Morant, Grizzlies beat Lakers with James sidelined
Ja Morant scored 28 of his 39 points in the third quarter, had 10 assists and 10 rebounds and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Los Angeles 121-109 on Tuesday night in the Lakers’ first game since Lebron James injured his right foot.
Xavier Tillman finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis, while Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane scored 16 points apiece.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 28 points and 19 rebounds. Lonnie Walker IV scored 21 points. Austin Reaves had 17, while matching his season high with four 3-pointers.
Morant took over in the third quarter, connecting on 10 of 12 shots. That broke open a close game and gave the Grizzlies a 93-84 advantage entering the fourth.
BUCKS 118, NETS 104
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 15 rebounds and Milwaukee beat Brooklyn for its 15th straight victory.
Jrue Holiday had 14 points and eight assists for the Bucks, who went 10-0 in February and have passed Boston for the best record in the NBA. They got Antetokounmpo back after he missed their home victory over Phoenix on Sunday with a bruised right quadriceps.
Mikal Bridges led Brooklyn with 31 points. Spencer Dinwiddie had 26 points and eight assists.
WIZARDS 119, HAWKS 116
Washington spoiled Quin Snyder’s Atlanta coaching debut, getting 37 points from Bradley Beal and 28 from Kyle Kuzma in a victory over the Hawks.
Trae Young led Atlanta with 31 points.
Snyder spent eight seasons as Utah’s coach before resigning last June after the Jazz were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs. The 56-year-old Snyder says he left coaching to spend more time with his family, but the chance to lead the talented but enigmatic Hawks lured him back to the sideline sooner than expected.
KINGS 123, THUNDER 117
Harrison Barnes scored 29 points and Sacramento beat Oklahoma City for its fourth consecutive victory.
Domantas Sabonis had 22 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists and Kevin Huerter added 20 points for the Kings. They also beat the
Thunder on Sunday night.
Thunder rookie Jalen Williams matched a season high with 27 points. Dario Saric, a reserve forward/center the Thunder acquired in a trade with Phoenix before the Allstar break, had a season-high 21 points. But Oklahoma City shot just 43.9% in its fourth straight loss.
RAPTORS 104, BULLS 98
Pascal Siakam scored 20 points, Gary Trent Jr. had 19 and Toronto beat Chicago for its eighth victory in 10 games.
O.G. Anunoby added 17 points and Jakob Poeltl had 14 to help the Raptors win their fourth straight at home.
Nikola Vucevic led Chicago with 23 points and Zach Lavine had 17. Demar Derozan scored 13 points against his former team.
PACERS 124, MAVERICKS 122
Tyrese Haliburton scored 32 points and won a duel of birthday boys with Luka Doncic, leading Indiana to a victory over Dallas.
Doncic had 39 points and nine rebounds on his 24th birthday but fell to 1-4 in games with Kyrie Irving since the superstars were paired in a deal with Brooklyn before the trade deadline.