Cleveland
star LeBron James tied Larry Bird for sixth all time in NBA
triple-doubles Thursday as the Cavaliers beat the Los Angeles Lakers
121-112.
“King” James scored 25 points with 12 rebounds and 12
assists for the 59th triple-double of his 15-season career, and spoke
afterwards of Bird’s legacy.
“He’s one of the greatest players to
ever play the game,” James said of the former Boston Celtics great. “He
played until he couldn’t play no more.
“And for young guys that don’t
know him, they think of Larry Bird as a jump shooter. But he was so
much more than that. He was a passer. He averaged double-digit rebounds.
He defended. He took charges.”
James’s milestone had him thinking
about players he admired as a youngster - including Bird. On the court
he went up for the first time against NBA rookie Lonzo Ball - taken
second overall by the Lakers in the draft in June - who has cited James
as the player he idolized not so long ago.
“Who was his favorite
player? It was me, and I was humbled by that,” James said. Ball and a
young, energetic Lakers team led by Brandon Ingram’s 26 points seized an
early lead before the Cavaliers found their range.
Cleveland’s Kevin
Love led all scorers with 28 points and Jose Calderon added 17 for the
Cavs, who scored 100 points for the 22nd consecutive game and won for
the 16th time in 17 contests.
James helped put the game away, his
dunk with 2:20 remaining and a short shot with 1:38 to play putting the
Cavs up 117-108. Ball who finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight
assists for the Lakers, said it was “pretty cool” to play against James
for the first time.
“Watching him doesn’t do him justice,” Ball
said. “He has that size, that speed. I’d say he’s the best player in the
world right now.”
Warriors come alive late
The Dallas
Mavericks proved no match for the under-manned Golden State Warriors,
who pulled away in the second half for a 112-97 victory in Oakland,
California. The reigning NBA champion Warriors, still without star
Stephen Curry and also missing starters Draymond Green and Zaza
Pachulia, notched their eighth straight win.
Kevin Durant equalled his season-high with 36 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.
Klay Thompson added 25 points and made all five of his three-point attempts as Golden State improved to 23-7.
Dallas,
led by veteran Dirk Nowitzki’s 18 points, led 28-24 after the first
quarter and were tied at 48-48 at halftime before Golden State seized
control in the third period.
In other games, the New York Knicks lost
star forward Kristaps Porzingis with a sore left knee in the third
quarter but held on for a 111-104 victory over the Nets in Brooklyn.
Although they were just across town from their Madison Square Garden
Arena, for the Knicks it was a much needed road win - just their second
of the season.
Courtney Lee scored a season high 27 points for the Knicks.
Porzingis indicated after the game that he came out of the contest as a precaution.
“I
felt my knee, it just kind of buckled maybe a little bit and I felt a
little pain there,” he said. “So yeah, it’s more just being cautious.”
The
Detroit Pistons, called out by coach Stan Van Gundy after dropping
their seventh straight game on Tuesday, snapped their skid with an
emphatic 105-91 victory over Hawks in Atlanta.
Andre Drummond scored
12 points, pulled down 19 rebounds and handed out nine assists for the
Pistons. “It’s a little less burdensome now,” Van Gundy said of ending
the losing streak. “Maybe we just get back to playing basketball.”
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (centre) throws a pass between Los Angeles Lakers guard Lonzo Ball (left) and forward Brandon Ingram (right) in the second quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports