter in his return after missing seven games with a hip injury. He cooled off after that and didn’t hit from long range again until the third quarter, when he made two. He had nine assists, and his 27 points tied a season best on a night he outdid his previous career mark of seven 3s, which he’d accomplished four times.

“What Lonzo has done over the past two years to improve his shooting is one of the best stories in the league … that’s a hard thing to do,” New Orleans coach Stan Van Gundy said. “He made a total overhaul of his shot.”

Bulls 115, Nets 107: Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 13 rebounds, Zach LaVine added 25 points and Chicago defended its home court to snap a sixgame losing streak. Tomas Satoransky had a seasonhigh 19 points and 11 assists as the Bulls won for the first time since acquiring Vucevic before the trade deadline.

Grizzlies 116, 76ers 100: Grayson Allen had 11 of his 15 points during a gamechanging third quarter, lifting Memphis to a road victory. Philadelphia was without AllStar center Joel Embiid.

Dillon Brooks scored 17 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who began play ninth in the Western Conference. Memphis had seven players in double figures.

Tobias Harris scored 21 points for the 76ers, who have played 11 of their past 12 games without Embiid.

Celtics 116, Hornets 86: Jayson Tatum had 22 points and eight rebounds, and Boston at home blew past Charlotte.

Evan Fournier had four 3pointers and 17 points. Robert Williams finished with 16 points and eight rebounds to help Boston post its second straight victory.