Josh Hart on Monday delivered his third triple-double of the season to spark the New York Knicks to a 126-106 victory over the Washington Wizards that stretched their win streak to eight games.
Hart racked up 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for his ninth triple-double with the Knicks, while Karl-Anthony Towns had a game-high 32 points and 13 rebounds.
Jalen Brunson and O.G. Anunoby each scored 18 points for New York, which improved to 23-10.
Photo: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images / USA Today
The Knicks led 59-57 at halftime over the Eastern Conference doormats and pulled away in the third quarter before dominating the fourth to win.
“We executed, we got stops, we played fast,” Hart said. “We played to our strengths. Sometimes it takes us a little while to wake up. We always do.”
At Salt Lake City the Denver Nuggets got triple-doubles from Nikola Jokic and Russell Westbrook in beating the Utah Jazz 132-121.
Photo: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / USA Today
Jokic had 36 points, 23 rebounds and 10 assists, while Westbrook contributed 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to ignite the Nuggets. Michael Porter added 21 points for Denver, while Jamal Murray and Christian Braun each scored 20 for the Nuggets (18-13).
The NBA-best Cleveland Cavaliers, led by 25 points from Darius Garland and 23 by Donovan Mitchell, rolled over hosts the Golden State Warriors 113-95 to improve their win streak to seven.
Elsewhere, the Chicago Bulls survived the Charlotte Hornets 115-108 in overtime, while the Los Angeles Clippers edged the New Orleans Pelicans 116-113, the Sacramento Kings outplayed the Dallas Mavericks 110-100 and the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 125-103.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, celebrating his 40th birthday on Monday, said he could play another five to seven years in the NBA at a high-caliber level — although he conceded he would probably retire before then.
Speaking after a Lakers practice session, the superstar said he plans to finish out his NBA career with the Lakers, and would not make a comeback after leaving the league — whenever that is.
Asked what might be the deciding factor about when to retire, James said a lack of competitiveness would not be his reason.
“It won’t be because I can’t play this game at a high level,” James said. “To be honest, if I really wanted to, I could probably play this game at a high level for another five to seven years if I wanted to, but I’m not going to do that.”
James, in his record-tying 22nd NBA campaign, is averaging 23.5 points, 9 assists and 7.9 rebounds a game and shooting 49.6 percent from the floor.
He won a third Olympic gold medal with the US team in Paris this year and, after starting in the NBA as an 18-year-old rookie, now has a 20-year-old son as an NBA teammate.
James is a four-time NBA champion, four-time NBA Most Valuable Player, a 20-time NBA All-Star and owns the ever-expanding NBA records for most points and games played in a career.
Once he is gone, there will be no comeback attempts, as was the case with superstar Michael Jordan, James said.
“No, no, no, no, no, but I will miss the hell out of it for sure,” he said. “But no, I won’t walk away and then come back.”
Additional reporting by staff writer, with and AP
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