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• LeBron James shrugs off minutes milestone after suffering heaviest career defeat

  No player in NBA history has spent more minutes on the court than LeBron James, but the latest record means nothing to the Los Angeles Lakers star.

  That is because it came in what was James' heaviest career defeat – a 138-94 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.

  In his 21-year NBA career, James' previous worst loss came by 42 points in a 136-94 reverse to the Indiana Pacers in February 2019.

  As Joel Embiid racked up 30 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the Sixers' rout, James accumulated another 30 minutes on the court.

  That took his career total, across both regular season and postseason games, to 66,319 minutes in his career, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 66,297 minutes.

  But the record was of little solace to the 38-year-old, who told reporters: "That doesn't mean much to me."

  Asked about what the Lakers need to do to ensure heavy defeats do not become a common occurrence, James said: "What needs to change in order for that not to happen again? Um, a lot.

  "I don't know how a team [should respond]. I can only speak for myself, and I don't like it."

  James' teammate Anthony Davis said: "Feel like we just weren't together. A lot of quick shots, one-pass shots, no-pass shots.

  "They started making a lot of shots. And when their lead kind of opened up a little bit – 15, 20, 25 – I think we all tried to be the hero to make the team come back instead of just sticking with it.

  "We've got to look at it, embrace it, own it. Guys don't take it personally for whatever's said in the film, and then move on from it."

  It was a bad day for both Los Angeles teams, with the Clippers also losing. 

  They went down 104-113 to a Denver Nuggets team that was shorn of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon.

  Former Laker Russell Westbrook became embroiled in a debate with a fan.

  "I mean, it's unfortunate," Westbrook said.

  "Fans think they can say whatever they want. I'm not going to say [what was said] now because it's not appropriate, but I'm just protecting myself.

  "It's just unfortunate fans think they can get away with saying anything and, personally, I won't allow it. I've [taken] a lot of people saying anything and getting away with it, but I won't stand for it."

• 76ers hand LeBron James worst loss of career

  Joel Embiid racked up 30 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists as the Philadelphia 76ers rolled to a 138-94 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, giving LeBron James the most lopsided loss of his 21-year NBA career.

  Tyrese Maxey complemented Embiid's sixth career triple-double with 31 points and eight assists, and the 76ers dominated from the 3-point line to also record their largest margin of victory in 290 all-time regular-season meetings with the Lakers.

  James' previous worst loss came by 42 points, a 136-94 defeat to the Indiana Pacers on Feb. 5, 2019, in his first season with the Lakers. The NBA's all-time leading scorer finished with 18 points and five assists but failed to register a rebound.

  Philadelphia finished 22 of 46 from 3-point range compared to 7 of 28 for Los Angeles, which trailed by double digits since late in the first quarter and were outscored by a whopping 40-14 margin in the fourth despite the 76ers resting Embiid and fellow starters Tobias Harris and De'Anthony Melton the entire period.

  Anthony Davis ended with 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who have dropped two of three since a 6-1 stretch from Nov. 10-21.

  Nuggets handle Clippers despite Jokic resting

  DeAndre Jordan filled in well for a resting Nikola Jokić as the Denver Nuggets rallied for a 113-104 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

  Jordan posted 21 points, 13 rebounds and five assists starting in place of Jokic, who was held out with Denver playing for the second consecutive night. Reggie Jackson had 13 of his game-high 35 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Nuggets back from an 11-point deficit to start the period.

  Jackson, who spent parts of four seasons with the Clippers before being traded away in February, added 13 assists. Jordan played his first 10 NBA seasons with Los Angeles from 2008-18.

  The Nuggets trailed 88-77 after three quarters before outscoring the Clippers by a 36-16 margin in the fourth. They went ahead for good when Jackson capped a 15-2 run to start the period with a short floater that gave Denver a 92-90 lead with under 7 1/2 minutes left.

  Los Angeles, which had won four of five following a 3-7 start, went just 4 of 17 from the field in the fourth quarter and got just six points on 2-of-13 shooting from star Paul George.

  Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 31 points and eight rebounds, while Ivica Zubac recorded 23 points and 14 boards. 

  Wizards halt nine-game losing streak, extend Pistons' skid to 14

  Kyle Kuzma compiled 32 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Washington Wizards to a 126-107 victory over the Detroit Pistons in a matchup of the NBA's two worst teams.

  Washington, which entered the game with an identical 2-14 record to Detroit, halted a nine-game losing streak. The Pistons have now lost 14 consecutive games, tied for the longest skid in franchise history within a single season.

  The Wizards led by just one early in the third quarter before Kuzma took over, as the veteran forward scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting for the period to help extend Washington's advantage to 94-83 entering the fourth.

  Washington maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way while shooting 50.6 per cent from the field for the game. Deni Avdija and Danilo Gallinari each contributed 16 points to the victory.

  Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 26 points and seven assists, while Jalen Duren finished with 12 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.

   

   

• 'We make it tough on ourselves!' – Giannis on Bucks' huge comeback

  Giannis Antetokounmpo admitted the Milwaukee Bucks made life tough for themselves as he helped to seal a stirring 108-102 comeback victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

  The Bucks rallied from a 26-point deficit to win the first meeting between the teams since the Blazers traded franchise icon Damian Lillard to Milwaukee in September. 

  It was largest comeback in the NBA so far this season.

  Lillard, who spent his first 11 seasons with Portland and is the Trail Blazers' all-time scoring leader, had 17 of his 31 points in the second half to aid the comeback, while Giannis came through with a tie-breaking basket with time winding down.

  Antetokounmpo finished with 33 points, 16 rebounds and six assists in the Bucks' seventh win in eight games, which improved them to 12-5 on the season.

  The rebuilding Blazers led 81-55 three minutes into the third quarter, but Milwaukee responded with a 17-2 run and continued to cut into the deficit until Lillard's 3-pointer with 2:53 remaining created a 97-97 tie.

  Sunday's game remained deadlocked until Antetokounmpo tipped in teammate Bobby Portis' putback attempt to put the Bucks up by a 104-102 score. Lillard then sealed the win by making four free throws in the closing seconds.

  "Sometimes we just make it tough on ourselves," Antetokounmpo said after the game, per ESPN.

  "Don't get me wrong, I think Portland is a very good team – young team, play hard, but we just make it tough.

  "We can't start the game like that. We should not be down 26 and then try to come and win the game. That takes a toll on your body. 

  "But at the end of the day, I'm happy we were able to win."

  Lillard and Antetokounmpo have scored 30 points each in the last two Bucks games.

  "As the season moves forward, we're going to figure out ways to play with one another," added Giannis. 

  "Be more effective, be more efficient with one another, know one another's spots. We are getting to that point. We are really getting to that point.

  "At the end of the day, Dame has to be Dame. I have to be me. 

  "As the games go on, we're going to keep on figuring ourselves out. The moment we are clicking on a higher level, it's going to become even more scary as we move forward."

  Facing former team Portland (4-12) was an unusual experience for Lillard.

  "Once I walked in, I saw a lot of familiar faces, I thought about going in the visitors' locker room for a second, but I was like, man, this a little bit different," he said to Bally Sports Wisconsin.

  "When we got on the court, I saw everybody and it's a weird feeling. But once we started playing, I got over it quick."

  Bucks coach Adrian Griffin was thrilled with Antetokounmpo, with a big Tuesday night In-Season Tournament game at the Miami Heat up next.

  "He is one of the greatest players to play this game, and he showed it," said Griffin.

  "We were kind of dead in the water, searching, trying to find some momentum, and it was a gritty win."

  Jerami Grant had 22 points in Portland's ninth loss in 10 games, while Malcolm Brogdon recorded 18 points and 12 assists.