NBA

Westbrook and Davis lead LeBron-less Lakers to OT win, Warriors stay unbeaten

By Sports Desk October 26, 2021

Playing without the injured LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers saw their other two superstars step up in a 125-121 overtime defeat of the San Antonio Spurs. 

Anthony Davis had 35 points and 17 rebounds and Russell Westbrook contributed 33 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to carry the Lakers on the road. 

James injured his right ankle Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies but remained in the game. Though he entered the day listed as "probable" against the Spurs, coach Frank Vogel ruled him out before the game. 

Malik Monk got the start in James' place and finished with 17 points but the Lakers needed their big names to pull this one out. 

Los Angeles trailed by 12 in the fourth quarter before rallying to take the lead, but that momentum was halted when Davis went down late in the period with an apparent leg injury. 

Westbrook took control in overtime, though, and the Lakers will have to hope for good news on the injury front. 

Vogel said after the game that Davis banged knees with another player and his status for Wednesday's game at the Oklahoma City Thunder is unclear. 

 

Curry, Warriors rally to stay perfect 

The Golden State Warriors staged a second-half comeback to defeat Oklahoma City 106-98 and remain unbeaten while their opponents continue to search for their first victory of the season. The Thunder (0-4) led 74-64 with 4:15 remaining in the third quarter before Golden State (4-0) went on a 21-2 run to take control. Stephen Curry scored 23 points to lead the Warriors, while Andrew Wiggins had 21 and Damion Lee chipped in 20 off the bench. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 30 for Oklahoma City, who shot just 41.9 per cent from the field (36 of 86).

The Utah Jazz improved to 3-0 with a 122-110 home win over the Denver Nuggets, who lost reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic to a knee contusion late in the first half. Jokic led the Nuggets with 24 points despite playing only 15 minutes, while Rudy Gobert had 23 points and 16 rebounds for Utah. 

Luka Doncic had 26 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Dallas Mavericks past the Houston Rockets 116-106. 

 

Curry disappears as Sixers fall to Knicks

Two days after scoring 28 points in a Philadelphia victory, Seth Curry was held to just four as the 76ers fell 112-99 to the New York Knicks. Curry missed all four of his three-point attempts and attempted only six shots overall in 30 minutes. Joel Embiid also struggled, making only two of seven shots from the field on a 14-point night. 

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  • LeBron denies target date for return but is 'working around the clock' LeBron denies target date for return but is 'working around the clock'

    LeBron James denied reports he has set a target date to return from injury but insists he is "working around the clock" to get back.

    James has been absent since suffering a tendon injury in his foot during a February 26 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, with the franchise initially saying he would be re-evaluated in three weeks' time.

    Lakers coach Darvin Ham recently suggested he expected his star player to return before the playoffs.

    Reports on Thursday then claimed the 38-year-old had been evaluated and was looking to be back for the final week of the NBA regular season.

    However, James denied those stories on social media, writing: "There wasn't an evaluation today and there hasn't been any target date for my return.

    "I'm just working around the clock, every day (three times a day) to give myself to best chance of coming back full strength, whenever that is. God bless y'all sources. I speak for myself!"

    James has an average of 29.5 points per game this season from 47 games, as well as 6.9 assists and 8.4 rebounds.

    It would be a welcome development for the Lakers, who remain in a tight race to make the playoffs after their 122-111 win over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, with a record of 36-37 and sitting 10th in the Western Conference.

    They have nine games remaining of the regular season, with their final outing a home clash with the Utah Jazz on April 9.

  • 'My best ATO of the year!' – Kerr jokes as Mavericks fume over Warriors' uncontested dunk 'My best ATO of the year!' – Kerr jokes as Mavericks fume over Warriors' uncontested dunk

    Steve Kerr was amused by the flashpoint in the Golden State Warriors' 127-125 win over the Dallas Mavericks that had their opponents plotting a protest.

    Mavericks owner Mark Cuban complained of the "worst officiating non-call mistake possibly in the history of the NBA", but Warriors coach Kerr was confident there was nothing amiss.

    The Mavericks took a timeout late in the third quarter and believed they had possession of the ball, asserting they were told as much by the game officials.

    What transpired was a referee call that led to Warriors center Kevon Looney scoring an uncontested dunk from a Jordan Poole inbound pass to make it 90-87 with 1:56 left in the third.

    The Dallas players were not in position, leading to protests from Cuban and coach Jason Kidd, but the dunk stood.

    Kerr teasingly said it was his season's standout ATO – after timeout.

    "Number one, it was my best ATO of the year. It worked brilliantly, just the way we got organised and confused them," he said.

     

    More seriously, he added: "I had to stop. When I saw them at the other end, I had to stop and think, 'Isn't this our basket?', because I had drawn up a play for an out-of-bounds [play] underneath, a baseline out-of-bounds.

    "When they were down at the other end I had to stop and think, 'Is this right?'.

    "I don't know what happened. You'd have to ask their side. I thought it was pretty clear that it was our ball and that's why I was drawing up a play out-of-bounds on the baseline.

    "But they all lined up at the other end. I guess they assumed it was their ball."

    Looney, who benefitted from the confusion, said: "I didn't know what was going on. I'm just glad JP passed to me because I needed that to get to my double-double."

  • 'This is what movies is made of' – Towns euphoric at dramatic Timberwolves return 'This is what movies is made of' – Towns euphoric at dramatic Timberwolves return

    Karl-Anthony Towns marked his return to action with a Hollywood ending as a pair of last-gasp free throws handed the Minnesota Timberwolves a 125-124 win against the Atlanta Hawks.

    With 3.6 seconds left on the clock, Towns had ice in his veins as he made both his shots to put Minnesota decisively ahead.

    There was still time left for Atlanta's Saddiq Ben to be impeded by Taurean Prince, but a foul was not given, with a game official reportedly later saying that was an error.

    That could have seen Towns denied his returning glory, having featured for the first time since November 28.

    Sidelined by a calf strain for almost four months, the first pick in the 2015 NBA Draft scored 22 points in his comeback game on 8-of-18 shooting.

    "This is what movies is made of," Towns said in an on-court interview with Bally Sports. "Four months away, two free throws, don't worry about it, I got that!"

    In a later press conference, the 27-year-old thanked coach Chris Finch for backing him.

    Towns was the player fouled to set up the game-winning chance, trusting himself to get the job done.

    "I was smiling a lot just in my mind," Towns said. "On the court I probably didn't show it, but even before I got the ball with seven seconds left I was smiling.

    "I just had a good feeling that the game was going to go the way I wanted it to, so the play was immediately drawn up for me.

    "Finch looked at me with everyone around and said, 'You're going to get the ball, and it's yours to take home'.

    "So shout out to Finch having that confidence in me after 51 games [out of action] and all the things I've had to deal with."

    Towns added: "When I went up there for two free throws I looked back and he was telling people, 'He ain't missing, I'm telling you that right now', and I just knew in my bones I wasn't going to miss.

    "I've worked too hard on my game. I've been in those moments too many times.

    "I got told I didn't have one fast heartbeat at all. I felt pretty confident, I felt pretty calm. I feel like I had that Jaden McDaniels demeanour up there, and I was just going up and making those shots."

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