Based in the US city of Los Angeles—On Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers ended a four-game NBA losing streak by eking out a 106-103 win in a tight contest against the Los Angeles Clippers, a team that has been on fire recently.
In addition to LeBron James’s 25 points, Anthony Davis’s 22 points, and D’Angelo Russell’s 13 points, the Lakers received a significant boost from their bench.
After a three-pointer by Russell in the first minute of the fourth quarter, the Lakers took their first lead of the game in double digits.
With 2 minutes and 19 seconds left in the game, the Clippers tied the score thanks to three free throws by Norman Powell, capitalizing on a string of Lakers turnovers.
Just as Powell missed a last-second three-point attempt that would have tied the game, Taurean Prince buried a three-pointer to put the Lakers ahead for good.
The Clippers, who had not lost in five games and had the best record in the league since December 1, were led by 22 points from Paul George and 18 points from Ivica Zubac.
“Some details were still overlooked,” James admitted. We have the potential to be an excellent squad if we can keep improving our attention to detail.
“Tonight was a positive development.”
However, in other news, the Western Conference-leading Timberwolves were defeated 115-108 by the Dallas Mavericks, whose Kyrie Irving scored 35 points and Luka Doncic added 34.
With three minutes and fifty-three seconds remaining in the game, the Timberwolves—who had the league’s second-best record—came back from a nine-point deficit to take a 106-100 lead, thanks to a basket by Anthony Edwards.
Being down six points was “a great test of character and trust” according to Mavs coach Jason Kidd, but Dallas came through admirably.
In response, the Mavs went on a 13-0 scoring spree. After a three-pointer by Irving tied the score at 106-106, he stole the ball from Rudy Gobert, scored again from beyond the arc, and the Mavericks held on to win.
According to Doncic, he was simply allowing Irving to cook. “When he maintains his aggressiveness, he’s a phenomenal player.”
Overtime victories for Orlando and Portland, as well as Cleveland’s 117-115 triumph over San Antonio, were among the other games with close finishes.
Both the New Orleans Pelicans and the Toronto Raptors won by a landslide. The Raptors managed to take advantage of Stephen Curry’s rest to defeat the Warriors.
The Raptors defeated the Warriors 133-118 in San Francisco, with a season-high 37 points scored by RJ Barrett.
On his way to nine points, Warriors superstar Steph Curry missed all nine of his three-point attempts and connected on just two of fourteen field goal attempts.
The best news of the day for the Warriors, led by Klay Thompson’s 25 points, was that Draymond Green showed up to the pregame walkthrough in his return from a 12-game NBA suspension.
In a 133-100 thrashing of the Kings in Sacramento, CJ McCollum of the New Orleans Pelicans scored 30 points, one of seven Pelicans in double figures.
While both clubs rested key players in the fourth quarter, the Pelicans extended their lead to 50 points.
Kings coach Mike Brown expressed his sympathies to the fans who had spent money to attend the game today.