Anthony Davis racked up 25 points and 15 rebounds, LeBron James added 21 points in his return after missing five games and the visiting Los Angeles Lakers sprinted away from the plummeting San Antonio Spurs 105-94 on Friday.
James was a force after being out with an adductor strain since Nov. 9. And Davis continued a run of double-doubles — six in a row — by scoring 11 of his points in the fourth quarter.
Lonnie Walker IV added 18 points and Troy Brown Jr. had 10 for Los Angeles, which has won four of its past five games. The Lakers were without Patrick Beverley, who was sitting out the first game of a three-game suspension for shoving the Phoenix Suns’ Deandre Ayton. San Antonio dropped its seventh straight game and fell for the 12th time in 13 contests so far in November. Tre Jones led the Spurs with 19 points, with Devin Vassell scoring 18, Keldon Johnson adding 15, Jeremy Sochan hitting for 13 and Jakob Poeltl tallying 10.
Warriors 129, Jazz 118
Stephen Curry poured in a game-high 33 points and teamed with Klay Thompson for 12 3-pointers as Golden State improved upon its stellar home record with a triumph over Utah in San Francisco. In winning for an eighth straight time at home to improve to 9-1 in their own building, the Warriors got double-figure scoring from all five starters and reserve Jordan Poole in their first meeting of the season with the upstart Jazz.Lauri Markkanen had a team-high 24 points for Utah, which lost a third straight for the second time in two weeks. The Jazz have dropped six of eight overall.
76ers 107, Magic 99
Shake Milton collected 24 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds and Tobias Harris added 23 points and 10 boards to lift Philadelphia to a victory over host Orlando in a battle of undermanned teams.
Milton made 7 of 13 shots from the floor — including 4 of 7 from 3-point range — for the 76ers, who outscored the Magic by a 55-43 margin in the second half. Georges Niang added 18 points off the bench and Montrezl Harrell added 14 points and eight rebounds as Philadelphia posted its fifth win in seven outings.
Franz Wagner scored 24 points and Bol Bol collected 18 points and eight rebounds for the Magic, who have lost five of their last six games. Orlando star rookie Paolo Banchero scored 19 points in his return from a seven-game absence due to a sprained left ankle.
Rockets 128, Hawks 122
Jalen Green scored 30 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter as Houston rallied from a 16-point, second-half deficit and stunned visiting Atlanta.
Houston’s Kenyon Martin Jr. (21 points, 15 rebounds) had his first 20-10 game since his rookie season in 2020-21. Mathews added 20 points off the bench and rookie Jabari Smith Jr. had 21 points and nine boards for the Rockets, who parlayed 22 offensive rebounds into 37 second-chance points. Kevin Porter Jr. added 12 points and 10 assists for the Rockets.
Trae Young led the Hawks with 44 points while Dejounte Murray added 39. However, they were the lone Atlanta starters to score in double figures.
Grizzlies 132, Pelicans 111
Ja Morant, Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke had double-doubles and host Memphis dominated New Orleans from beginning to end.
Morant had 23 points and 11 assists, Adams added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Clarke had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Dillon Brooks scored a game-high 25 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 20 as the Grizzlies won for just the second time in six games.
Trey Murphy III returned from a two-game absence caused by a foot injury to score 21 points, Zion Williamson added 14 and Herbert Jones had 13 to lead the Pelicans, who lost for just the second time in seven games. New Orleans’ Brandon Ingram left the game in the first half due to a toe injury and did not return.
Pacers 128, Nets 117
Buddy Hield scored 26 points for Indiana, which rode a dominant fourth quarter to a win over Brooklyn in Indianapolis.
Tyrese Haliburton supplied 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Pacers, who didn’t lead in the second or third quarters before outscoring the Nets 40-23 in the fourth. Myles Turner finished with 23 points and eight rebounds, and Bennedict Mathurin had 20 points.
Kevin Durant scored 36 points for the Nets, including 20 in the fourth quarter. He also had nine rebounds and eight assists. Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons each finished with 20 points as Brooklyn lost for the fourth time in seven games.
Hornets 110, Timberwolves 108
Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 28 points and Charlotte used a strong second half to overcome visiting Minnesota.
Terry Rozier’s 22 points, PJ Washington’s 16 points and reserve Theo Maledon’s 14 points also gave the Hornets a boost as they won back-to-back games for the first time this season. Oubre, who is usually a major 3-point threat, was 10-for-21 from the field overall and 3-for-7 on 3s.
Anthony Edwards poured in 25 points to lead the Timberwolves, who had a five-game winning streak snapped. D’Angelo Russell had 20 points and a game-high 10 assists, Karl-Anthony Towns supplied 19 points and Rudy Gobert had 17 points and 17 rebounds.
Celtics 122, Kings 104
Foul-plagued Jayson Tatum scored 30 points and led a third-quarter surge that propelled host Boston past Sacramento for its 11th win in 12 games.
Jaylen Brown, also dealing with foul trouble, chipped in with 25 points for the Celtics. Derrick White added 16 points and Al Horford 13 for Boston, which improved its best-in-November record to 11-2.
De’Aaron Fox had a team-high 20 points for the Kings, who rallied from a double-digit, first-half deficit to lead 84-78 on a Kevin Huerter layup with 4:04 remaining in the third period. Domantas Sabonis notched an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double to complement a game-high six assists for the Kings.
Bucks 117, Cavaliers 102
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 38 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out six assists as Milwaukee used a dominant third quarter to storm past visiting Cleveland.
Jevon Carter made five 3-pointers and finished with 18 points, while Bobby Portis added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Bucks, who outscored the Cavaliers 35-10 in the third period.
Donovan Mitchell had 29 points to lead the Cavaliers, who had their four-game winning streak snapped. Darius Garland had 20 points.
Trail Blazers 132, Knicks 129 (OT)
Jerami Grant scored a career-high 44 points for visiting Portland, which overcame a 14-point deficit in the first half and edged New York in overtime
Anfernee Simons had 38 points, and Jusuf Nurkic finished with 20 points, including a three-point play that put the Trail Blazers ahead for good with 3:31 left in overtime. Josh Hart finished with 10 points and 19 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who snapped a four-game losing streak and won for the first time in three games without star guard Damian Lillard, who is out with a right calf injury.
Jalen Brunson scored 32 points but missed a potential game-winning floater from two feet just before the fourth-quarter buzzer for the Knicks, who have lost three of four. RJ Barrett had 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Julius Randle collected 23 points. Immanuel Quickley had 18 points off the bench, while Mitchell Robinson added 12 points.
Thunder 123, Bulls 119 (OT)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points, including five critical free throws in the closing seconds of overtime, to lead host Oklahoma City past Chicago.
Darius Bazley added a season-high 17 points off the bench for the Thunder, who won for the first time in four games.
DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 30 points, including all nine of Chicago’s overtime points. Zach LaVine added 27 points, and Nikola Vucevic had 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Heat 110, Wizards 107
Bam Adebayo scored a season-high 38 points and added 12 rebounds, leading host Miami to a win over Washington.
Adebayo made two free throws to give Miami a 106-105 lead with 1:37 left. Then, with 21 seconds remaining, Adebayo made a drive over 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis for a 108-105 lead. Washington had a chance to send the game to overtime, but Bradley Beal’s off-balance 3-point attempt at the buzzer missed badly.
Beal, who returned from a one-game injury absence (thigh), posted 28 points, five assists, five rebounds and three blocks. Kyle Kuzma also had 28 points and added seven rebounds for the Wizards.
Suns 108, Pistons 102
Deandre Ayton recorded 28 points on 11-of-13 shooting and also collected 12 rebounds to lead Phoenix to a victory over visiting Detroit.
Devin Booker contributed 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists as the Suns defeated the Pistons for the fourth straight time. Cameron Payne added 16 points and 10 assists for the Suns.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points to pace Detroit. Killian Hayes recorded 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and Alec Burks also had 17 points.
Nuggets 114, Clippers 104
Aaron Gordon scored 29 points, Jamal Murray had 21 points and nine assists and Denver won its third straight road game, beating Los Angeles.
Murray’s production came after he missed a victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday due to heel soreness. Nikola Jokic contributed 19 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for the Nuggets. The Nuggets prevailed despite watching the Clippers shoot 54.4 percent from the field. Denver held Los Angeles to just four offensive rebounds.
John Wall had 23 points and Terance Mann added 16 for the Clippers, who were missing a significant amount of offensive firepower. For the second straight game, Los Angeles played without Paul George (hamstring), Kawhi Leonard (ankle) and Luke Kennard (calf).
—Field Level Media