NBA roundup: LeBron James notches 4th straight triple-double as Lakers edge Spurs

Anthony Davis poured in 40 points and added 12 rebounds and LeBron James scored Los Angeles’ final four points and recorded his fourth straight triple-double as the visiting Lakers outlasted the San Antonio Spurs 120-115 on Friday in the West’s Group B of the NBA Cup.

The Spurs trailed by eight points at halftime and seven after three quarters before rallying to take a 107-106 lead on Devin Vassell’s 3-pointer with 4:28 left. The lead then changed hands seven times, the last on a dunk by Davis off an assist by Austin Reaves to give the Lakers a 116-115 lead with 1:31 remaining.

Both teams missed 3-pointers before Chris Paul was whistled for an offensive foul with 47 seconds left.

James hit a cutting layup on the ensuing possession to expand the Lakers’ advantage to three points. After a miss by Stephon Castle on a contested stepback 3-pointer, James canned two free throws with 11.1 seconds to play to seal the win.

Los Angeles is 1-0 in NBA Cup play and San Antonio falls to 0-1.

James finished with 15 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists as the Lakers won their fourth straight game. Reaves added 19 points, Dalton Knecht had 14, D’Angelo Russell scored 13 and Max Christie chipped in 11 points in the victory.

Victor Wembanyama paced the Spurs with 28 points and 14 rebounds. Castle added 22 points, Vassell had 15, Keldon Johnson scored 12, Paul chipped in 11 points and 11 assists and Julian Champagnie scored 10 for San Antonio.

The Spurs led by as many as 12 points in the first quarter before the Lakers caught fire, outscoring the home team 10-0 over the final 1:47 to take a 31-30 advantage after 12 minutes of play.

Los Angeles continued the pressure, going on an 11-2 run over the first two-plus minutes of the second quarter to go up 42-32.

The Spurs swung back, scoring the ensuing nine points. James threw an alley-oop dunk to Davis with 14.2 seconds left as the Lakers took a 68-60 lead into the break.

Davis led all scorers with 26 points in the first half and Christie added 11 as the Lakers shot 53.1 percent from the floor.

Wembanyama paced San Antonio with 16 points while Castle scored 15.

Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder wallop short-handed Suns

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the host Oklahoma City Thunder to a 99-83 win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday in an NBA Cup matchup.

Playing without Chet Holmgren, one of the league’s top shot-blockers who is out with a fractured hip, the Thunder still finished with 11 blocks.

Phoenix shot a season-low 29.3 percent from the floor, its worst percentage in a game since March 2006.

The win in their NBA Cup opener was the third straight victory for the Thunder. The Suns have dropped three of their last four and have dropped both of their tournament games so far.

Phoenix got off to a dreadful offensive start as the Thunder led by as many as 17 in the first quarter.

The Suns were just 3 of 21 from the floor and made just one of their 11 3-point tries in the opening quarter, scoring just 14 points.

Phoenix’s misses in the frame included six by Devin Booker. Playing without Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Grayson Allen, Phoenix struggled to generate offense.

Booker’s first made field goal came nearly three minutes into the third quarter as he finished 2 of 10 from the field with 12 points.

Josh Okogie led the Suns with 15 points while Jusuf Nurkic went 0-for-7 from the floor with just four points.

It was the second time in the last three games Nurkic failed to make a field goal.

Jalen Brunson’s trey in final seconds lifts Knicks past Nets

Jalen Brunson sank the game-winning 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds left Friday night for the host New York Knicks, who squandered all of a 21-point lead before edging the Brooklyn Nets 124-122 in NBA Cup Group A action

Dennis Schroder’s 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining gave the Nets their first lead since the first quarter.

Following a timeout, Brunson took an in-bounds pass from Mikal Bridges and sized up Dorian Finney-Smith before hoisting a shot that got nothing but net.

The Nets, who were out of timeouts, raced up the court, but Schroder’s layup was blocked by Bridges and Ariel Hukporti cradled the rebound as time expired.

Brunson — who missed the potential game-winning shot at the buzzer in Wednesday’s 124-123 loss to the Chicago Bulls — finished with 37 points Friday as the Knicks improved to 2-0 in Group A play. OG Anunoby had 25 points and eight rebounds before fouling out with 4:15 left and New York up 114-108.

Josh Hart (14 points, nine rebounds, nine assists) just missed a triple-double while Bridges had 22 points in his first game against the Nets since he was dealt by Brooklyn to the Knicks in July. Cameron Payne added 10 points off the bench.

Cam Thomas scored 12 of his 43 points in the fourth quarter for the Nets, who outscored the Knicks 40-24 in the final 12 minutes before dropping their Group A opener. Cameron Johnson had 10 of his 17 points in the fourth while Finney-Smith (15 points) and Schroder (14 points) also got into double figures.

The Knicks outscored the Nets 32-23 in the third, when they took their biggest lead at 98-77 on Bridges’ 3-pointer with 1:17 left.

New York led 100-82 entering the fourth, but Brooklyn cut the deficit to single digits for good with 6:45 remaining and got within one possession twice before Schroder’s second-chance 3-pointer set up Brunson’s dramatic shot.

Alperen Sengun’s triple-double helps Rockets top Clippers

Jabari Smith Jr. scored a season-high 28 points and Alperen Sengun recorded his fifth career triple-double as the Houston Rockets capped a sweep of back-to-back home games against the Los Angeles Clippers with a 125-104 victory on Friday.

The contest was the opener of the NBA Cup group stage for both teams.

Smith shot 11-for-17 from the floor and drilled a career-high-tying five 3-pointers, all in the first half. He grabbed 11 rebounds to pace the Rockets, who led wire-to-wire en route to their sixth win in seven games.

Sengun posted 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his first triple-double this season. Fred VanVleet notched 18 points and 10 assists while Dillon Brooks and Tari Eason scored 17 points apiece. Amen Thompson added 12 points for the Rockets, who led by as many as 28.

Los Angeles’ James Harden scored a team-high 21 points and matched Ray Allen for second place in NBA history in career 3-pointers. Harden’s third trey of the game, with 2:21 left in the first quarter, was the 2,973rd of his career. He miss four more attempts the rest of the game.

Kevin Porter Jr. added 15 points off the Los Angeles bench, while starter Kris Dunn scored 13 but missed 6 of 7 3-point attempts. The Clippers, third in the NBA with a 39.1 percent success rate from behind the arc, finished 10 of 40 from deep.

Pelicans take down Nuggets to end skid

Brandon Ingram scored 29 points and the host New Orleans Pelicans ended a six-game losing streak by ending the Denver Nuggets’ five-game winning streak, 101-94 in a matchup of short-handed teams Friday night.

Brandon Boston Jr. added 19 points and Trey Murphy III scored 17 for the Pelicans, who played without six of their top eight players.

Michael Porter Jr. scored 24 points, Peyton Watson had 18, Jamal Murray had 16 and Christian Braun 15 for the Nuggets, who played without Nikola Jokic, who has four consecutive triple-doubles but missed the game for personal reasons.

It was the Emirates NBA Cup opener for both teams.

New Orleans scored the first five points of the third quarter to increase its lead to 64-54. Dario Saric’s 3-pointer provided the Nuggets’ first points of the quarter and they closed within one on two free throws by Murray.

The Pelicans rebuilt the lead to eight on a field goal by Ingram before Watson’s layup left them with a 78-72 lead at the end of the quarter.

New Orleans led by nine points twice before Murray and Westbrook each made a 3-pointer during an 8-0 run that pulled the Nuggets within 87-86.

Ingram answered with a field goal and Javonte Green and Boston both added a 3-pointer for a 95-86 lead.

The Nuggets scored the first five points of the game and opened an 18-11 lead as five players scored.

Ingram scored 10 during a 12-0 run that gave the Pelicans a five-point lead. Russell Westbrook’s layup ended the run and Braun followed with a field goal.