Anthony Davis had 31 points and 14 rebounds and the visiting Los Angeles Lakers won their fifth straight game by defeating the New Orleans Pelicans 104-99 on Saturday night.
LeBron James failed to extend his career-best streak of four consecutive triple-doubles, but he had 21 points, including consecutive clutch 3-pointers in the final two minutes. Rookie Dalton Knecht scored 27 and Austin Reaves added 10.
Brandon Ingram scored 32, Jaylen Nowell had 16 off the bench, Brandon Boston Jr. had 12 and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl 10 for the Pelicans.
With the Pelicans up 10 at intermission, Davis scored the Lakers’ first five points of the third quarter and Knecht added consecutive 3-pointers during an 11-2 run that pulled Los Angeles within 58-57.
The Pelicans rebuilt the lead to six points before Knecht and Davis scored five points each to help the Lakers take a 67-63 lead.
Ingram made a field goal, but Davis scored five points and D’Angelo Russell had a 3-pointer to help Los Angeles maintain a 75-71 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Lakers scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to push the lead to 10 before Trey Jemison III made a layup for the Pelicans’ first points of the period at 9:40. That started a 9-0 run that trimmed the lead to one point.
New Orleans got within a point twice more before Robinson-Earl’s 3-pointer tied the score at 87. The score was tied two more times before James and Knecht made consecutive layups, but Boston and Ingram made consecutive 3-pointers to give the Pelicans a 97-95 lead.
James answered with consecutive 3-pointers to give Los Angeles a 101-97 lead with 37 seconds left.
New Orleans missed a chance to attempt a tying 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left when Robinson-Earl turned it over on an inbounds pass and Knecht added two free throws.
The Pelicans used an 11-0 run to take a 20-9 lead and led 30-21 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Nowell scored nine points to help New Orleans twice build a 15-point lead — the second time at 53-38. James scored six points during the final 3:13 and Los Angeles pulled within 56-46 at halftime.
Mavs come to life in third quarter to pound Spurs
Kyrie Irving and reserve Daniel Gafford each scored 22 points and the Dallas Mavericks pulled away in the third quarter for a 110-93 win over the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night.
The Mavericks had dropped four straight games by a combined eight points but were on cruise control against San Antonio. Dallas led by four at halftime and by 24 after a rousing third quarter before coasting to the finish.
Luka Doncic hit for 16 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Mavericks, while Jaden Hardy added 12 points.
Zach Collins finished with a season-high 20 points for the Spurs, with Sandro Mamukelashvili adding 14, Julian Champagnie scoring 13 and Stephon Castle posting 12. San Antonio has dropped two straight games.
San Antonio was without star center Victor Wembanyama because of a knee contusion and guard Devin Vassell, who sat out with what the team called right foot injury management.
That didn’t stop the Spurs from shrugging off an early seven-point deficit to take a 28-23 lead after one quarter, as Champagnie canned 2 of 3 free throws with 0.2 seconds remaining in the opening period.
San Antonio was up by as many as eight points early in the second quarter before the Mavericks swept to the front. Down 40-35 after a pair of free throws by Collins with 6:31 to play in the first half, Dallas rallied to tie the game at 47 with 3:12 left on Gafford’s running layup. The hosts’ run continued with a bucket from Naji Marshall followed by 3-pointers from Irving and Doncic.
The Spurs scored the final four points of the frame to pull within 55-51 at the break.
After an early third-quarter spurt by Dallas, the Spurs got within six points on two free throws from Collins with 8:03 remaining. The Mavericks then took charge for good, reeling off a 12-3 run that was capped by Irving’s tip-in layup to push their advantage to 78-63.
Jayson Tatum buzzer-beater lifts Celtics over Raptors
Jayson Tatum made a 3-pointer as time expired in overtime to give the Boston Celtics a 126-123 victory over the visiting Toronto Raptors on Saturday night.
Tatum had 24 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in the win. Jaylen Brown led Boston with 27 points.
Jakob Poeltl tossed in a career-high 35 points for Toronto, which fell to 0-8 in road games this season. Poeltl, who was 16 of 19 from the floor, also had 12 rebounds.
RJ Barrett added 25 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists for the Raptors, who have lost seven games in a row and 11 of their last 12. A Barrett layup tied the game with 55.1 seconds left in overtime before Tatum connected on the game-winning shot.
Boston’s Al Horford scored a season-high 18 points. The Celtics also received 18 points from Derrick White.
Toronto lost despite having a 76-42 edge in points in the paint.
The Celtics were without Jrue Holiday, who missed the game because of left knee tendinopathy. Before the game Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said he didn’t expect Holiday’s injury to linger. It was the first game Holiday has missed this season.
Boston used a 12-0 spurt to take a 14-4 lead, but the Raptors were within two points, 28-26, after 12 minutes. A Jamison Battle 3-pointer capped a 9-0 run that put Toronto in front 45-44 with 5:37 left in the second quarter, but the Celtics had a 56-54 halftime lead.
A 16-4 run gave the Raptors a 64-58 lead and Toronto led 68-61 after a Poeltl jumper with 8:05 left in the third. The Celtics moved in front 76-74 after an 11-2 run and Boston had an 86-85 lead entering the final quarter.
Toronto was up 114-112 following a Barrett basket with 59 seconds left, but Neemias Queta tied the game on a layup with 42.1 seconds to play. Neither team scored again in regulation.
LaMelo Ball scores 26, helps Hornets rally past Bucks
LaMelo Ball picked up the pace with a strong second half to finish with 26 points, including two free throws with 7.3 seconds left, as the Charlotte Hornets snapped a two-game skid by defeating the visiting Milwaukee Bucks 115-114 on Saturday afternoon.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s triple-double for the Bucks wasn’t enough and he missed a potential-winning 18-foot shot on the game’s last possession. Antetokounmpo scored 22 points with 15 rebounds and 12 assists while going 11-for-22 from the floor.
Charlotte’s Miles Bridges poured in 19 points, Josh Green had 15 points, Brandon Miller added 13 points and Moussa Diabate came off the bench for 12 points and 14 rebounds in 25 minutes. Tre Mann was back after missing a game and provided 11 points.
Taurean Prince scored 23 points and Bobby Portis turned in 21 off the bench as the Bucks were denied a third consecutive victory. Portis, who was back in action after missing Milwaukee’s win Wednesday over the Detroit Pistons with a sore elbow, shot 9-for-15 from the field.
The score was tight throughout, including a 107-107 tie with under three minutes to play.
Bridges hit a 3-pointer to break the tie with 2:08 remaining. Antetokounmpo answered with a dunk but Ball drove to the basket for a bucket to give Charlotte a 112-109 lead with 1:07 left.
Pat Connaughton gave the Bucks a 114-113 lead with 19.1 seconds left before Antetokounmpo fouled Ball, who made both attempts to finish 11-for-11 from the free-throw line.
The game began with two four-win teams still trying to find some consistency.
Milwaukee took a 90-86 lead into the fourth quarter in what had been a back-and-forth second half.
The Bucks were up 107-103 before going more than three minutes without scoring.
The Bucks led by as many as eight and took a 63-59 lead into halftime. They shot 54.3 percent from the field in the first half. Both teams made eight first-half 3-point shots.
Ball, who entered the day as Charlotte’s leading scorer in all except two games, was just 1-for-5 from the floor in the half.