Luka Doncic returned with a triple-double, and LeBron James delivered clutch plays to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 112–108 NBA victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.
Doncic, who missed two games traveling to Slovenia for the birth of his second daughter, finished with 31 points, 15 rebounds, 11 assists, and two blocks, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
James, soon to turn 41, scored 12 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, including a key three-pointer and jump shot to put the Lakers up by five with 27.4 seconds remaining after the 76ers had tied the game at 105–105. Doncic added two free throws, and James secured a steal with three seconds left to seal the win.
James, who missed the first 14 games of his 23rd season due to sciatica, said he felt energized while Doncic and teammate Austin Reaves battled fatigue from travel and heavy minutes.
Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia with 28 points, while Joel Embiid, James’s teammate on the U.S. Olympic gold medal-winning squad, managed just 16 points on four-of-21 shooting.
In Utah, the NBA Champion Oklahoma City Thunder extended their winning streak to 15 games with a 131–101 rout of the Jazz, despite missing MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with elbow bursitis. Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren scored 25 points each, with the Thunder leading by as many as 42, tying the franchise’s longest streak.
Denver held on to beat Charlotte 115–106 behind Jamal Murray, who scored 23 of his 34 points in the first quarter. Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic nearly recorded a triple-double with 28 points, nine rebounds, and 11 assists, helping Denver claim a third straight victory after trailing 58–57 at halftime.
In Toronto, Boston edged the Raptors 121–113. Jaylen Brown scored 30 points and Derrick White added 27. Boston led by 23 early in the third quarter, but Toronto rallied to take a three-point lead in the fourth before White and Payton Pritchard hit consecutive three-pointers to secure the win.
In New York, Jalen Brunson scored 30 points and handed out nine assists to lead the Knicks to a 106-100 victory over the Orlando Magic.
OG Anunoby added 21 points and Josh Hart had 17 points and 12 rebounds as the Knicks overcame the absence of Karl-Anthony Towns with a sore calf.
The defeat was made worse for Orlando by the first-quarter exit of team top scorer Franz Wagner with a lower leg injury.
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said Wagner would be evaluated further when the team returned to Florida.
Jimmy Butler returned from injury to score 19 points with eight rebounds and six assists in the Golden State Warriors’ 123-91 rout of the Bulls in Chicago.
The Warriors were still without injured stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.
But Brandin Podziemski scored 21 points off the bench and Quentin Post matched Butler’s 19 points in a wire-to-wire win over the similarly short-handed Bulls.