James back; Lakers top Spurs for first road win
LeBron James scored 21 points in his return from a five-game absence, Anthony Davis had 25 points and 15 rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the San Antonio Spurs 105-94 on Friday night for their first road victory of the season.
James wasted no time returning to form following a strained left adductor, hitting a 16-foot jumper 17 seconds in for the game's first points. James was 8for-17 from the field and had eight rebounds and five assists.
Davis, who averaged 31.8 points and 17.4 rebounds during James' absence, was five points shy of his fifth straight 30/15 game.
San Antonio lost its seventh straight, the second-longest losing streak in the NBA this season. The Spurs have lost 13 of 14 after a 5-2 start.
The teams will meet again in San Antonio on Saturday night. Celtics 122, Kings 104: Jayson Tatum scored 30 points and NBAbest Boston pulled away. Jaylen Brown added 25 points. De'Aaron Fox had 20 points for Sacramento, which has lost two straight after a seven-game winning streak.
Trail Blazers 132, Knicks 129: Jerami Grant scored a career-high 44 points, Anfernee Simons had 38 and visiting Portland outlasted the New York in overtime. Simons' 3-pointer gave Portland an eight-point lead in the extra period and the Blazers held on when Grant made just enough of his 28 free throws, most by an NBA player this season. He hit 21, going 4-for-6 in OT. Jusuf Nurkic finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Blazers, who snapped a fourgame losing streak. Jalen Brunson scored 32 points and Julius Randle had 23 for the Knicks. Bucks 117, Cavaliers 102: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 38 points and host Milwaukee capitalized on a 23-2 run in the first eightplus minutes of the third quarter to rally past Cleveland. The Bucks came back from a 16-point
deficit and snapped Cleveland's four-game winning streak by outscoring the Cavaliers 35-10 in the third period. The Cavaliers hadn't scored below 15 points in any quarter this season before Friday. Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points and Darius Garland added 20 for Cleveland. After combining to shoot 14-for-26 and score 38 points in the first half, they went 4-for-16 for 11 points over the final two periods. Grizzlies 132, Pelicans 111: Dillon Brooks scored 25 points, Ja Morant had 23 points and 11 assists and host Memphis built an early lead on 3-point shooting and routed New Orleans. Jaren Jackson Jr. had 20 points and three blocks for Memphis. Steven Adams, who was questionable before the game with non-COVID-19 illness, added 15 points and 11 rebounds. Trey Murphy III
led New Orleans with 21 points. Zion Williamson had 14 points, going 6-for-12 from the field, and Herbert Jones added 13 points.
Hornets 110, Timberwolves 108: Former Warriors forward Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 28 points, and host Charlotte stopped Minnesota's five-game win streak. Terry Rozier had 22 points and eight assists, helping the Hornets win back-to-back games for the first time this season. Anthony Edwards scored 25 points for the Timberwolves.
76ers 107, Magic 99: Shake Milton had 24 points, a career-high 10 assists and nine rebounds, and short-handed Philadelphia won at Orlando. It was the Sixers' ninth straight win against the Magic despite playing without injured stars Joel Embiid and James Harden and blossoming guard Tyrese Maxey.