By ASSOCIATED PRESS
SACRAMENTO, California (AP) — LeBron James had 19 points, six rebounds and seven assists while breaking the NBA record for regular-season minutes, helping the Los Angeles beat the Sacramento Kings, 113-100, on Thursday night, Dec. 19.
James spent 34 minutes on the court against the Kings to give him 57,471 in his career, moving past Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (57,446) for the record.
Anthony Davis had 21 points and 20 rebounds in the opener of a two-game set at Golden 1 Center. Austin Reaves scored 35 points and D’Angelo Russell added 16 points to help the Lakers (15-12) to their third win in four games.
The Kings trailed most of the game then closed within 93-90 on De’Aaron Fox’s jumper with eight minutes remaining. Reaves’s short bank shot and two free throws from Davis sparked a 10-2 run that helped the Lakers pull away.
Fox had 26 points, five assists and three steals for the Kings. Domantas Sabonis added 18 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. Malik Monk scored 17 points.
Meanwhile in Minneapolis, Karl-Anthony Towns had 32 points and 20 rebounds in his return to Minnesota, leading the inspired New York Knicks past the Timberwolves, 133-107.
Mikal Bridges scored 29 points for the Knicks, who built a lead as big as 36 points in the third quarter and won for the 12th time in 16 games.
Towns was the star, the subject of a loud ovation and a tribute video before the game highlighting his nine seasons with Minnesota after being picked first overall in the 2015 draft.
Traded to New York just before training camp began for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, Towns clearly had fun from start to finish as the Knicks romped to 73-point first half.
Randle had 24 points for the Timberwolves, who were outscored 37-8 over the first nine minutes of the second quarter. Towns had 19 points in that period, his highest in any quarter this season.
In Phoenix, Pascal Siakam had 25 points and 18 rebounds, Myles Turner added 19 points and the Indiana Pacers beat the Suns, 120-111.
Indiana used a 15-4 run to lead 97-83 after three quarters and stretched it to 105-86 early in the fourth. The Pacers shot 16 of 41 from 3-point range to win for the fourth time in five games.
Tyrese Halliburton added 13 points and 12 assists, hitting 4 of 9 from 3. Andrew Nembhard added 19 points and Indiana had 25 fast-break points.
Kevin Durant led the Suns with 37 points and 10 rebounds. Bradley Beal added 16 points after missing two games because of a swollen right knee.
Devin Booker had 17 points, but went out in the third quarter with groin tightness. The Suns shot 9 of 30 from 3.
In Dallas, Norman Powell scored 29 points, James Harden added 24 and Ivica Zubac had 21 points and 15 rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers beat Dallas, 118-95, in the Mavericks’ first game this season playing without star guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Doncic sat out with a left heel contusion, Irving with right shoulder soreness, in the first of a two-game series against Los Angeles that will conclude Saturday night.
First-year Maverick Klay Thompson scored 22 points, his first game leading the team in scoring. Spencer Didwiddie added 19 making his first start of the season.
Earlier in San Antonio, Victor Wembanyama scored eight of his 42 points in overtime and the Spurs outlasted the Atlanta Hawks, 133-126.
Wembanyama was 13 for 24 from the field, going 7 of 15 on 3-pointers. He also had six rebounds, five assists, four blocks and two steals.
De’Andre Hunter scored 27 points for Atlanta. Trae Young had 23 points and 16 assists and Jalen Johnson added 22 points.