(Reuters) – LeBron James scored 26 points, Anthony Davis added 23, with 15 rebounds, and the hosts Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Denver Nuggets 121-110 Sunday night for their first win in six games this season.
Lonnie Walker IV scored 18 points, as did reserve player Russell Westbrook, who also had eight rebounds and eight assists for Los Angeles.
Nikola Jokic had 23 points and 14 rebounds to speed Denver. Jamal Murray scored 21 points, Aaron Gordon 18, Michael Porter Jr. 17 and Bruce Brown 10 from the bench.
The Nuggets played without Bones Hyland, who was injured while warming up.
Piston 128, Warrior 114
Saddiq Bey netted 28 points, Isaiah Stewart delivered a career-high 24 points and 13 rebounds, and Detroit broke a five-game losing streak by beating visiting Golden State.
Cade Cunningham contributed 23 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for Detroit while Bojan Bogdanovic had 21 points. Bogdanovic agreed to a two-year contract extension ahead of the competition. Rookie Jaden Ivey added 15 points in the Pistons’ first win since opening night.
Stephen Curry led Golden State with 32 points and Jordan Poole had 30 points. The Warriors rested starting guard Klay Thompson in the second game of a back-to-back.
Pelicans 112, clippers 91
CJ McCollum scored 22 points and Zion Williamson added 21 points and 12 rebounds as the New Orleans guest beat Los Angeles.
Williamson, who was absent from two games with a hip contusion, fell three assists short of his first triple-double of his career.
Naji Marshall had 17 points, Trey Murphy III and Larry Nance Jr. had 15 each and Jonas Valanciunas added 11 as the Pelicans won despite the absence of two starters – Brandon Ingram (concussion) and Herbert Jones (knee), both of whom had theirs missed third game in a row.
Celtics 112, Wizards 94
Jaylen Brown scored 24 points and Jayson Tatum and Malcolm Brogdon added 23 each to lead hosts Boston ahead of Washington.
Brown also hit 10 rebounds, Tatum hit five 3-pointers, and Brogdon finished the season with a scoring high for the Celtics, who suffered a slip in two games. Boston led by as much as 25 in the fourth quarter.
Kristaps Porzingis was a rebound from a first-half double-double and finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds to speed up the Wizards, who have lost back-to-back games.
Cavaliers 121, Knicks 108
Donovan Mitchell continued his stellar start with his new team, averaging 38 points and 12 assists as host Cleveland heated up on the stretch and rallied to beat New York.
Mitchell, who was reportedly traded to the Knicks before Cleveland brought him from Utah on Sept. 1, finished his fifth game with at least 30 points to help the Cavaliers to their fifth straight win. Kevin Love added 29 for a career-high eight 3-pointers.Jalen Brunson and Evan Fournier led the Knicks with 16 each. RJ Barrett and Julius Randle each added 15 and Isaiah Hartenstein finished on 12 as the Knicks missed 13 of 20 shots in the fourth and lost their second straight.
Misfit 114, Magic 105
Luka Doncic scored 30 of his 44 points in the first half and led hosts Dallas to a win over Orlando.
Doncic recorded his sixth consecutive appearance with at least 30 points after making 17 of 26 shots from the ground. The Mavericks have alternated losses and wins in their first six games of the season.
Orlando rookie Paolo Banchero finished with 18 points, the first time he’s been under 20 this season. Bol Bol amassed 16 points and 11 rebounds while reserve RJ Hampton and Wendell Carter Jr. each had 15 points.
Spurs 107, Timberwolves 98
Keldon Johnson scored 25 points and Doug McDermott added 23 from the bench as the shorthanded San Antonio beat the visiting Minnesota in the third game between the teams in seven days.
Spurs went up 15 points in the fourth quarter before Minnesota came on three early in the period. But San Antonio extended their lead to 10 after a 3-pointer from McDermott at 5:03, and Johnson closed the game with a three-pointer and two free throws in the last minute.
Keita Bates-Diop scored 18 points for San Antonio while Tre Jones scored for 10 and Jakob Poeltl had a game-high 14 rebounds. Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Anthony Edwards scored all 18 of his points in the second half.
Suns 124, Rockets 109
Devin Booker scored a game-high 30 points on his 26th birthday to help Phoenix stave off the Houston visit.
Booker shot 14 of 24 overall, though he missed 6 of 7 from 3-point range to accelerate seven suns into double digits. Phoenix led by as much as 12 points in the first half, but kept having to fend off spurts from the Rockets before finally taking a double-digit lead in the final three minutes.
Chris Paul finished with 10 points and 15 assists, and Cameron Johnson added 19 points on 5-of-11-3-point shooting for the Suns, who scored 53.6 percent. Kevin Porter Jr. led the Rockets with 26 points and added eight rebounds and six assists, while Alperen Sengun had 16 points with nine boards.
