Anthony Davis has big 2nd half, Lakers beat Thunder
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Anthony Davis scored 24 of his 33 points in the second half to help the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 130-127 on Friday night.
Davis also had 11 rebounds and seven assists, and LeBron James added 23 points and 14 assists. The Lakers have won six in a row to improve the best record in the NBA to 13-2.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points and Steven Adams added 22 for the Thunder. They have lost five of six.
Los Angeles guard Rajon Rondo was ejected early in the fourth quarter after a kick to Dennis Schroder’s groin area.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kawhi Leonard hit a go-ahead jumper with 15 seconds remaining to finish with 24 points and lift Los Angeles over Houston.
Russell Westbrook missed at the other end and Paul George got the rebound while getting fouled. He made both free throws with one second left to complete a wild finish and help the Clippers improve to 10-1 at home with their fourth win in a row overall.
James Harden couldn’t get a shot off on the Rockets’ final possession as time expired.
George scored 19 points in his second game playing with Leonard. Lou Williams led the Clippers with 26 — all in the second half. Montrezl Harrell added 18 points.
Harden had 37 points and 12 assists for the Rockets. He made a career-high 11 3-pointers. Russell Westbrook added 22 points before fouling out late, and Clint Capela had 17 points and 19 rebounds.
DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic had 30 points and 14 assists with former Dallas teammate Dirk Nowitzki watching as a retiree for the first time.
Nowitzki stayed away for the first eight Dallas home games after setting an NBA record of 21 seasons with the same franchise while finishing last season as the highest-scoring foreign-born player in league history. The big German got a standing ovation when shown on the video board in the first quarter from his courtside seat next to owner Mark Cuban.
Rookie Darius Garland scored a career-high 23 points for Cleveland.
DENVER (AP) — Jamal Murray hit two free throws with 1.5 seconds remaining and scored 22 points and the Denver beat Boston in a game overshadowed by a head injury to Celtics guard Kemba Walker.
Walker collided with teammate Semi Ojeleye late in the second quarter, striking Ojeleye's abdomen area head-first and going down to the court in a heap. In a tweet, the Celtics said Walker has been diagnosed with concussion-like symptoms and was transported to a hospital for further evaluation.
Nikola Jokic added 18 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for the Nuggets. They improved to 8-0 this season when holding an opponent to fewer than 100 points.
Jaylen Brown had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tobias Harris scored 26 points, Joel Embiid had 21 points and 14 rebounds and Philadelphia handed San Antonio its eighth straight loss — the Spurs’ longest under longtime coach Gregg Popovich.
Ben Simmons had a triple-double with 10 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for the 76ers.
San Antonio last dropped eight in a row in November 1996 under coach Bob Hill. Popovich was the team’s general manager at the time. He fired Hill later that season and began his long run of success.
DeMar DeRozan had 29 points for the Spurs.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points and Mike Conley had 27 to help Utah hold off a late rally by undermanned Golden State.
Minutes after the game ended, the arena was evacuated because of a suspicious package discovered under a restaurant table. Police said the package turned out to be a toolbox, and the Jazz said employees were cleared by authorities to re-enter the building a couple of hours later.
Salt Lake City police Lt. Carlos Valencia said the sellout crowd was already starting to leave when the evacuation began.
Jazz players quickly headed for their cars in the parking lot — center Rudy Gobert was still in uniform as he left. Warriors players boarded their team bus.
Bojan Bogdanovic added 17 points for the Jazz, and Gobert had 19 rebounds and seven blocks. Alec Burks scored 20 points for the injury-ravaged Warriors, who had only eight available players.
DETROIT (AP) — Andre Drummond had 23 points and 15 rebounds and Detroit had its highest-scoring first half since 1983.
Detroit led 76-57 at halftime, and the Pistons reached 100 points with over 5 minutes remaining in the third quarter. t was the most points in the first half for the Pistons since they scored 77 on Dec. 2, 1983, also against the Hawks.
Atlanta has dropped five straight, and the Hawks allowed at least 120 points for the eighth game in a row.
Blake Griffin scored 24 points. DeAndre’ Bembry led Atlanta with 22 points.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bradley Beal had 30 points and 12 assists, Thomas Bryant added 21 points and 11 rebounds and Washington overcame a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Charlotte.
Davis Bertans had 20 points, hitting six 3-pointers to help the Wizards win two in a row for the first time this season.
Miles Bridges scored a career-high 31 points for Charlotte.
CHICAGO (AP) — Jimmy Butler had 27 points against his former team and Miami beat Chicago for its fifth straight victory.
Butler played for the Bulls from 2011-17. He was 7 of 10 from the field and had seven assists and five rebounds. Bam Adebayo added 16 points and 14 rebounds, and Kendrick Nunn scored 13 of his 21 points in the first quarter to help Miami improve to 11-3.
Zach Lavine led the Bulls with 15 points.
NEW YORK (AP) — Spencer Dinwiddie scored 23 points and Joe Harris added 22 in Brooklyn’s victory over Sacramento.
Garrett Temple finished with 18 points, Jared Allen had 11 points and nine rebounds, and DeAndre Jordan added 10 rebounds.
Harrison Barnes led the Kings with 18 points. Buddy Hield had 16.