CALIFORNIA – Los Angeles Lakers ended their dry spell in the 2022-2023 NBA Season with a 121-110 beating of the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night (Monday in the Philippines) at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
LeBron James tallied 26 points to go with eight assists and six rebounds, while Anthony Davis added double-double 23 points and 15 rebounds as the Lakers scored its first win in six matches.
Russell Westbrook had 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, while Lonnie Walker IV and Austin Reaves added 18 and 10, respectively, for the Lakers.
Down 80-85 late in the third period, the Lakers unloaded a 13-0 scoring blast behind triples by Matt Ryan and Walker and inside shots from Savjs and Reaves to snatch the lead at 93-85.
The Lakers went on to widen the lead to 111-99 but the Nuggets made its last push at 106-113 before James, Davis and Westbrook came up with crucial baskets to seal the victory for LAL.
Nikola Jokić flirted with triple-double with 23 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, while Jamal Murray chipped in 21 markers as the Nuggets slumped to 4-3 win-loss record.
Meanwhile, Detroit Pistons snapped its losing skid with a 128-114 stunner over defending champions Golden State Warriors at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
Saddiq Bey led the way with 28 points, while Isaiah Stewart posted career-high 24 points to go with 13 rebounds as the Pistons snapped its five-game losing skid to improve to 2-5 record.
Cade Cunningham fell short of a triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, while Bogdan Bogdanovic and rookie Jaden Ivey had 21 and 15, respectively, for the Pistons.
Stephen Curry top-scored with 32 points, Jordan Poole added 30 markers, while Andrew Wiggins has 10 points as the Warriors suffered its second straight stunning defeat for a 3-4 slate.
BOX SCORE:
LOS ANGELES 121 — James 26, Davis 23, Walker 18, Westbrook 18, Reaves 10, Brown 8, Ryan 6, Beverley 5, Gabriel 4, Nunn 3, Jones 0.
DENVER 110 — Jokić 23, Murray 21, Gordon 18, Porter 17, Brown 10, Caldwell-Pope 9, Green 5, Jordan 5, Smith 2, Reed 0, Braun 0.
Quarterscores: 26-31, 55-51, 93-85, 121-110./PN
