LeBron James on Sunday delivered another epic performance, scoring 40 points and matching a career-high with nine three-pointers on 10 attempts as the Los Angeles Lakers rolled to a 116-104 victory at Brooklyn.
James, a four-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the NBA’s oldest active player at 39, made 13 of 17 shots from the floor overall, and added seven rebounds and five assists in an effort that had Brooklyn fans giving him a standing ovation.
“I was feeling pretty good today, obviously, shooting the ball from the perimeter,” James said. “I just try to continually put my game where I have no weaknesses out on the floor, especially offensively. Tonight I had it going from the three-point line.”
Photo: AFP
James achieved his 77th NBA career 40-point game to match Oscar Robertson for seventh on an all-time list topped by Wilt Chamberlain’s 271.
“I love this game. I try to put everything into the game and with it, it gives back to me,” James said. “Anytime I’m linked with the greats — and obviously Big O was a big inspiration for me growing up, reading about his history — it’s pretty cool.”
Anthony Davis added 24 points and 14 rebounds, while Japan’s Rui Hachimura had 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Lakers seized a 17-0 lead and never looked back.
D’Angelo Russell scored 18 points and cracked the 10,000 career-points barrier in the triumph as the Lakers improved to 42-33, just ahead of Golden State in the last two Western Conference play-in spots.
“Just extremely thankful that he packed the cape on this road trip,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said of the display by James. “We needed all nine of those threes. [We] kind of dropped the rope in terms of what we were doing ... turned the ball over way too much, but that said, you have to just overcome these things ... and we were able to do that by some huge shot-making by him.”
James was not the only superstar with nine three-pointers on Sunday.
Luka Doncic scored 47 points on 18-of-30 shooting, nine of 16 from three-point range, to lead Dallas over host Houston 125-107, snapping the Rockets’ 11-game winning streak and stretching the Mavericks’ win streak to seven games.
Golden State kept pace with the Lakers by winning 117-113 at San Antonio.
Stephen Curry scored 33 points to lead the Warriors, while rookie Victor Wembanyama led the hosts with 32 points.
Nikola Jokic posted his 23rd triple-double of the season, sparking defending champions Denver’s 130-101 home victory over Cleveland.
The 29-year-old Serbian center, a two-time NBA MVP, scored 26 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and added 16 assists for his 128th NBA triple-double.
“It speaks to why he’s going to be a three-time MVP,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “[It was] him showing up and saying: ‘I’m going to do what MVPs do. I’m going to lead us to a win.’”
The Nuggets sank a season-high 21 three-point shots and clinched a playoff berth.
“We came out and really showed who we are, just getting after it defensively, rebounding, making shots. I thought we played amazing basketball,” said Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who scored 22 points.
Denver hit 50 of 87 from the floor overall (57.5 percent) and 21 of 33 (63.6 percent) from three-point range while outrebounding the Cavaliers 51-28.
The Nuggets improved to 52-23, half a game behind leaders Oklahoma City in a three-team fight for the West lead.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sank the last of his 19 points on a game-winning basket with 2.1 seconds remaining to give Oklahoma City a 113-112 victory at New York.
Jalen Williams led the Thunder with 33 points, while Jalen Brunson, who missed a shot at the final buzzer, led New York with 30.
Minnesota fell a game out of first place with a 109-101 home loss to Chicago.
DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points for the Bulls, who snapped the Timberwolves’ four-game winning streak.
Paul George scored 41 points to lead the Los Angeles Clippers over hosts Charlotte 130-118.
Kelly Oubre Jr scored 32 points to lead Philadelphia over hosts Toronto 135-120, extending the Raptors’ losing skid to 13 games.
Terry Rozier netted 27 points to lead Miami’s 119-107 victory at Washington, while the Kings silenced the Jazz 127-106.
Taiwan’s participation in the Olympic Games has been a story of politics as much as sports, with the name it has competed under since 1984 — Chinese Taipei — drawing as much attention as its athletes. However, with the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad set to begin in Paris on Friday, the exploits of Taiwan’s athletes past and present who have won 36 medals since the country’s debut in Melbourne in 1956 deserve a nod. Many of Taiwan’s medal winners have gained considerable name recognition, but only two have achieved legendary status — Maysang Kalimud and Chi Cheng, the only medal winners
Shohei Ohtani on Sunday hit a 473-foot (144m) home run as the Los Angeles Dodgers went deep six times in a 9-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Gavin Lux, Austin Barnes and Jason Heyward also connected as Los Angeles swept the three-game series. “Going into the break, we weren’t playing good baseball, and then to come out fresh against a really good ball club and to play the way we did — the offense came to life,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. It was the 25th time the Dodgers launched at least six homers in a game
Canada women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman on Wednesday said she would step away from the team’s opening game against New Zealand at the Paris Olympics in the wake of a drone scandal. New Zealand complained to the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit after it said drones were flown over closed practice sessions earlier in the week. As of press time last night, Canada, the defending Olympic champions, were set to open the Paris Games against New Zealand in Saint-Etienne. In the fallout of the complaint, two staff members — assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi — were sent home, the
Conventional wisdom dictates that the average retirement age for elite female players in the intense and physically demanding sport of badminton is well under 30 years old. Five female shuttlers are set to turn that on its head when they make their fourth Olympic appearances at the Paris Games, a feat never accomplished before. Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying, 30, Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon, 29, Belgium’s Lianne Tan, 33, and Hong Kong’s Tse Ying Suet and Canada’s Michelle Li, both 32, are to compete for Olympic glory at Porte de La Chapelle Arena from Saturday to Aug. 5. “These achievements get missed because they’re women,” said