LeBron James scored a season-high 44 points and passed Wilt Chamberlain for No. 5 on the all-time NBA scoring list while leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 126-117 victory against the visiting Portland Trail Blazers yesterday.
James added 10 rebounds and nine assists as the Lakers earned their fourth win in a row. JaVale McGee scored 20 points, Brandon Ingram had 17 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 13 off the bench for the Lakers, who ended a nine-game home losing streak to Portland.
Damian Lillard had 31 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists, CJ McCollum scored 23 points, and Jusuf Nurkic finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Trail Blazers. 


Thunder 128, Knicks 103 
Taking the lead once again with Russell Westbrook injured, Paul George scored 35 points as host Oklahoma cruised past New York. Oklahoma City won for the ninth time in 10 games.
The Thunder never trailed, leading by 15 after one quarter and never letting the Knicks get closer than 10 the rest of the way. It was the Knicks’ fifth loss in six games and the third consecutive.
George was 13 of 22 from the field and 5 of 11 from behind the 3-point line. Steven Adams added 19 points while Dennis Schroder added 15 points and a season-high 12 assists. Tim Hardaway Jr. led the Knicks with 20 points while Enes Kanter scored 19 off the bench.


Celtics 111, Bulls 82 
Jaylen Brown scored 18 points on 8-for-14 shooting as host Boston cruised past Chicago to snap a two-game losing streak. Kyrie Irving finished with 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds while committing one turnover in 28 minutes. 
Jayson Tatum (14 points), Gordon Hayward (11) and Al Horford (10) also contributed to the blowout as all five starters scored in double digits. Shaquille Harrison scored 16 points off the bench to lead the Bulls. Jabari Parker added 14 points on 6-for-13 shooting, and rookie Wendell Carter Jr. contributed 11 and seven rebounds.


Grizzlies 116, Bucks 113 
Garrett Temple scored seven of his 11 points in a late flurry that allowed Memphis to rally past host Milwaukee. Marc Gasol had 29 points and Mike Conley 26 for the Grizzlies, who won for just the third time in seven road games this season. Giannis Antetokounmpo had game highs in points (31) and rebounds (nine) for the Bucks. After a 3-pointer by Eric Bledsoe put the Bucks on top 99-94 with 5:20 to go, Temple converted a three-point play and then made a 3-pointer to give the Grizzlies the lead for good.
Timberwolves 107, Pelicans 100 
Minnesota’s new players debuted, but holdovers Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins led the win over visiting New Orleans. 
Towns had 25 points and 16 rebounds, and Wiggins scored 23 points, and they were supported by the principal players in the Jimmy Butler trade as Robert Covington scored 13 and Dario Saric came off the bench to score nine. 
E’Twaun Moore led the Pelicans by scoring 31 points two nights after he had 30 in his team’s third straight victory, a 126-110 win at Toronto. Anthony Davis had 29 points and 11 rebounds.


Suns 116, Spurs 96 
TJ Warren poured in 27 points to lead five teammates in double-figure scoring as hapless Phoenix took out a month’s worth of frustration on visiting San Antonio. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Suns, who have now won three of 14 games this season.  Isaiah Canaan scored 19 points for Phoenix, while Deandre Ayton added 17 points and 10 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan’s 24 points led San Antonio, which has lost four of its past five games. 


Magic 111, 76ers 106 
Jimmy Butler’s debut with Philadelphia was spoiled by Terrence Ross in the final seconds as host Orlando came from behind for the win. Ross dribbled out the shot clock and hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Orlando a 109-106 lead with 8.7 seconds left. 
Nikola Vucevic scored a season-high 30 points to go along with eight rebounds, and Aaron Gordon added 17 points and six rebounds. Orlando has won five of its last seven games. JJ Redick, who missed a 3-pointer that could have tied the game, led the 76ers with 22 points. Joel Embiid earned his league-leading 15th double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds, but he was held to just three points in second half.


Heat 120, Nets 107 
Reserve Tyler Johnson scored a season-high 24 points as Miami snapped a three-game losing streak by leading wire-to-wire over host Brooklyn. Johnson shot 9 of 12 and led six Heat players in double figures.
Goran Dragic added 21, Josh Richardson contributed 15 and Hassan Whiteside notched his 10th double-double with 14 and 10 rebounds.
Reserve Spencer Dinwiddie scored 18 points to lead the Nets, who played their first game since losing leading scorer Caris LeVert to a dislocated right foot in Monday’s loss at Minnesota.


Pistons 106, Raptors 104 
Reggie Bullock hit a 5-foot fadeaway jumper at the buzzer with an assist from former Toronto guard Jose Calderon, giving visiting Detroit the victory. Blake Griffin scored 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to help Detroit come back from a 19-point deficit in the third quarter. The win made it a happy return to Toronto for Pistons coach Dwane Casey, who was fired in the offseason after seven seasons as the Raptors coach. Langston Galloway and Reggie Jackson each had 13 points for the Pistons, who gave Toronto its second consecutive loss, both at home. Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Toronto.


Mavericks 118, Jazz 68
Dallas forward Harrison Barnes, who missing the early season with an injury, scored a game-high 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting in the win over visiting Utah. Cheered on by a group of servicemen and women seated courtside during Dallas’ annual “Seats for Soldiers” game, the Mavs secured their first three-game win streak of the season and first since last December.
Luka Doncic contributed 13 points and six rebounds as the only other Mavs’ starter to score in double digits. Three Jazz starters scored in double figures, but none had more than Ricky Rubio’s 11 points.


Wizards 119, Cavaliers 95 
Bradley Beal scored 20 points and Otto Porter Jr. added 15 as host Washington recorded its third straight win by blowing out Cleveland. The Wizards never trailed and got 12 points from Austin Rivers and 11 from Markieff Morris.
Rookie Collin Sexton had a career-high 24 points for the Cavaliers, who were playing the second of back-to-back games. David Nwaba added 11 points off the bench.