De’Aaron Fox scored 16 of his season-high 43 points in the fourth quarter and the Sacramento Kings won their fifth straight, 129-120 over the San Antonio Spurs to remain perfect in the In-Season Tournament on Friday.
Domantas Sabonis had 28 points and Malik Monk added 20 as the Kings won their fourth in a row in San Antonio and moved to 2-0 in the West Group C standings of the tournament.
Victor Wembanyama had 27 points on 12-of-26 shooting and nine rebounds after scoring a season-low eight points in Tuesday’s loss at Oklahoma City.
Zach Collins scored 28 points and Keldon Johnson contributed 20, but the Spurs lost their seventh straight and dropped to 0-3 in the in-season tournament.
Durant stars as Suns beat Jazz
Kevin Durant scored 38 points and came up just shy of a triple-double and Devin Booker had 24 points and 15 assists to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 131-128 victory over the Utah Jazz.
Durant had nine rebounds and nine assists and scored at least 25 points for the 11th straight game, the longest active streak in the NBA.
Durant’s 3-pointer gave Phoenix a 124-115 lead before Utah rallied to get within one in the final minute. He struck again with his sixth 3 of the game with 18 seconds to play.
Jordan Clarkson had a season-high 37 points for Utah and Lauri Markkanen added 21.
Harden hits key 3-pointer as Clippers snap skid
James Harden drilled a tiebreaking 3-pointer while getting fouled with six seconds remaining and the Los Angeles Clippers ended a six-game losing streak with a 106-100 win over the Houston Rockets.
Harden sank a 26-footer from atop the key and completed the rare four-point play to seal his first win since joining the Clippers, who had lost their last five games since acquiring the superstar.
Kawhi Leonard added two free throws in the final second and finished with 26 points, while Harden added 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Alperen Sengun scored 23 points for the Rockets, whose six-game win streak was stopped after allowing Los Angeles to close the game on a 12-1 run.
LeBron James reiterates desire to bring NBA expansion team to Las Vegas
LeBron James has previously talked up the prospect of bringing an NBA franchise to Las Vegas when he retires, and he reiterated that desire after Saturday's in-season tournament final in Sin City.
James had 24 points in support of team-mate Anthony Davis, who finished with a season-high 41 as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers 123-109 in the Vegas showpiece to become the first winners of the tournament.
The four-time NBA MVP is into his 21st season in the league and has previously opened up on his desire to own a franchise when he calls time on his glittering career.
James – who already owns stakes in Premier League outfit Liverpool and MLB team Boston Red Sox – said last year that he would "love" to take a franchise to Las Vegas.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver joked about those hopes as he presented James with the tournament's MVP trophy after Saturday's game, prompting laughter from James as he said: "This doesn't come with a franchise".
However, the 38-year-old is deadly serious about his ownership ambitions, saying: "My enthusiasm about being here post-career and bringing a team here has not changed.
"The fans are amazing here. They have everything already, a WNBA team, they have a baseball team [the relocating Oakland Athletics] coming in soon, an NFL team, hockey team, Formula One was just here.
"This is a place that loves great attractions, and I think the NBA will be another great addition to this city."
Haliburton admits Pacers were outplayed by Lakers, vows to bounce back with playoff run
Tyrese Haliburton acknowledged the Los Angeles Lakers deserved Saturday's in-season tournament final victory as he vowed the Indiana Pacers will bounce back with a playoff push.
Haliburton has emerged as one of the breakout stars of the inaugural in-season tournament, but he was unable to help the Pacers triumph in Las Vegas as they fell to a 123-109 defeat to the Lakers.
Haliburton finished with 20 points and 11 assists but was upstaged by Anthony Davis, who had 41 points and 20 rebounds for Los Angeles, while LeBron James added 24.
Speaking after the Pacers' defeat, Haliburton accepted the Lakers had brought a playoff-level performance and deserved to go home with the trophy.
"Yeah, we're sick, frustrated," Haliburton said. "We just got outplayed tonight from the start of the game to the end of the game.
"We just didn't do the job on loose balls, didn't rebound, didn't get enough stops when needed. They just outplayed us, and it's frustrating.
"Every team doesn't have Anthony Davis and a bunch of 6-8, 6-9 wings, so there's that, as well. It's just about understanding how different looks are going to come.
"This doesn't have a regular-season feel at all. I'm used to playing LeBron whatever he plays, 30, 35 minutes. It felt like him and AD never came off the floor. It was like a playoff-type deal."
There are still plenty of reasons for positivity in Indiana, though, with the team fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 12-8 record after winning their last three regular-season games.
Haliburton is determined to help the Pacers end their three-season playoff exile in order to enjoy more of the games that matter, adding: "Getting accustomed to that was good for me and makes me want to play some more games that have some meaning to them.
"So we have to handle the season the right way so I can get to the playoffs and feel that."
'Thursday, LeBron had it going. Tonight, it was me' – Final hero Davis relishing James partnership
Anthony Davis was the star of the show as the Los Angeles Lakers won the first NBA in-season tournament final on Saturday, but he put their success down to his partnership with LeBron James.
Davis recorded season highs of 41 points and 20 rebounds as the Lakers overcame the Indiana Pacers in Las Vegas to be crowned champions of the inaugural tournament, while James backed him up with 24 points and 11 rebounds.
That represented something of a role reversal from their semifinal success against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday, when James scored 30 points in under three quarters on the court.
Davis is now into his fifth year playing with James – who received the tournament's first MVP prize after Saturday's win – and he says the pair enjoy an almost telepathic connection.
"We've been doing it together for a long time, five years now, and we just figure it out," Davis said of his combinations with James.
"We know each other's tendencies, what we like to do. Obviously in crunch time, we get to our infamous pick-and-roll and it's tough to stop.
"We feed off one another. Thursday, LeBron had it going. Tonight, it was me, and he still did his thing."
Saturday's game was the only one in the in-season tournament which didn't count towards the NBA's regular-season standings, but the Lakers are going well on that front too, sitting at 14-9 after winning 12 of their last 16 games.
Davis is determined to ensure the in-season tournament is not the only thing they win this season, saying: "I just try to do everything I can to win a basketball game. My team-mates put me in a great position to be successful.
"Obviously, this is special for us, just winning the inaugural in-season tournament. But we want to also win the same thing in June.
"It's a step in the right direction, obviously, but even though it's a big performance, it's another game and we've got to continue to get going, starting on Tuesday."
The Lakers face a three-game road stretch next week as they return to regular-season action, taking on the Dallas Mavericks before back-to-back games against the out-of-form San Antonio Spurs.
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