Online Reporter
February 2 – LeBron James put on another show at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, posting a triple-double as the Los Angeles Lakers pulled away from the host New York Knicks to win 128-112.
James, who turned 40 in December, led all players Saturday with 33 points and 12 assists while adding 11 rebounds as he improved to 23-8 all-time at Madison Square Garden. He raised his averages in games there to 28.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 7.6 assists.
The triple-double was James’ 10th of the season.
Austin Reaves added 27 points for the Lakers, who have won eight of their last 10 games. Reaves gave Los Angeles the lead for good at 71-68 by draining a 3-pointer with 7:57 left in the third. It began a 13-4 run for the Lakers, and Reaves had 10 of those points.
Rui Hachimura scored 21 points, while Max Christie and Dorian Finney-Smith added 15 points apiece for the Lakers, who outscored the Knicks 37-23 in the fourth quarter.
Former Lakers player Josh Hart had 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists for his seventh triple-double of the season for the Knicks. New York had its five-game winning streak snapped and also lost forward OG Anunoby to a right foot sprain early in the third quarter. Anunoby, who had 13 points, exited with 10:38 left and New York trailing 62-57.
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Deandre Ayton scored 24 points on 11-of-12 shooting to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 127-108 victory over the visiting Phoenix Suns on Saturday night in the first of two games in three days between the teams.
Jerami Grant added 20 points for the Trail Blazers, who led by as many as 27 points while winning their third straight game and seventh in their past eight.
Toumani Camara recorded 18 points, 10 rebounds and four steals, Anfernee Simons had 16 points and seven assists, and reserve Shaedon Sharpe also scored 16 for Portland.
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Kyle Kuzma scored a season-high 31 points to help the visiting Washington Wizards snap a 16-game losing streak with a 105-103 win over the short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
The Wolves cut the deficit to 105-103 on Mike Conley’s three foul shots with 15.1 seconds left. They had a chance to tie the game after Nickeil Alexander-Walker stole the ball, but he missed a final 3-point attempt.
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D’Angelo Russell scored 18 points, Ziaire Williams flirted with a double-double and the visiting Brooklyn Nets claimed a surprising 110-98 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
After snapping a seven-game losing streak with a road win over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, the Nets recorded back-to-back victories for the first time since late November. They did so by shooting 49.4 percent from the floor, posting a 60-50 advantage in paint points while limiting Houston to 40 percent shooting from the floor.
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Miami snapped a 10-game losing streak after rallying from a 13-point deficit to beat Notre Dame 63-57 Saturday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference matchup in Coral Gables, Fla.
The Hurricanes (5-17, 1-10 ACC) won their first conference game since beating Virginia Tech on Feb. 3, 2024. They had lost 20 consecutive conference games.
It’s the first win for associate head coach Bill Courtney, who took over when Jim Larranaga resigned as Miami’s head coach on December 26 − Reuters.
Mathew Masinge