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NBA: James triple-double fuels Cavs over Lakers
LOS ANGELES, Dec 15, 2017 (BSS/AFP) – Cleveland star LeBron James tied
Larry Bird for sixth all time in NBA triple-doubles Thursday as the Cavaliers
beat the Los Angeles Lakers 121-112.
“King” James scored 25 points with 12 rebounds and 12 assists for the 59th
triple-double of his 15-season career.
Cleveland’s Kevin Love led all scorers with 28 points, while Jose Calderon
added a season high 17.
Lonzo Ball, the Lakers rookie playing against James for the first time,
finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Brandon Ingram scored 26 points to lead the young, energetic Lakers, who
seized an early lead before the Cavaliers found their range.
Cleveland scored 100 points for the 22nd consecutive game, winning for the
16th time in 17 contests.
James helped put the game away, his dunk with 2:20 remaining and short shot
with 1:38 to play putting the Cavs up 117-108.
“Tonight the difficult challenge was the way they were kind of spreading
the floor, running up and down,” James said. “But if we defend, if we share
the ball, move the ball, we’re going to give ourselves a good chance to win
every night.”
In other early games, the New York Knicks lost star forward Kristaps
Porzingis with a left knee injury in the third quarter but held on for a 111-
104 victory over the Nets in Brooklyn.
Although they were just across town from their Madison Square Garden Arena,
for the Knicks it was a much needed road win — just their second of the
season.
Courtney Lee scored a season high 27 points for the Knicks. Michael
Beasley, who replaced Porzingis, added 15 points and Turkish center Enes
Kanter added 13 points with nine rebounds.
The Detroit Pistons, called out by coach Stan Van Gundy after dropping
their seventh straight game on Tuesday, snapped their skid with an emphatic
105-91 victory over Hawks in Atlanta.
Andre Drummond scored 12 points, pulled down 19 rebounds and handed out
nine assists for the Pistons.
“It’s a little less burdensome now,” Van Gundy said of ending the losing
streak that had stretched over the first two weeks of December. “Maybe we
just get back to playing basketball.”
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1056 hrs.