The stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis returned in style this Tuesday to guide the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA in a victory over the NY Knicks with a score of 129-123 in overtime.
LeBron and Davis led the team with 28 and 27 points, respectively, with a ‘triple double’ from the former, who also had 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
Both stars did not play on Monday in a loss for the Los Angeles team against the Brooklyn Nets (121-104).
LeBron sat out Monday because of a sore left ankle, while Davis, who recently returned from a 20-game absence with a sprained right foot, rested as the team continued to manage his comeback.
LeBron now needs 89 points to surpass Kereem Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387 points.
The four-time NBA champion is averaging 30.2 points; 8.5 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game this season. If he keeps up and if he doesn’t get injured he can break the mark in three or four more games.
LeBron said after the game that "it’s just a matter of time" to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The star player added that the prospect of making NBA history does not weigh heavily on him, as it is getting closer.
"No it’s not getting heavier because I’m going to"added LeBron, "I mean, it’s just a matter of time when I’m going to do it. I’m not going anywhere, I’ll be in this league for at least a few more years, so I’ll do it. It’s nothing heavy. But I don’t put that kind of pressure on myself. I just go out and play".
However, LeBron allowed himself a moment to proudly reflect on the fact that with his 11 assists Tuesday he was able to move past Steve Nash and Mark Jackson to fourth in the NBA all-time rankings for assists in his career. race.
"Is incredible. Because that’s what I love to do: get my guys involved. Trying to get the ball on time and on target throughout my career"LeBron stressed. "Every time you’re linked with the greats it’s a great thing"ended.
The Lakers will play this Thursday against the Indiana Pacers at the home of the latter.
With his triple-double at a temple like Madison Square Garden, LeBron surpassed Steve Nash and Mark Jackson to become the fourth leading passer in league history.
This has more merit when you consider that LeBron ranks behind only three legendary pure point guards: John Stockton, Jason Kidd and Chris Paul.
Point guard Jalen Brunson stood out for the New York quintet with 37 points, two sacks and six assists, followed by Julius Randle with 23 points and 12 ball recoveries in the rebounding fight.
Antetokounmpo punishes the Hornets
In Milwaukee, Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo poured in with 34 points and a whopping 18 sacks under the boards as his Bucks beat the Charlotte Hornets 124-115.
They escorted Antetokounmpo on offense with Jrue Holiday with 15 points and 13 rebounds, Cuban-American Brook Lopez with eight cards and 11 sacks and Khris Middleton with 18 points coming off the bench.
The best offensive man for the Hornets was LaMelo Ball with a ‘triple-double’ of 27 points, 10 rebounds and 11 scoring services.
The Bucks continue to dominate the Eastern Conference Central, three and a half games ahead of the Cavaliers.
Butler and Adebayo impose their class
In Cleveland, star Jimmy Butler scored 23 points and center Bam Adebayo added 18 with 11 rebounds as the Miami Heat beat the host Cavaliers 100-97.
Others who shone for Miami were Caleb Martin, with 18 points and 10 sacks and Tyler Herro also scored 18 and the Heat moved to a game and a half behind fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
Butler, who has been hampered by injuries for much of the season, hit a short jumper to put the Heat up 98-93 with 1:23 to play, and his free throw later kept the Heat up by 5 points, 12 seconds. for the end.
With 7.3 seconds left, Butler hit a free throw and the Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell missed a 3-pointer to seal the Heat’s victory.
Evan Mobley scored 19 points, Mitchell had 16 and Jarrett Allen added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavs, who now fell to 21-6 at home.
The Cavaliers, the highest rated defensive team in the NBA, couldn’t stop the Heat in the closing minutes.
Clippers 108, Bulls 103
CHICAGO (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points and Norman Powell added 27 to help the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Chicago Bulls 108-103 on Tuesday night.
Paul George added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, who have won six of seven.
Nikola Vucevic had 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Bulls, who lost the first of four homestand games. DeMar DeRozan added 20 points and Zach LaVine finished with 18, as well as intercepting 14 balls off the backboards.
Nuggets 112, Pelicans 113
DENVER (AP) — Jamal Murray scored 32 points, Nikola Jokic signed his 16th triple-double of the season and the Denver Nuggets held their own against the New Orleans Pelicans 122-113 on Tuesday night.
Jokic finished with 26 points, 18 rebounds and 15 assists as the Western Conference leaders improved to 16-0 in games in which the Serbian center finished with a triple-double. Murray broke his career-high for the season with seven 3-pointers.
CJ McCollum and Herbert Jones each had 21 points for the Pelicans, who suffered their ninth straight loss. In January, they have a record of 3-13.