Category: Basketball

Kevin Durant moved past the great Wilt Chamberlain on the NBA all-time scoring list but his 30 points could not guide the Houston Rockets to a win against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Durant, 37, has 31,435 points in his career and is now seventh on the all-time list. LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers leads the way with 42,601.

The Trail Blazers triumphed 111-105 at Moda Center in Portland.

Chamberlain, who died in 1999, is the only player to score 100 points in an NBA game and was a two-time champion with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Lakers.

In 1962 he averaged a record 50.4 points a game, and was the leading NBA scorer when he retired in 1973.

"You see the numbers. You just can't comprehend somebody putting up 50 a game with 25 rebounds," Durant said before Friday's game.

"You want to compete with that and try to match that as much as you can.

"It's amazing just being in the top 10 with him, but to have the opportunity to pass him up, it's pretty sweet."

Giannis Antetokounmpo blocked a shot by James and stole the ball from him on consecutive possessions in the final minute as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Lakers 105-101 in LA to claim a fifth win in seven games.

Stephen Curry finished with 27 points and a season-high 10 assists as the Golden State Warriors triumphed 137-103 at home against the Sacramento Kings.

The Oklahoma City Thunder overcame a 21-point deficit in the second half to win 117-116 at the Memphis Grizzlies.

Top 10 NBA points scorers

1. LeBron James* - 42,601
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 38,387
3. Karl Malone - 36,928
4. Kobe Bryant - 33,643
5. Michael Jordan - 32,292
6. Dirk Nowitzki - 31,560
7. Kevin Durant* - 31,435
8. Wilt Chamberlain - 31,419
9. Shaquille O'Neal - 28,596
10. James Harden* - 28, 563

*Current player

The Lakers have two of the best clutch players in the NBA in LeBron James and Luka Doncic. They have been the best clutch team in the NBA this season because of them and because they have led the way for the Lakers. They have won an NBA-best 13 games in the clutch this season.

But when the game hung in the balance Friday night, when the Lakers needed James and Doncic to be clutch, neither was able to deliver, their inability to do so a direct result in L.A. dropping a 105-101 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at Crypto.com Arena.

For as much as James did in keeping the Lakers in the game by scoring 13 of his 26 points in the final quarter and by nearly collecting a triple-double with 10 assists and nine rebounds, it was his last-second turnover that doomed them.

For as much as Doncic did in producing a near triple-double with 24 points, nine assists and nine rebounds, his poor shooting and foul trouble was not helpful in the end.

“I’d love to go undefeated in clutch games for a season, but you know, you can’t get too high, can’t get too low on stats like that,” James said. “You just play the game. And they made some plays. Big three by [Myles] Turner by our bench; obviously the free throws down the stretch by KP [Kevin Porter Jr.]. So, we had our chances.”

The score was tied at 101-101 after Jake LaRavia (13 points) drilled a three-pointer off a pass from Doncic.

The Lakers never scored again. James missed a driving layup for the lead that was blocked by Giannis Antetokounmpo. Then Doncic fouled Porter on a three-pointer with 16.2 seconds left. It was Doncic’s sixth foul.

“I think we missed a couple of good shots down the stretch. Then I fouled (out). I had six fouls. First time in a long time,” Doncic said. “So, that’s on me. I can’t foul at that point.”

Porter made two of the three free throws for a 103-101 Bucks lead.

Doncic was asked about the foul.

“Yeah, I don’t think he shoots like that,” Doncic said of Porter's three-pointer. “The referee said it was a foul. So, I guess it’s a foul.”

Still, the Lakers were down only two points and they still had James on the court.

Read more:Luka Doncic has a triple-double, but LeBron-less Lakers lose to Spurs

But on his drive to the basket, James lost control of the ball for a turnover with 1.5 seconds left.

“For me? … I turned the ball over. You definitely can’t do that at that point and time,” James said. “So, Giannis, he made a great play by getting his arm and tipping it from behind, but can’t turn the ball over — obviously.”

Doncic lamented his shooting during the game.

He made his first two three-pointers to start the game, but it was all downhill from there. He was eight-for-25 shooting the field and had a rating of minus-14.

“Obviously my shot didn’t go well today,” Doncic said. “You know, could get better shots. So, wish I could have executed better than that.”

The Lakers played their fourth game this week, at times looking sluggish because of the workload.

It was the kind of night that saw Doncic pick up his fifth foul with 2.1 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Lakers trailed by as much as 12 in the second quarter, looking a bit slow.

So much — if not all — of the Lakers’ game plan was on trying to deal with the nearly unstoppable force that is Antetokounmpo.

And much of that job went to Lakers center Deandre Ayton, whom the LA felt was best equipped to handle the assignment because of his size (7-foot), length and strength.

But it also was going to take the Lakers as a group to slow down Antetokounmpo, who finished with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Jarred Vanderbilt gave the Lakers a big effort with nine points and nine rebounds off the bench, and his usual tough defense.

Hachimura update

Lakers forward Rui Hachimura missed his sixth consecutive game because of right calf soreness. Hachimura has been working out and there is some hope that he can play Monday night in Sacramento.

“He's made a lot of progress just in terms of regaining strength and mobility in his calf and had a good workout today,” coach JJ Redick said. “There's a lot of optimism that he'll be available Monday, but we'll see how the next few days go.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Knicks went down to the wire with the Phoenix Suns on Friday night but lost, 112-107.

Here are the takeaways...

-- Back in the starting lineup for the second straight game, Miles McBride got things started for New York with a three-pointer to kick things off and then got the assist on Jalen Brunson's first bucket of the night, another three-ball that gave the Knicks a 6-2 lead. Dillon Brooks responded right away with one from way downtown, though, which started a 10-0 run by the Suns that gave them a six-point edge. Brooks hit two more threes in the quarter and led all scorers with 11 points after 12 minutes.

-- Besides McBride and Brunson, New York didn't get much help offensively with OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Mitchell Robinson only combining for six points in the first quarter as the Knicks were outscored 28-23 entering the second.

-- The offense opened up for New York in the second quarter with help from the bench, especially Jordan Clarkson, who scored seven straight points early in the quarter to tie the game at 32. He had 12 in the quarter. Karl-Anthony Towns scored his first points of the game with a triple midway through the second quarter that gave the Knicks their first lead since early in the first. 

-- After that, both teams traded baskets with neither team able to get out to more than a three-point lead. In fact, during the first half, there were nine ties and 11 lead changes, with most of that coming during the final six minutes of the second quarter. At the break, the Suns were up 62-60.

-- Following a quiet half, Towns took it up a notch out of the break. After making one of two free throws out of the gates, KAT drained a deep three to counter a similarly long three-pointer from Royce O'Neal, although Brooks got the crowd back into it with his fourth three of the game. 

-- Nevertheless, it was the Brunson and Towns show for the Knicks in the third quarter, with both players combining for 20 points in the first six minutes and keeping New York in the game. During that stretch, no other Knick got on the board and with nobody helping Brunson and Towns, Phoenix would go on a 14-0 run to take their biggest lead of the night and keeping New York scoreless for five minutes. 

-- McBride finally broke the spell with just under a minute to play in the quarter by hitting a three and KAT ended the quarter by completing a three-point play to get the Knicks to within eight with one quarter remaining.

-- In the fourth, Anunoby's three with 7:47 left got his team to within four points, but Devin Booker's three-point play cancelled that out. A minute later, Anunoby hit another three. 

-- The final frame was a defensive slog with every basket difficult to come by. Still, New York was able to overcome that 14-0 run earlier in the game by chipping away and tied the game at 101 after Anunoby's two made free throws with 3:04 left. That would be the closest the Knicks would come, though, from pulling out a win as the Suns ended the game on an 11-6 run and went 6-for-6 on free throws in the final minutes.

-- With a chance to cut his team's deficit to one after getting fouled on a three-pointer with 2.2 seconds left, Anunoby instead missed two of three from the line to keep New York down three. Brooks ended his fantastic night by hitting both free throws at the end to seal the game. He finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

-- Noticeably absent in crunch time was Brunson, who made just one basket in the fourth quarter, which came with nine minutes left. He also had a crucial turnover late in the game -- one of four on the night for the point guard. The Knicks as a team had 17 turnovers compared to eight by Phoenix. Brunson finished with 27 points on 9-for-19 shooting (5-for-10 from deep).

Game MVP: Dillon Brooks

Although Booker led all scorers with 31 points, Brooks had his hand in everything from beginning to end and gave the Knicks fits all night.

Highlights

Deuce 👌 pic.twitter.com/7x8GrFcJQb

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) January 10, 2026

OG drives in for the jam pic.twitter.com/n6vhFK2GOV

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) January 10, 2026

Mitch throws down the reverse oop! pic.twitter.com/tCs75iP1WJ

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) January 10, 2026

Jalen 👌 pic.twitter.com/9ROWvDeNSd

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) January 10, 2026

What's next

The Knicks' West Coast road trip continues with a battle against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday at 6 p.m.

NEW YORK (AP) — James Harden scored 31 points, Kawhi Leonard had 26 and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Brooklyn Nets 121-105 on Friday night.

Reserve guard Jordan Miller made his first six shots and added 21 points. John Collins had 16 for the Clippers, who bounced back from their loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday to win for the eighth time in 10 games. Leonard, questionable earlier in the day with a sprained right ankle, started slowly but had 19 points in the second half.

Rookie guard Egor Demin scored 19 points for the Nets, who lost on a buzzer-beater in overtime against Orlando on Wednesday. But it was quickly clear this one would never be close.

Michael Porter Jr. struggled to 18 points, missing all nine 3-point attempts.

The Clippers scored the first eight points, and after Nic Claxton made two free throws, Harden scored the next six in an 8-0 run that made it 16-2. Demin made a 3-pointer to snap Brooklyn’s 0-for-8 start, but then Leonard and Harden scored to make the Clippers 8 for 9 and give them a 21-5 lead.

The Clippers opened the second quarter with a 10-0 run to make it 45-25 on former Nets center Brook Lopez’s three-point play. Los Angeles led by 22 before taking a 63-47 halftime lead.

The Nets, playing four of their five first-round draft picks, often had at least one rookie on the floor and it appeared Harden was looking to punish any of them who had to guard him. The three-time NBA scoring champion shot 10 for 13, and when the Nets started sending a second defender at him, he found the open man and finished with six assists.

Brooklyn outscored Los Angeles 11-4 to start the third quarter and get back within single digits, but Leonard made a 3-pointer and the lead remained in double digits the rest of the way.

Up next

Clippers: Visit the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.

Nets: Visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.

Warriors' offense finally functioning as designed, with 11-game span as proof originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – After searching for more than two months, the Warriors are showing significant progress toward curing their most remedy-resistant ailment.

Golden State’s offense, a source of great concern the first two months of the season, is now exhibiting a strong heartbeat, the brain scans are clear and it’s starting to function as designed. And it’s not a two- or three-game thing. It’s an 11-game span.

The latest example came Friday night in a 137-103 throttling of Sacramento. The Kings are in last place in the NBA Western Conference, yes, but the quality of the opponent doesn’t – and shouldn’t – matter to the Warriors, who at three games above .500 (21-18) still are trying to escape mediocrity.

What matters is that the Warriors have won eight of their last 11 games and are starting to look like the team as projected coming out of training camp. Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton, who signed the week camp opened, have overcome injuries to become healthy and productive.

“We’re in a good groove with our rotation, and helps to have the same lineups out there,” coach Steve Kerr said. “To have Melt and Al both healthy and playing well, it feels like the version of the team that we expected when we signed those guys over the summer. The depth [is great] and we’re just getting into a good groove.”

What matters is that the offense is, for the most part, weaning itself off its worst habit. The Warriors are being smarter with the ball and more intentional in their actions, resulting in them breaking down defenses and lighting up scoreboards.

“Every team has a belief in themselves until you get smacked in the face; we have been smacked in the face a couple of times this year,” Stephen Curry said. “But we bounced back.”

The Warriors recorded 35 assists and committed nine turnovers before Kerr summoned his bench to close the final four minutes against Sacramento. They finished with a season-high 39 dimes, which makes it easier to digest their 11 turnovers.

“I don’t mention the word,” Kerr said, referring to his pet peeve. “I just say ‘hitting singles,’ ‘be solid.’ Solid wins the game. And I’m not bringing it up anymore.”

The Warriors were, sitting at 13-15 on Dec. 18, their own worst enemy. They were on a bullet train to the outer edge of the NBA play-in tournament.

Now? They have trended from punishing themselves with turnovers to depriving opponents of lazy passes that served as charity.

“You have to walk that fine line like we always say,” Curry said. “I know [Kerr] says that he’s not talking about [turnovers] anymore. But we are very mindful of that being a key to us winning games. Because we do utilize each other more than most teams do, screening, passing, moving bodies, moving the ball. And then if you turn it over, there’s no defense for that.”

There was the one game, Dec. 28 at Toronto, when the Warriors smacked themselves with a reminder of the cost of turnovers. They fumbled away a victory by giving the Raptors 35 points off turnovers. That now feels like a relative outlier, and ball security is win preserver.

The Warriors over the 11 games since Dec. 18 are averaging 120 points, fourth in the NBA during that span. In the 28 previous games, they averaged 113.8 per game (23rd). Their offensive rating through the first 28 games was 112.8, 22nd in the NBA. In the 11 games since, their 119.3 rating ranks third.

Most stunningly, Golden State fumbled along with a 1.71 assist-to-turnover ratio (19th in the league) over its first 28 games but has bumped it up to 2.09 (eighth) over its last 11.

The difference between the Warriors of the first 28 and the last 11 is nearly as striking as the difference between the Warriors before and after Jimmy Butler III last season.

“A lot of that has to do with Melton, Al, Gui [Santos] coming in, making huge contributions, Will [Richard] finding his way into the rotation,” Curry said. “So, guys who weren’t as available, or not at all, early in the year, are coming in. And then, getting us organized with rotations and lineups.

“Our defense has been pretty solid all year, but the offense has come and gone. So those two guys in particular [Melton and Horford], the vets are helping tremendously, connecting certain lineups. And then we’re playing focused basketball.

“So, we just got to keep it going.”

That’s the hard part. And the only way for Golden State to continue its recent pattern of winning far more often than losing.

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Kings no longer satisfied by ‘close' games after squandering chance vs. Warriors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Close but no cigar is no longer satisfactory for Kings coach Doug Christie.

After watching Sacramento put up a good fight Friday before being tripped up by a third-quarter scoring drought and ultimately coming up short to a quicker, more talented Warriors team, Christie made it clear his frustrations have reached their limit and there is no bittersweet feel to any of it.

“It’s been a theme [of] good enough to win but also good enough to hang in and get beat,” Christie said after the Kings’ suffered a seventh consecutive loss, a 137-103 beatdown at Chase Center. “For me, that’s all bitter. There’s nothing sweet about it, man. There’s absolutely zero sweetness to that. We’re not playing the game to hang in there. We’re not playing the game to play for 45 minutes. We’re playing the game to play for 48 minutes. 

“The mental toughness that it takes in that moment, we have to find that and it’s in there. You just have to go through it and find it.”

Part of the issue, according to Christie, is that the Kings aren’t doing a good enough job of separating their struggles on one end of the court from the other. Mistakes made on offense tend to bleed over to defense, and vice versa.

“That’s the mental toughness because one thing should not affect another. I get it in life, but in sports you got to be tough enough to say, ‘You know what, that’s OK. Hey everybody, let’s get together. Let’s lock down. We just need one stop.’ And then go down, get organized and get a bucket, take a deep breath and go at it again.”

To be fair, the Kings were outplayed by the Warriors at just about every turn, yet were in position late in the third quarter to swing momentum in their favor.

Instead it was Golden State that grabbed the reins and started to pull away, going on a 15-0 run over about four minutes to change the game from close to blowout status.

“The first half we felt really good,” Kings guard Zach LaVine said. “It was a two-minute, three-minute stretch in the third quarter … and we didn’t get anything going. That was the ballgame. We didn’t recover.”

Like his coach, LaVine isn’t content with what the Kings are putting out.

“You don’t get points for keeping things close in this league,” LaVine said. “You’re supposed to keep it competitive and when you get it down the stretch you figure out how to win. 

“We haven’t done anything but the opposite of that. We keep it close and we end up feeling the same way in the fourth quarter and coming back into the locker room.”

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