Kawhi Leonard scored 35 points, leading the host Los Angeles Clippers to a 130-127 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday.
Leonard hit 14 of 22 shots, including 7 of 9 3-pointers, and made a 3-pointer in the third quarter to top 10,000 career points.
Paul George had 28 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, Lou Williams added 21 points and Marcus Morris Sr. chipped in with 11 points and seven boards for the Clippers. Nicolas Batum recorded four of the Clippers’ 13 steals.
Zach LaVine had a season-high 45 points, connecting on 10 of 16 3-pointers, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Bulls, who lost their third in a row. It was the third consecutive game that LaVine scored at least 32 points.
Utah Jazz 96 – Detroit Pistons 86
Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points as visiting Utah continued its dominance over Detroit, winning its ninth consecutive game over the Pistons.
Mike Conley had 22 points, six assists and five rebounds, and Jordan Clarkson contributed 18 points off the bench for the Jazz, who never trailed. Rudy Gobert grabbed 19 rebounds and blocked four shots.
Jerami Grant’s 28 points led the Pistons. Reserve Saddiq Bey tossed in 12 points, and Blake Griffin added 10 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Oklahoma City Thunder 129 – Brooklyn Nets 116
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a season-high 31 points as visiting Oklahoma City overcame a slow start and pulled away for a victory over Brooklyn in New York. Reserve Hamidou Diallo added a career-high 25 points for the Thunder, who entered the game averaging 101.9 points and easily surpassed that total. Al Horford contributed 22 as Oklahoma City rallied from 15 points down.
Kevin Durant returned from missing three games due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols and posted a double-double with 36 points with 11 rebounds. The Nets played their third straight game without Kyrie Irving (personal reasons) and lost for the sixth time in nine games.
Denver Nuggets 114 – New York Knicks 89
Nikola Jokic posted another double-double by finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds for visiting Denver, who cruised past New York.
Jokic, who also had a team-high five assists, has recorded at least a double-double in all 10 games this season. He has four triple-doubles to go with three points-assists double-doubles and three points-rebounds double-doubles.
Gary Harris had 14 points while Monte Morris and PJ Dozier scored 12 points apiece for the Nuggets, who won for the second time in a little more than 24 hours and have four victories in their past five games. Julius Randle (29 points, 10 rebounds) recorded his eighth consecutive double-double for the Knicks. Elfrid Payton (12 points) was the only other New York player to get into double figures.
Los Angeles Lakers 120 – Houston Rockets 102
Anthony Davis scored 27 points and blocked three shots in his return from a one-game injury hiatus as Los Angeles remained unbeaten on the road with a victory over Houston.
Davis, who missed the Lakers’ win over the Chicago Bulls last Friday with a right adductor strain, started 9 for 9 from the floor. LeBron James added 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists while Montrezl Harrell produced 16 points and eight boards off the Lakers bench.
Christian Wood paced the Rockets with 23 points while James Harden added 20 points and nine assists but committed seven turnovers. Houston shot just 12 for 41 from behind the arc.
Minnesota Timberwolves 96 – San Antonio Spurs 88
D’Angelo Russell scored 27 points, and Malik Beasley added 24 as Minnesota made key plays down the stretch and outlasted visiting San Antonio in Minneapolis.
The victory snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Timberwolves, who played without Karl-Anthony Towns (wrist). Naz Reid added 11 points for the Timberwolves.
Lonnie Walker IV racked up a season-best 25 points, 22 of those in the first half, to lead the Spurs, with LaMarcus Aldridge scoring 20. Patty Mills pumped in 18 points, Dejounte Murray added 11, and Trey Lyles grabbed 10 rebounds for San Antonio. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Spurs, who were without leading scorer DeMar DeRozan (personal reasons).
Golden State Warriors 106 – Toronto Raptors 105
Damion Lee calmly dropped in two free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining as Golden State overcame one of the worst shooting performances of Stephen Curry’s career to notch a victory over Toronto in San Francisco.
Curry made his first and last attempts, but missed a personal-record 14 straight in between on an 11-point night for the Warriors, who nonetheless won for the fourth time in their last five games. Andrew Wiggins scored 17 points to pace Golden State.
Seeking a second straight win for the first time this season, the Raptors had a shot at a victory, but Pascal Siakam rimmed out a buzzer-beating, straight-way 18-footer. Siakam paced the Raptors with 25 points, followed by Fred VanVleet with 21 and Kyle Lowry with 17.
—Field Level Media
