Lakers forward LeBron James drives to the basket past Warriors guard Damion Lee on Saturday night in San Francisco, California. John Hefti/Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Klay Thompson scored 16 of his season-high 33 points in the fourth quarter, Stephen Curry made a clutch layup with 46 seconds remaining, and the Golden State Warriors held off the Los Angeles Lakers 117-115 on Saturday night, spoiling another scoring milestone by LeBron James.
Curry finished with 24 points and eight assists, while Andrew Wiggins scored 19 points to help the Warriors end a two-game losing streak. Golden State has not lost three in a row all season.
James had 26 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, but missed the first free throw after Curry fouled him attempting a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left. He made the second and missed the third intentionally but couldn’t chase down the rebound in time to get a shot off.
Earlier in the night, James extended his streak of 25 points or more to 22 games and passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most points scored in the NBA combining the regular season and postseason with 44,157. James tied Abdul-Jabbar’s mark of 44,149 in the first half, then surpassed it with a 3-pointer early in the third quarter.
Abdul-Jabbar still owns the career record for regular-season games with 38,387 points, considered the more prestigious of the two scoring milestones. James, with 36,526, is closing in on that one, too.
Thompson, who returned this season after missing 941 days with a pair of serious leg injuries, shot 12 of 22 and made four 3s, three in the fourth quarter. It’s Thompson’s most points since putting up 43 against the Knicks on Jan. 8, 2019.
The Warriors needed it on a night when Curry struggled from the perimeter. The NBA’s 3-point king was 1 of 8 beyond the arc but made up for it by going 9 for 9 on free throws.
TRAIL BLAZERS 112, KNICKS 103: Anfernee Simons had 30 points and eight assists, and Portland erased a 23-point, third-quarter deficit to beat New York in Portland, Oregon.
Newly acquired guard Josh Hart, one of several players new to Portland’s roster after a flurry of trades before the deadline, added 23 points in his Blazers debut.
Portland closed the gap to 98-92 in the final period when Simons and Ben McLemore hit back-to-back 3-pointers. Jusuf Nurkic’s dunk finally put Portland in front 99-98 with 4:23 left, capping a 20-4 run.
Portland outscored New York 35-11 in the fourth quarter.
The teams traded 3-pointers from Alec Burks and Simons before Hart’s layup gave Portland a 106-101 lead with just under 2 minutes to play and New York couldn’t catch up.
Julius Randle led the Knicks with 28 points and 16 rebounds, while Kemba Walker added 23 points.
76ERS 103, CAVALIERS 93: Joel Embiid had a triple-double of 40 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists along with a highlight-reel jam, and Philadelphia won at home.
The Sixers are awaiting the debut of James Harden, who was acquired before the trade deadline.
Tyrese Maxey added 16 points for Philadelphia, which has won both games since Thursday’s blockbuster trade that sent disgruntled Ben Simmons to Brooklyn for Harden.
Harden arrived in Philadelphia on Saturday, and 76ers General Manager Daryl Morey posted a video on social media of his airport embrace with the three-time NBA scoring champion. Harden was evaluated by the team’s medical staff on Saturday, but not present at the arena for the game. Fans cheered loudly when a video showing Harden highlights, which ended with him in a photoshopped 76ers jersey, was posted on the video screen for the second straight night.
CLIPPERS 99, MAVERICKS 97: Reggie Jackson scored 24 points and Los Angeles held off Dallas Mavericks in the final minute for a victory in Dallas to earn another split in another two-game set between the teams.
Luka Doncic had 23 of his 45 points in the fourth quarter two nights after scoring 28 of his career-high 51 points in the first of Dallas’ 112-105 win. Doncic had 15 rebounds and eight assists.
The LA victory in the rematch meant splits in all three two-game home sets over two seasons for teams that have met in the first round of the playoffs the past two years. The Clippers won both of those series.
Terance Mann had 21 points and nine rebounds, and Marcus Morris Sr. scored 20 as the Clippers ended a three-game losing streak.
NUGGETS 110, RAPTORS 109: Rookie guard Bones Hyland made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2:16 to play and Denver beat won in Toronto, ending the Raptors’ winning streak at eight.
Nikola Jokic had 28 points and 15 rebounds, Jeff Green scored 19 points and Aaron Gordon had 13 as the Nuggets won for the third time time in four games.
Hyland scored 11 points and Will Barton had 10.
Pascal Siakam scored a season-high 35 points and had 10 rebounds, but the Raptors lost for the first time since Jan. 26 at Chicago. Fred VanVleet scored 25 points, Scottie Barnes had 17 and Gary Trent Jr. 11
Barnes scored to knot it at 103-all with 2:33 left, but the Nuggets scored seven of the next 10 points, leading 110-106 after Barton’s basket with 28 seconds left.
HEAT 115, NETS 111: Bam Adebayo had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and Miami held off a furious rally from Kyrie Irving and Brooklyn for a win in Miami.
Irving scored 20 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter to help the Nets rally from a 21-point, third-quarter deficit before dropping their 11th straight game.
Cam Thomas’ 3-pointer with 37 seconds left cut Miami’s lead to 110-109. Down 113-111, the Nets had possession and an opportunity to tie or take the lead. But Kyle Lowry stole Thomas’ pass, dribbled downcourt and found P.J. Tucker, who got fouled and converted his shots to secure Miami’s fifth consecutive win.
Duncan Robinson finished with 17 points and hit 6-of-10 3-pointers, Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro each scored 13 and Lowry had 13 points and six assists for the Eastern Conference-leading Heat.
BULLS 106, THUNDER 101: DeMar DeRozan scored 38 points, Nikola Vucevic added 31 points and 15 rebounds, and Chicago overcame a sluggish start to beat Oklahoma City in Chicago.
Tied with Cleveland for second place in the Eastern Conference coming in, the Bulls turned things around after falling behind by 14 points in the second quarter. They made enough baskets down the stretch to come away with their third straight win.
DeRozan set a career high with his sixth straight 30-point game. The All-Star scored nine over the final five minutes.
Vucevic made 14 of 25 shots, though he also committed six turnovers. Coby White scored 16 and made four 3-pointers, helping the Bulls pull out the win, even though Zach LaVine missed the game because of a sore left knee. The All-Star struggled in Friday’s win over Minnesota, and his status for the two remaining games before the All-Star break is in question.
KINGS 123, WIZARDS 110: De’Aaron Fox scored 26 points, Domantas Sabonis added 16 points and 11 rebounds in his second game with Sacramento, and the new-look Kings won in Washington.
Harrison Barnes added 21 points for the Kings, who acquired six players this week before Thursday’s trade deadline. In their first game with all six available, Sacramento shot a season-best 56.6% (43 of 76) from the floor.
Maurice Harkless added 17 points and Justin Holiday had 12 in his second game since joining Sabonis in a trade that sent both from Indiana to Sacramento.
The Kings won their second straight and fourth out of six.
SPURS 124, PELICANS 114: Dejounte Murray had 31 points and 12 rebounds, and San Antonio won in New Orleans to give it consecutive double-digit, wire-to-wire victories on the road.
Murray controlled the game with a combination of accurate perimeter shooting on pull-ups and fade aways, explosive drives and forceful finishing around the basket.
Lonnie Walker scored 17 points, Keldon Johnson added 16 and Doug McDermott had 15 for the Spurs (22-35), who have remained within touching distance of the final Western Conference play-in spot.
GRIZZLIES 125, HORNETS 118: Ja Morant scored 26 points, Desmond Bane added 25 and Memphis held off won in Charlotte, North Carolina for its fifth straight win.
Jaren Jackson Jr. had 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Steven Adams added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Grizzlies (40-18), who have won eight of their last nine games while scoring at least 120 points in their last five.
Terry Rozier had 35 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets, who trailed by 35 before cutting the lead to four late in the fourth quarter. LaMelo Ball finished with 25 points and newly acquired Montrezl Harrell had 20 for the slumping Hornets, which has lost seven of their last eight games.
NOTES
NETS: Kevin Durant has taken a significant first step in hopes of rejoining the Brooklyn Nets after hurting his left knee three weeks ago.
The former league MVP, who sprained his left MCL in a game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Jan. 15, recently began light court workouts. Durant also traveled with the club to its game against the Miami Heat on Saturday night.
“It’s getting better every day,” Durant said Saturday. “It’s a process to get back on the court and I’m going through that every day. I feel better as each week passes. It’s slow but I’m looking forward to ramping things up.”
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