Lakers hold off Suns’ late charge, Hawks beat 76ers, while Curry scores 48 in a losing effort for the Warriors on a dramatic NBA Sunday
THE Los Angeles Lakers survived a frantic fourth-quarter comeback to defeat the Phoenix Suns 116-114 in a physical NBA contest on Sunday.
Luka Doncic scored 29 points and LeBron James added 26 for the Lakers, who used a 24-0 run to build a 99-79 lead with 8:40 remaining.
Phoenix stormed back and took a 114-113 lead on a Dillon Brooks three-pointer with 12.2 seconds left.
Brooks was then ejected after bumping James and drawing his second technical foul of the night.
James missed the resulting technical free throw but was fouled on a three-point attempt and made two of three foul shots to seal the win.
“We got behind the eight ball a lot in the fourth quarter, but I thought for the majority of the game our physicality was good,” James said.
He described the intense matchup with Brooks as “just competing”.
Golden State’s Stephen Curry made 12 three-pointers and scored 48 points in a 136-131 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Curry’s effort was two shy of the NBA single-game record for three-pointers.
Jerami Grant and Shaedon Sharpe each scored 35 points for the victorious Trail Blazers.
The Atlanta Hawks edged the Philadelphia 76ers 120-117 in another close game.
Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson recorded his fourth consecutive triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.
The Charlotte Hornets upset the Cleveland Cavaliers 119-111 in overtime behind 29 points from rookie Kon Knueppel.
Cleveland failed to score in the extra period, missing all 10 of their field goal attempts.
In Brooklyn, the Nets routed the Milwaukee Bucks 127-82 with nine players scoring in double figures.
Milwaukee played without injured star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“I thought that was awful — awful all around,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. – AFP
