LOS ANGELES (AFP) – LeBron James returned from a five-game injury absence to score 21 points on Friday as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Spurs, 105-94, in San Antonio for their first road win of the NBA season.
James pulled down eight rebounds and handed out five assists with three steals and a blocked shot in 33 minutes on the floor, with Lakers coach Darvin Ham saying the four-time NBA champion looked “phenomenal” after missing five games with a groin injury.
The Boston Celtics, led by 30 points from Jayson Tatum, downed the red-hot Sacramento Kings, 122-10,4 to improve their league-leading record to 15-4 while defending champion the Golden State Warriors scored a 129-118 win over the Utah Jazz.
Stephen Curry led all scorers with 33 points apart from posting five rebounds and four assists while Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins had 20 each.
The Warriors started hot, racing to a 37-23 lead at the end of the first quarter to even their record at 10-10.
Meanwhile, on a busy night in the NBA after a day off for the US Thanksgiving holiday, the Milwaukee Bucks rallied for a 117-102 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in a battle for second place in the Eastern Conference.
In San Antonio, all eyes were on James, who is on pace ˗ if he stays healthy ˗ to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the league’s all-time leading scorer as early as February.
He scored the first basket of the contest as the Lakers quickly powered to a double-digit lead.
They led 59-41 at halftime, but the young Spurs team had sliced the deficit to 81-78 by early in the fourth.
The Lakers responded, with James pushing the ball up the court on the way to a dunk that took the lead back to 10 points.
Anthony Davis scored 11 of his 25 points in the final period, finishing with a double-double that also included 15 rebounds.
In Boston, the Celtics survived a sloppy third quarter to down the Kings, whose eight wins in November included a seven-game winning streak that ended with a loss to Atlanta on Wednesday.
Boston led by as many as 16 early in the second quarter, but the Kings used a 40-point second period to cut the deficit to two points at halftime.
The Kings kept pushing in a third quarter that featured four lead changes. The game was tied 84-84 when Boston reserve Payton Pritchard drained a three-pointer and Tatum fed Luke Kornet for an alley-oop dunk. Tatum then came up with a steal and a basket, a rebound and a three-pointer to give the Celtics a 94-84 lead going into the fourth.
In Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 38 points to lead the Bucks past the Cavaliers, who led by 16 in the first half but were out-scored 35-10 in the third quarter as the hosts turned things around.
It was a battle of the top two picks in the 2019 draft in New Orleans, where Ja Morant scored 23 points with four rebounds and 11 assists to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 132-111 victory over Zion Williamson’s Pelicans.
Williamson scored 14 points with five rebounds and four assists, but it was a more complete effort from the Grizzlies — who had double-digit contributions from Dillon Brooks, Jaren Jackson, Steven Adams, Brandon Clarke and David Roddy.
In Charlotte, Kelly Oubre scored 28 points and Terry Rozier added 22 as the Hornets held off Minnesota 110-108 to snap the Timberwolves’ five-game winning streak.
Oklahoma City and Portland both notched overtime victories, with the Thunder beating the Chicago Bulls 119-123 and the Trail Blazers edging the New York Knicks 132-129.
Warriors 129, Jazz 118
Lakers 105, Spurs 94
Hornets 110, T-Wolves 108
76ers 107, Magic 99
Blazers 132, Knicks 129 (OT)
Pacers 128, Nets 117
Thunder 123, Bulls 119 (OT)
Heat 110, Wizards 107
Grizzlies 132, Pelicans 111
Bucks 117, Cavaliers 102
Celtics 122, Kings 104
Suns 108, Pistons 102
Nuggets 114, Clippers 104
