The Los Angeles Lakers ended their three-game losing run despite being without LeBron James as they defeated the Denver Nuggets 93-89 in the NBA on Monday.
Anthony Davis scored 25 points for the Lakers with seven rebounds and a crucial last-gasp block on Nuggets guard Facundo Campazzo's three-point attempt.
The Lakers, who had lost six of their past seven coming in, were undermanned with James sitting out with a sore right ankle, while Dennis Schroder was absent too.
The win improves the Lakers to 37-28 and moves them back into fifth in the Western Conference.
The Philadelphia 76ers were also winners on Monday, knocking off the Chicago Bulls 106-94 to improve their record to 44-21, holding top spot in the East.
Forward Tobias Harris top scored with 21 points, while Joel Embiid had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Westbrook goes wild again
Russell Westbrook went next level with his latest triple-double with 14 points, 21 rebounds and 24 assists in the Washington Wizards' 154-141 win over the Indiana Pacers.
In a high-scoring game, Westbrook's 24 assists was a career-high. It was also an NBA record five triple-doubles with 20-plus assists, going past Magic Johnson and Rajon Rondo with four.
The Wizards finished with 50 assists against the Pacers, which was the most by a team since 1990.
Danilo Gallinari scored 28 points off the bench as the Atlanta Hawks got past the Portland Trail Blazers 123-114 in a crucial game for playoffs spots.
Rudy Gobert scored 24 points and had 15 rebounds as the Utah Jazz returned to first place in the West with a 110-99 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
Stephen Curry scored 41 points while Draymond Green had a triple-double as the Golden State Warriors won 123-108 over the New Orleans Pelicans, boosting their play-in hopes.
The Warriors moved past the Memphis Grizzlies into eighth after they went down to the in-form New York Knicks 118-104.
Bogdan Bog-down-ovic
There was an amusing moment in the Hawks' win over the Trail Blazers, when Bogdan Bogdanovic stumbled on a fast break upon a pass from Trae Young which clonked him in the head.
Melo moves into all-time top 10
Carmelo Anthony's 14 points for the Trail Blazers saw him move into the top 10 all-time scorers in NBA history.
Monday's results
Orlando Magic 119-112 Detroit Pistons
Washington Wizards 154-141 Indiana Pacers
Golden State Warriors 123-108 New Orleans Pelicans
Atlanta Hawks 123-114 Portland Trail Blazers
New York Knicks 118-104 Memphis Grizzlies
Philadelphia 76ers 106-94 Chicago Bulls
Utah Jazz 110-99 San Antonio Spurs
Los Angeles Lakers 93-89 Denver Nuggets
Nets at Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks (40-24) and the Brooklyn Nets (43-22) meet for the second time in three days as seedings spots in the East get determined.
Damian Lillard says farewell to Trail Blazers as he joins Bucks
Damian Lillard has posted an emotional farewell to the Portland Trail Blazers after joining the Milwaukee Bucks.
The 33-year-old point guard, who has spent his entire 11-year career with the Blazers, officially requested his trade out of Portland earlier this summer.
Lillard, whose 32.2 points average last season was the third highest in the NBA, told the Blazers’ fans on X, formerly known as Twitter: “I want to start off by saying this isn’t a goodbye, it’s a see you later.
“My words have always been from the heart when it comes to you Rip City. I consider you my home as well as many of my family members and that won’t change.
“I’ve built my entire adulthood here and made so many friends that I will never forget.
“The moments on the basketball court as great as they have been don’t even compare to the experience I’ve had with all of you.
“The way you embraced me from day one gave me no choice but to reciprocate the love a thousand times and I don’t regret it one bit.”
Lillard, a seven-time All-Star and named among the NBA’s 75 greatest players of all-time in 2021, was traded to the Bucks on Wednesday as part of a three-team deal with the Phoenix Suns.
Lillard will team up with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo at the Bucks, who were quickly installed as favourites to win the NBA title next season.
Bucks confident of returning to the top after Lillard trade
Damian Lillard will be tasked with helping the Milwaukee Bucks return to the top of the NBA after his trade from the Portland Trail Blazers.
Star guard Lillard signed for the Bucks on Wednesday in a three-way trade – which also included the Phoenix Suns – that saw Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton and Toumani Camara on the move too.
Lillard leaves Portland after 11 years with the Trail Blazers. He is a seven-time All-Star and enjoyed a career-best season in 2022-23, averaging 32.2 points and 7.3 assists, though he did sit out the final month of the season due to injury.
Now, the Bucks – the 2021 NBA Champions – will be hoping that Lillard can combine with two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to push them towards another title, following a disappointing first-round exit at the hands of the Miami Heat in last season's playoffs.
Fast Fact
Despite missing the last 10 games of the season, Lillard (1,866) was Portland's highest points scorer last term by over 500, with Anfernee Simons next best for the Trail Blazers with 1,306.
Lillard a difference-maker
"His character, competitiveness, talent and experience complement our group and gives us the best chance to win at the very highest level as we create new memories together," Bucks general manager Jon Horst said of Lillard.
So, does Lillard have what it takes to make the difference for the Bucks?
Lillard leaves Portland as a franchise great. He ranks first in team history in points and three-pointers and second in assists. Including the playoffs, he had 17 games with 50+ points for the Blazers. All other players in franchise history have only combined for seven 50-point games. He is a big-game player, and he should help ease the burden on Antetokounmpo.
Milwaukee Bucks trade for All-Star Damian Lillard
Damian Lillard finally has a new team, though it's not the one the NBA world had been expecting.
The Portland Trail Blazers have agreed to send their franchise icon to the Milwaukee Bucks in a blockbuster three-team trade that also involves fellow star players Jrue Holiday and Deandre Ayton, ESPN reported Wednesday.
Portland will receive Holiday from the Bucks and Ayton and rookie Toumani Camara from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Lillard, a seven-time All-Star who requested a trade this summer with the Trail Blazers in a rebuild.
The Blazers will also get Milwaukee's unprotected 2029 first-round pick as well as the right to swap first-round selections with the Bucks in 2028 and 2030.
Phoenix will receive veteran center Jusuf Nurkic and forwards Nassir Little and Keon Johnson from Portland, as well as guard Grayson Allen from Milwaukee.
Lillard had expressed a preference to be dealt to the Miami Heat, but the Blazers were unable to work out a trade to his desired destination that would satisfy their requirements for multiple draft picks and young players to add to their young core of rookie point guard Scoot Henderson and second-year wing Shaedon Sharpe.
The 33-year-old will instead be joining the team that finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference last season, but was dealt a stunning loss by the eighth-seeded Heat in the first round of the playoffs.
Lillard joins two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, three-time All-Star Khris Middleton and first team All-Defensive Team centre Brook Lopez as the nucleus of a Bucks squad that will be considered one of the favourites in the East after finishing 58-24 last season.
The trade, which is still awaiting league approval, also ends the 11-year tenure for arguably the most popular player in Trail Blazers' history. Lillard leaves Portland as the franchise's all-time leader in points (19,376) and three-point field goals (2,387), while his 5,151 assists rank second in team history.
Lillard is also coming off a season in which he averaged a career-high 32.2 points per game and matched a personal best by shooting 46.3 per cent from the field, though a calf injury limited him to 58 games and he did not play after March 22.
The Blazers' season didn't go nearly as well, as they finished 13th in the Western Conference with a 33-49 record. Lillard's displeasure over the team's poor finish, plus its decision to keep its first-round draft picks instead of moving them for a win-now player, prompted him to formally issue a trade request in July.
Holiday, who earned a second career All-Star nod in 2022-23, could be on the move again soon, as ESPN reports Portland is expected to field trade offers for the 33-year-old point guard after taking Henderson with the No. 3 overall pick in this year's draft.
The 25-year-old Ayton figures to remain part of the Blazers' long-range plans with three seasons left on a four-year, $133 million extension he signed in 2022. The No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 draft averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds per game last season and has averaged a double-double in each of his five NBA seasons.
Phoenix gets a ready-made replacement for Ayton in Nurkic in addition to building needed depth to its star-laden core of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and offseason pickup Bradley Beal.
Nurkic averaged 13.3 points and 9.1 rebounds while starting 52 games for Portland last season.
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