Luka Doncic scored 46 points and handed out 12 assists and LeBron James contributed 24 points as the Los Angeles Lakers earned a 129-118 win against host Chicago on Monday, ending the Bulls’ four-game winning streak.
Rui Hachimura added 23 points and Marcus Smart had 12 for the Lakers, who won for the fourth time in five games. James shined in his most productive first half of the season, scoring 20 points on 9-for-15 shooting to spark the Lakers to a 69-56 lead at the break.
Chicago scored 24 of the first 36 points in the third quarter to whittle a 13-point halftime deficit to one. Nikola Vucevic swished a pair of free throws at the 6:42 mark to draw the Bulls within 81-80, but the Lakers quickly regrouped with an 8-0 run to retake control.
Coby White produced 23 points to pace Chicago. Ayo Dosunmu followed with 20 points while Vucevic notched 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Rockets 108, Grizzlies 99
Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant tallied 33 points apiece to fuel Houston to a comeback victory at home over short-handed Memphis.
Sengun added nine rebounds and six assists to his ledger, and almost singlehandedly orchestrated the Rockets’ fourth-quarter rally after the Grizzlies led by as many as 10 points in the third. He posted 12 points, five rebounds and four assists in the period, assisting on two key Durant 3-pointers, including one that gave Houston a nine-point lead with 1:32 left to put the game away.
Sengun shot 15 of 17 from the floor and missed just once inside the arc. Durant started 0 for 3 from deep before hitting 4 of 6 3-pointers to find his stride. Durant grabbed eight rebounds. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Santi Aldama totaled 17 points and seven rebounds each to pace Memphis, which counted Ja Morant and Zach Edey among its missing.
Celtics 102, Trail Blazers 94
Payton Pritchard scored a game-high 23 points and Jaylen Brown finished with 20 to lead Boston to a start-to-finish win over visiting Portland.
Brown had eight rebounds, four assists and four steals as the Celtics won for the third time in four games. Boston’s Derrick White added 18 points, but he committed nine turnovers.
Jerami Grant (19 points) and Toumani Camara (18) were the Trail Blazers’ leading scorers. Deni Avdija missed his second straight game due to a lower back strain.
Timberwolves 108, Warriors 83
Julius Randle scored 18 points and Minnesota pulled away in Minneapolis to split its two-game mini series with Golden State.
Bones Hyland added 17 points off the bench for Minnesota, which snapped a season-high five-game losing streak. Rudy Gobert posted 15 points and 17 rebounds, and Donte DiVincenzo scored 15 points on 5-of-9 3-point shooting while contributing eight assists.
Quinten Post scored 13 points to lead Golden State, which won 111-85 in Minneapolis on Sunday. The Timberwolves played without top scorer Anthony Edwards, who sat out because of what the team described as “right foot injury maintenance” but is likely to return Wednesday on the road against the Dallas Mavericks. Golden State played without Stephen Curry and Draymond Green on the second night of a back-to-back set of games. Both are also expected to play in the Warriors’ next game on Wednesday.
Hawks 132, Pacers 116
C.J. McCollum came off the bench to lead three Atlanta players with 20-plus points and the Hawks came from behind to defeat visiting Indiana in an afternoon game.
McCollum scored 23, Dyson Daniels had 22 and Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 21 to pace Atlanta to its third consecutive victory. Atlanta has won both contests against the Pacers this season and has won four straight against Indiana.
Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 26 points and nine rebounds while Aaron Nesmith added 18 points and Andrew Nembhard handed out 13 assists.
Hornets 130, 76ers 93
Brandon Miller poured in 30 points and was one of eight Charlotte players in double figures as the Hornets blew out visiting Philadelphia.
Miller shot 9-for-11 from the field, making six 3-point baskets to lead the Hornets in scoring for the sixth game in a row. Ryan Kalkbrenner notched 13 points, followed by 12 points apiece from Moussa Diabate, Kon Knueppel and Josh Green. The Hornets benefitted from a 40-15 scoring advantage in the third quarter on the way to their third consecutive victory.
Kelly Oubre Jr. was the only 76ers starter in double figures with 17 points. The ex-Hornet shot 7-for-12 from the field. Jared McCain added 16 points and Quentin Grimes had 14.
Cavaliers 114, Magic 98
Donovan Mitchell scored 26 of his 45 points in the first half and Evan Mobley had 20 points and nine rebounds as Cleveland beat visiting Orlando, sweeping their home-and-home set.
Jaylon Tyson, named to the Rising Stars Game at All-Star weekend earlier in the day, had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Jarrett Allen scored nine for the Cavaliers. Cleveland won its fourth straight and is 11-4 since Dec. 29.
Paolo Banchero scored 15 points in the third quarter, finishing with a season-high 37 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic in their fourth consecutive loss. Desmond Bane had 19 points and Jalen Suggs dished out six assists. Orlando also received 14 points from Anthony Black and nine points, seven rebounds, two defensive three-second technicals and an unsportsmanlike technical from Wendell Carter Jr.
