LeBron James on Sunday scored 19 points, then had plenty of time to sit back and enjoy the Los Angeles Lakers’ 117-91 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
James, playing in his 1,300th regular-season game, added six rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots in just 24 minutes on court.
He sat out all of the fourth quarter along with the rest of the starters from both teams as the Lakers closed out what had become a tough month with a dominant victory, despite the continuing absence of forward Anthony Davis.
Photo: AP
The NBA champions, who lost five of their first six with Anthony sidelined, have now won two straight.
“When you lose a mega-piece like AD, it’s going to take some time both offensively and defensively,” James said of the adjustments required.
James said the Lakers were becoming more comfortable in the roles they have had to adopt with Davis sidelined, an absence that Lakers coach Frank Vogel said called on them to develop a “little bit of a new identity.”
Six Lakers scored in double figures as they avenged a narrow loss to the Warriors in January.
James capped an overwhelming first half with a pull-up three-pointer that put the Lakers up 73-44.
Eric Paschall led the Warriors with 18 points off the bench as star Stephen Curry was limited to 16.
The end of the Warriors’ three-game winning streak was made more painful by the departure of Draymond Green with a sprained ankle in the second quarter.
The Lakers’ win was not even the most lopsided of the night. That belonged to the Memphis Grizzlies, who trounced the slumping Rockets 133-84 in Houston, Texas.
However, there was plenty of drama in Boston, where forward Jayson Tatum drove for two baskets in the final 15 seconds to lead the Celtics to a 111-110 come-from-behind victory over the Washington Wizards.
Tatum scored 31 points as the Celtics withstood a 46-point performance from Washington’s Bradley Beal to complete their first back-to-back wins since January.
The Celtics trailed by five with 46.9 seconds remaining. Tatum cut the deficit with a driving finger-roll layup, then with 4.7 seconds left spun and drove through traffic for the go-ahead basket.
“Jayson’s will really shone through,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “It’s been a tough stretch for [Tatum], but this matters to him, he wants to win and he made big plays.”
It also came down to the wire in Sacramento, California, where the Charlotte Hornets trailed by nine with 2:19 remaining, but battled back to beat the Kings 127-126.
P.J. Washington scored 42 points for the Hornets, but it was Malik Monk who drove for the game-tying layup with 1.4 seconds to play, drawing a foul and making the free throw to snatch the victory.
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 17 of the Bucks’ final 22 points in a 105-100 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Down by seven early in the fourth quarter, the Bucks took a 101-100 lead on two Antetokounmpo free throws with 1:57 remaining.
With 10.3 seconds remaining, Khris Middleton found Antetokounmpo for a one-handed slam that made it 103-100 and, after Kawhi Leonard’s potential game-tying three-pointer bounced off the front of the rim, Middleton grabbed the rebound and made two free throws to seal the win.
Antetokounmpo finished with 36 points — his fourth straight game of 36 or more.
“I was just trying to be aggressive and I knew it was going to work out,” Antetokounmpo said. “[I] tried to find my teammates, just go downhill and create opportunities, so my teammates can have an open shot or I can go all the way to the rim or make something for myself.”
He added 14 rebounds and five assists, while Middleton scored 19 points with eight assists.
Elsewhere, the Miami Heat downed the Atlanta Hawks 109-99, the Phoenix Suns eclipsed the Minnesota Timberwolves 118-99 and the New York Knicks pummeled the Detroit Pistons 109-90.
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