By ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anthony Davis scored 30 points and had 11 rebounds, D’Angelo Russell added 28 points with 14 assists and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 107-98, on Sunday night, Dec. 8, without LeBron James.
With James missing his first game of the season because of a left foot contusion, Max Christie started his second game for the Lakers and scored four points with four rebounds.
Rui Hachimura scored 23 points for Los Angeles, which ended a three-game losing streak. The Lakers had dropped seven of their previous nine games.
Deandre Ayton scored 14 points with 19 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who lost their fourth consecutive game and have dropped six of their last seven. Shaedon Sharpe scored 19 points for Portland, which was coming off a 42-point loss to the Utah Jazz at home Friday.
Meanwhile in San Francisco, Stephen Curry sunk a 39-foot jumper from nearly halfcourt to beat the third-quarter buzzer and finished with 30 points and eight assists, leading the Golden State Warriors past the Minnesota Timberwolves, 114-106, in the teams’ second meeting over three days.
Curry found Jonathan Kuminga for a go-ahead dunk with 2:55 to play and hit Buddy Hield for a clutch 3-pointer at the 58-second mark.
Hield scored 27 points, including consecutive 3-pointers midway through the third that tied the game at 69 and another that put Golden State ahead. Hield had seven 3s and is one shy of becoming the 17th player in NBA history to reach 2,000.
Kuminga had 20 points and seven rebounds.
Anthony Edwards scored 27 points as Minnesota’s four-game winning streak ended.
In San Antonio, Chris Paul moved into second place on the NBA’s career assists list, Victor Wembanyama came back from an injury scare to score 25 points and the Spurs held on to beat the New Orleans Pelicans, 121-116.
Paul had 10 assists, giving him 12,099 for his career and moving him past former Phoenix and Dallas star Jason Kidd (12,091).
Stephon Castle added 22 points for San Antonio, which snapped a three-game skid.
Wembanyama left the game with 8:59 remaining in the first quarter when he clutched his lower back. He had missed the previous two games with lower back soreness. But he returned to Sunday’s game with 9:34 remaining in the second quarter.
In Inglewood, Jalen Green scored 31 points, Amen Thompson added 22 and the Houston Rockets defeated the Los Angeles Clippers, 117-106.
The Rockets ended a two-game skid without starter Fred VanVleet, who missed his first game of the season because of a right knee contusion.
Earlier in Sacramento, Kevin Huerter had 26 points, including six 3-pointers, and the Kings beat the Utah Jazz, 141-97.
The Kings, who have won three of their last four games, are an on offensive tear after scoring 140 points in Friday’s win over the Spurs.
The Jazz, who have lost six of their last seven, were led by Keyonte George with 25 points, and John Collins with 19.
