The Chicago Bulls on Saturday stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 146-115, spoiling superstar LeBron James’ return from a two-week absence with a groin injury.
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer James delivered 17 points, six rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes on court.
Luka Doncic, back in action after resting a sore ankle, drilled eight three-pointers on the way to a team-high 34 points, but he ran out of steam in the second half, and no one else stepped up.
Photo: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images/USA Today
Austin Reaves, who had also missed action with ankle trouble, scored 25 points. Rui Hachimura, playing limited minutes after missing 12 games with a knee injury, scored five for the Lakers, who are third in the Western Conference.
“That was the worst our defense has looked maybe all year, certainly in the last three months,” Lakers coach J.J. Redick said. “I don’t know if we assumed because we had everybody back that it was just going to be like it was three weeks ago — that’s just not the way this works.”
Chicago benefitted from 21 Lakers turnovers as well as big games from Coby White and Josh Giddey.
White made six three-pointers and led all scorers with 36 points while Australia’s Giddey delivered a triple-double of 15 points, 10 rebounds and 17 assists.
Giddey also had eight of the Bulls’ 17 steals — finishing two steals shy of a rare quadruple-double.
Rookie Matas Buzelis chipped in 31 points as the Bulls, ninth in the Eastern Conference, continued their push to solidify a spot in the play-in tournament.
The New York Knicks, third in the Eastern Conference, halted their two-game slide with a 122-103 victory over the league-worst Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The Knicks, who have been struggling offensively in the absence of injured Jalen Brunson, were led by 31 points and 11 rebounds from Karl-Anthony Towns. Mikal Bridges added 27 points and O.G. Anunoby scored 23.
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 22 of his 32 points in the third quarter as the Bucks rallied for a 114-108 victory over the Kings in Sacramento, California.
With star guard Damian Lillard nursing a calf injury the Bucks were slow out of the blocks, and the Sacramento Kings, led by 22 points from DeMar DeRozan, pushed their 12-point halftime lead to 14 early in the third.
However, Antetokounmpo picked up the pace and the Bucks sliced the deficit to three points going into the fourth.
Gary Trent Jr scored all 11 of his points off the bench in the final period to help Milwaukee complete the turnaround.
Antetokounmpo added 17 rebounds and Brook Lopez chipped in 21 points for the Bucks, who kept the Indiana Pacers in their sights in the fight for fourth place in the East.
The Indiana Pacers held off a furious fourth-quarter surge by the Brooklyn Nets, hanging on for a 108-103 victory that pushed their winning streak to four games.
Tyrese Haliburton, who missed the Pacers’ last three games with a sore back, did not miss a beat in his return, posting his 10th straight points and assists double-double with 16 points and 12 assists.
Pascal Siakam scored 26 points and Myles Turner chipped in 22 for Indiana, who maintained a one-game lead over the fifth-placed Bucks.
Trendon Watford scored 26 points off the bench to lead the Nets, who trailed by 20 through three quarters, but cut the deficit to one with 4:30 left to play.
In Atlanta, the Atlanta Hawks used a balanced attack to beat the short-handed Golden State Warriors 124-115.
Trae Young scored 25 points and handed out 10 assists and Onyeka Okongwu added 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Hawks, who have won six of their last eight as they jockey for play-in position.
The Golden State Warriors, clinging to sixth place in the West and trying to avoid the play-in, were without superstar guard Stephen Curry, who sustained a bruised pelvis in a hard fall on Thursday.
Jimmy Butler scored 25 points, and Moses Moody added 20, but the Warriors trailed virtually all the way.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
The Olympic flame for the Milan Cortina Winter Games landed in Rome on Thursday following a handover in Greece. The flame was carried in a small lantern aboard an ITA Airways flight between the Greek and Italian capitals. Tennis player Jasmine Paolini — an Olympic gold medalist — and local organizing committee president Giovanni Malago carried the flame off the plane. “I feel honored. It’s an incredible emotion,” Paolini said in brief remarks before the lantern was driven away toward the presidential palace. A 63-day torch relay covering 12,000km is to start in Rome today and wind its way through all 110 Italian provinces
The Kashima Antlers won a record-extending ninth Japanese title on the final day of the J. League season yesterday, holding their nerve to beat the Yokohama F. Marinos 2-1. Watched by Brazilian legend and former player Zico, the Antlers went into the game at their packed home stadium with a one-point lead over Kashiwa Reysol in the table. A goal in either half from Brazilian striker Leo Ceara put the Antlers in control, but Yokohama struck in the first of five minutes of second-half injury time to set up a nail-biting finale, with Reysol winning their game 1-0. The Antlers saw out the
RSS