LeBron James handed worst career loss as Los Angeles Lakers thrashed by Indiana Pacers
Written by News on 06/02/2019
LeBron James passed 32,000 career points but was handed his worst career defeat as the Indiana Pacers hammered the Los Angeles Lakers 136-94.
Los Angeles Lakers 94-136 Indiana Pacers
LeBron James passed 32,000 career points but was powerless to stop the Los Angeles Lakers falling to a heavy loss to the Indiana Pacers, who drained 19 three-pointers en route to a runaway 136-94 victory on Tuesday night.
Returning from a one-game absence, James had a team-high 18 points, team-high seven rebounds and game-high nine assists for the Lakers along with a game-high six turnovers. He connected on a three-pointer with 54.4 seconds remaining in the second quarter to pass 32,000 career points, becoming the fifth player in NBA history to pass the landmark.
Playing the second night of a back-to-back after a 109-107 win at New Orleans, the Pacers captured their third victory in a row after a four-game losing streak. The Lakers lost their second straight game.
Myles Turner hit a pair of three-pointers, while Bogdanovic, Aaron Holiday and Cory Joseph added one apiece in the second period, during which the Pacers outscored the Lakers 36-20 to build a 69-46 half-time lead.
The second half was never appreciably closer, as Indiana completed a 19-for-34 night from beyond the arc. The Lakers went just 4-for-21.
Connecting on 4-for-10 on 3-pointers, Bogdanovic led seven Pacers in double figures with a game-high 24 points. Turner chipped in with 22 points, Domantas Sabonis, Holiday and Edmond Sumner 17 apiece, Joseph 13 and Thaddeus Young 12.
JaVale McGee had 16 points, Lance Stephenson 13, and Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram 12 apiece for Los Angeles.
Toronto Raptors 119-107 Philadelphia 76ers
Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points while Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka added 20 apiece as the visiting Toronto Raptors defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 119-107.
Ibaka also contributed 10 rebounds, and Pascal Siakam had 16 points for the Raptors, who improved to 17-11 on the road this season.
Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 37 points and 13 rebounds for his league-best 44th double-double this season. It was also Embiid’s 37th game with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Ben Simmons added 20 points and Jimmy Butler had 18 for the Sixers, who lost for just the sixth time in 27 home games this season.
The short-handed Sixers played for the second straight game without guard JJ Redick (illness) and Wilson Chandler (quad).
Embiid hit four free throws and followed with a three-point play to get the Sixers within 108-99 with 7:29 remaining in regulation. On Philadelphia’s next possession, Embiid made a turnaround jumper, and the deficit was 108-101.
However, Toronto scored the next four points, and Leonard hit five clutch free throws down the stretch to lift the Raptors to another road win.
Boston Celtics 103-92 Cleveland Cavaliers
Jayson Tatum scored 25 points and Gordon Hayward scored 18 points off the bench to lead the visiting Boston Celtics to a 103-96 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Marcus Smart added 17 points and Jaylen Brown 13 and seven rebounds for Boston, who won their fifth straight game.
Rookie Collin Sexton led the Cavaliers with 27 points. Alec Burks added 21 points for Cleveland, which lost for the eighth time in 10 tries.
Sexton was in attack mode all night, pushing the ball and helping the Cavaliers turn an eight-point half-time deficit into a four-point lead with 5:11 left in the third.
Smart tied the score when he completed a four-point play. Tatum scored the next four points and Boston went on a 13-5 run to take an eight-point lead.
The Cavaliers cut the deficit to 90-87 on a long three by Matthew Dellavedova with just under 10 minutes to go. But another dry spell doomed the Cavs as the Celtics went up 101-91 and closed out the game.
Orlando Magic 122-132 Oklahoma City Thunder
Paul George scored 39 points and Russell Westbrook’s triple-double streak continued as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Orlando Magic 132-122 at home.
The Thunder took control of the game with a 36-point third quarter, then held on late to win for the eighth time in the last nine games.
Orlando’s two-game winning streak was snapped. The Magic have lost eight of their last 11 games.
Orlando led by 12 early in the third quarter, but from there the Thunder outscored the Magic 31-13 over the final nine minutes of the quarter and led 111-97 three minutes into the fourth.
The Magic didn’t go away quietly, though, cutting the lead to as little as five with less than five minutes remaining, but couldn’t get any closer.
Westbrook finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds and 16 assists, clinching his seventh consecutive triple-double by the end of the third quarter. It’s the third such streak in Westbrook’s career. Only Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan have had at least seven consecutive triple-doubles. Robertson holds the NBA record with nine consecutive triple-doubles.
Backup point guard Dennis Schroder had 20 points while Jerami Grant had 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Terrence Ross had 26 points off the bench to lead Orlando while Evan Fournier added 25. Aaron Gordon had 18 points and 10 assists.
Minnesota Timberwolves 106-108 Memphis Grizzlies
Mike Conley recorded 25 points, nine assists and three steals to help the Memphis Grizzlies post a 108-106 victory over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves.
Justin Holiday made two free throws with 0.1 seconds left to give the Grizzlies their second straight victory after they lost 17 of their previous 19 games.
Jaren Jackson Jr added 23 points and Ivan Rabb scored a career-high 19 points and matched his season best of 11 rebounds for Memphis. Holiday had 17 points and nine rebounds.
Karl-Anthony Towns registered 26 points and 18 rebounds and Dario Saric added 22 points for Minnesota, who have lost four of their last five games. Luol Deng scored 18 points, Andrew Wiggins added 12 points and Josh Okogie had 11.
Conley missed a wide-open three-point attempt with 3.1 seconds left, and Okogie was called for a foul on Holiday in the scramble for the rebound. Holiday calmly made both free throws to seal the win.
The contest may have been the final one in a Memphis uniform for Conley as well as center Marc Gasol, who was held out to rest. The two longtime Grizzlies were recently informed by club management that they could be dealt prior to Thursday afternoon’s trading deadline.
Los Angeles Clippers 117-115 Charlotte Hornets
Tobias Harris scored 34 points and hit a driving eight-foot jump shot with 4.3 seconds remaining as the Los Angeles Clippers rallied from a 20-point deficit to stun the Charlotte Hornets 117-115.
Harris drove the lane after the Clippers inbounded with the score tied 115-115, and he pulled up and hit the jumper over Charlotte’s Kemba Walker.
The stunning comeback came after the Hornets led 88-68 with 3:17 left in the third quarter. The Clippers cut the lead to 92-84 after three quarters and then led on several occasions down the stretch.
Harris’ shot came after Marvin Williams hit two free throws for a 115-115 tie with 21.1 seconds left. Williams then missed a potentially winning three-pointer for the Hornets at the buzzer.
The Clippers were a phenomenal 18 of 24 from three-point range. They also got 16 points from Montrezl Harrell and 15 from Patrick Beverley.
Walker led the Hornets with 32 points. Jeremy Lamb scored 22, Marvin Williams scored 13 and Malik Monk finished with 12.
Miami Heat 118-108 Portland Trail Blazers
Hassan Whiteside collected 28 points and 11 rebounds as the visiting Miami Heat took down the Portland Trail Blazers 118-108.
Dwyane Wade came off the bench for 22 points and nine rebounds and Josh Richardson scored 18 points for the Heat, who ended a three-game losing streak.
CJ McCollum scored 33 points and Jake Layman added a career-high 25 points with eight rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who saw the end to an eight-game home win streak.
Richardson had 16 points and Miami shot 60 per cent from the field in running up a 62-55 half-time lead. Layman scored 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting and McCollum added 15 for Portland.
Portland started the fourth quarter on a 21-7 run. Back-to-back three-pointers by McCollum pulled the Blazers to within 101-100 with 7:30 left.
After Miami’s James Johnson and Portland’s Meyers Leonard traded treys, Whiteside scored on a hook to give the Heat a 106-103 lead with 4:47 remaining.
Johnson scored on a post-up to hike Miami’s lead to 112-105 with 1:27 to go. Lillard hit one of two at the line to trim the deficit to 112-106, but Whiteside made two foul shots to give the Heat a 114-106 advantage with 40.7 seconds to play.
Layman dunked for the Blazers, but Richardson sank a pair at the line to ice the game with 38.4 seconds remaining.
Detroit Pistons 105-92 New York Knicks
Blake Griffin recorded 29 points, eight assists, and six rebounds as the Detroit Pistons never trailed in a 105-92 victory over the New York Knicks, whose home losing streak reached 16 games.
Griffin helped the Pistons win for only the 11th time in their last 33 games and they won consecutive games for just the second time since then. He made 10-of-17 shots, including a trio of three-pointers, as the Pistons shot 46.8 per cent and beat the Knicks for the ninth time in the last 10 meetings.
Reggie Bullock hit five three-pointers and added 19 points, while Detroit center Andre Drummond posted 17 points and 16 rebounds and notched his 42nd double-double of the season.
Reggie Jackson contributed 19 points and seven assists as Detroit followed up its 26-point home win over Denver by making enough plays down the stretch.
The Knicks remained winless at home since beating Milwaukee in overtime on December 1. They also dropped their 14th straight game since beating the Los Angeles Lakers on January 4.
Dennis Smith Jr led the Knicks with 25 points, but New York shot 40.0 per cent and scored under 100 points for the seventh straight game. Mitchell Robinson added 13 and fellow rookie Kevin Knox finished with 11.
(c) Sky News 2019: LeBron James handed worst career loss as Los Angeles Lakers thrashed by Indiana Pacers
