Worldwide Sports News

He didn’t miss it this time.

Luka Doncic recorded his first 50-point game of the season Thursday, hitting two late free throws as the crowd at Crypto.com Arena showered him with “MVP” chants in the fourth quarter. Doncic checked out with 1:41 remaining to a standing ovation with 51 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Lakers to a 142-130 win over the Chicago Bulls.

The Lakers (41-25) jumped into third place in the Western Conference with their seventh win in their last eight games, climbing from sixth in just one week behind Doncic’s brilliance. The NBA’s leading scorer has averaged 40.2 points in the last four games, all wins. Doncic had a chance at 50 points in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in October, but missed a late free throw that forced him to settle for 49 points.

Read more:Lakers' Luka Doncic in a custody dispute for his two daughters with his former fiancée in Slovenia

LeBron James returned after missing three games because of elbow and hip contusions he sustained against the Denver Nuggets on March 5. He finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Austin Reaves had 30 points and seven assists, surpassing 5,000 points for his career. Center Deandre Ayton held down a short-handed big man rotation with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

The Lakers were without starting guard Marcus Smart (right hip contusion) and backup centers Jaxson Hayes (back soreness) and Maxi Kleber (lumbar back strain). Smart has been playing through the injury for several games, but with a six-game road trip starting next week, “we need it to calm down,” coach JJ Redick said. The coach expected Smart to be available Saturday when the Lakers play the Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena.

The Lakers gave up a 12-3 run to end the first quarter and led the struggling Bulls (27-39) by only five at halftime. James helped give them the breathing room going into the locker room as he scored his first points of the game with 54 seconds left in the first half. His three-point play sparked a quick five-point run to end the half, which ended with a dunk from Rui Hachimura.

James came alive in the third quarter, beginning with his dunk off a hit-ahead pass from Doncic. He returned the favor by diving out of bounds for a steal on the next possession and the save led to a three-pointer from Doncic.

Doncic made nine of 14 three-point attempts as the Lakers made 17 of 36 shots from beyond the arc, their best three-point percentage in a game since Feb. 20.

After not taking a single shot in the first quarter, James had 11 points, three rebounds and two assists in the third quarter as the Lakers’ lead grew to 22 points.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Lakers push their win streak to four with a 142-130 win over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night. They now have sole possession of the 3rd seed in the Western Conference.

The game began with LA scoring seven in a row. Austin Reaves put the first points on the board with a triple. He also picked up a steal and a block. LeBron James was the only starter not to score yet in the quarter. 

Matas Buzelis converted on a layup to give the Bulls their first points of the night. 

Rui Hachimura put up five points. Luka Dončić began to surge, draining two 3-pointers. Buzelis was leading Chicago with seven points.  At the 3:05 mark, the Lakers were up by six.

Luka entered double figures with 12 points. He was also a rebounding machine, grabbing seven. Chicago then went on a 9-0 scoring run to make it a tied game at the end of the first. 

The second period began just as the first did, with a triple by Reaves. The Bulls responded with five straight points. Deandre Ayton then scored four in a row to put the Lakers up by two early. LeBron James had a slow start for Los Angeles, taking only two shots, both of which he missed. 

Buzelis put Chicago back in the lead with a 3-pointer. 

LA was shooting 41% from the field, while the Bulls were shooting a hot 87%. Ayton, Reaves, and Luka were the first Lakers in double figures with 12, 10, and 17, respectively. 

Buzelis and Luka had some friendly chatter amongst themselves, leading to Luka pushing his point total to 20. 

At the 4:04 mark, the purple and gold were down by four. Los Angeles went on a 9-2 scoring run to retake the lead. LeBron finally put some points on the board, converting on a three-point play with 54 seconds left in the half.

The Lakers had four of their five starters in double figures entering halftime, leading by six.

LeBron started the second half with an emphatic dunk, and it was followed by a Bulls turnover that turned into a 3-pointer from Luka on the other end. Chicago called a quick timeout. Out of the break, Buzelis was fouled and converted on both free throws. 

The Lakers erupted for a 14-2 scoring run that expanded their lead to 18.

Hachimura drained his third triple of the night. He was shooting a red-hot 74% from behind the arc. Luka notched two more 3-pointers, marking seven for the game so far out of 11 attempts. LeBron eventually entered double figures with 11 points. 

At the 4:55 mark, the lead was 21 for Los Angeles. 

Chicago cut the deficit to 14 after they went on a 9-2 run. Josh Giddey was up to 15 points for the Bulls and was four for six from behind the arc. At the end of the third, the Lakers were up by 10, after they had once led by 22.

LeBron started the final frame with a midrange jumper. On the other end, Nick Richards completed a three-point play. Luke Kennard finally got a triple to fall after four attempts. At the 8:45 mark, LA was up by single digits. 

Reaves then scored a quick five in a row to push the lead back to double digits. 

With six minutes left, Los Angeles continued to have a good lead, led by the efforts of Reaves, who was up to nine points in the quarter, and Ayton, who was up to six. Luka swished two 3-pointers in a row. 

With 3:19 left, the Bulls were down by 17. 

Chicago tried a small comeback, but failed after Luka converted on two free throws for his 50th and 51st points.

Key Player Stats

Luka finished with 51 points,10 rebounds, nine assists and three steals. Reaves ended with 30 points, five rebounds and seven assists. LeBron scored 18 points with seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals. 

Ayton had another dominant game, scoring 23 points with 10 rebounds. Hachimura notched 15 points in 40 minutes. 

The Lakers’ next matchup will be against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday at 5:30 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.

The Dallas Mavericks continued their season-long road trip, taking on the Pelicans win on Wednesday night. With the Grizzlies entering Thursday’s action with two more wins than Dallas and one more win than New Orleans, these games carry importance relative to how things may shake out in respect of draft odds, following Dallas’ 120-112 victory.

Let’s get to the grades!

Naji Marshall: C-

5 PTS / 6 REB / 3 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 23 MIN

It can be puzzling to see Marshall struggle when he so often hits 50-plus percent from the floor. This was not that game. He was 2-for-7 and had a mind-blowing six turnovers. Maybe his worst game of the season.

Max Christie: C-

13 PTS / 0 REB / 0 AST / 2 STL / 1 BLK – 25 MIN

Christie was 5-for-12 from the floor, including another corner three-pointer that hit the side of the backboard. Overall, there were aspects that were better, but his five turnovers would be utterly shocking had he not been outdone by Marshall.

Cooper Flagg: C+

13 PTS / 5 REB / 7 AST / 0 STL / 1 BLK – 33 MIN

Flagg is either hitting the rookie wall (it doesn’t really seem like it) or still nursing his injured foot. He’s struggling with his shot (6-for-16) and picked up three fouls before you could say his name. Nonetheless, he did what he has done even in his less than ideal games – contributed in almost every aspect of the game.

P.J. Washington: B+

12 PTS / 10 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 1 BLK – 28 MIN

A double-double with a sprinkle of defense was nice to see from Washington, who has been struggling recently. It wasn’t his most efficient shooting night (5-for-12; 0-for-3 from downtown) but it was a solid well-rounded game compared to most of his games lately.

Daniel Gafford: A

22 PTS / 14 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 1 BLK – 27 MIN

After a long season, it appears Gafford is back to being the player Mavs’ fans enjoyed watching when the team was competing for a championship. He was 9-for-12 and basically went beast-mode all night, doing his double-double damage in less than 30 minutes of action.

Brandon Williams: B+

10 PTS / 8 REB / 6 AST / 2 STL / 2 BLK – 28 MIN

Williams hit 4-for-8 from the floor despite going 0-for-3 from deep. He had three fouls and two turnovers, but played very good defense as shown in his stocks and rebounds. Solid game breaking down the defense and doing some damage.

Khris Middleton: A+

35 PTS / 3 REB / 0 AST / 2 STL / 0 BLK – 25 MIN

Middleton single-handedly took over the game after the Grizzlies rallied back to tie things up. He had the highest-scoring quarter (in the final frame) of any Maverick this season, which was also the highest scoring quarter of his career. This was also his first 30-point game in nearly three years. He was a scorching hot 10-for-17 with an even more impressive 8-for-10 from deep. He had zero turnovers and zero fouls, hit all seven of his free throws and even had two steals. Oh, he did all of that in 25 minutes of play. This was just plain epic.

Final Thoughts

For the first time in a long, long while, the Mavs whooped an opponent for most of the game, ultimately getting the win. Granted that opponent is not especially good and was only able to roll out eight players, but the Mavs were starved for a win and finally got one. Although it hurts them in terms of the tank-a-thon, the road ahead remains rough and breaking the skid has to be good for morale as the season winds down.

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.

According to Tim Bontemps, Keyonte George has a grade two right hamstring strain.

A quick Google search reveals that a grade two hamstring strain can take somewhere between three to eight weeks. With the season nearing the end, it doesn’t seem likely we’ll see Keyonte George again. Not only does it benefit the Jazz to lose these games to keep their picks, but it also does no good to put George in harm’s way. Hamstring injuries are tricky at the best of times. On top of that, Utah is not making the playoffs at this point in the season. With Keyonte George’s incredible breakout this season, he’s a core part of the team going forward.

Now, the Utah Jazz have an opportunity to experiment with different players who wouldn’t get playtime normally. Will we see Cody Williams get more experience at the point? Will we have Ace Bailey initiating even more offense? Very likely.

The Boston Celtics continued completed 3-game road trip on Thursday night, with a final stop in Oklahoma City to take on the reigning champs. In what was a brilliant game of basketball, Payton Pritchard had a game winning attempt for three fall short as the C’s dropped a heart breaker in OKC, 104-102. Jaylen Brown had 34 points, Pritchard 14 points and the Boston bench came up big on the road, but it just wasn’t enough.

Roster-wise, Jayson Tatum was ruled out prior to the game due to a scheduled rest night; Derrick White and Nikola Vucevic were also out for the game. That opened the door for Payton Pritchard to return to the starting lineup alongside Brown, Sam Hauser, Baylor Scheierman, and Neemias Queta for Boston. Chet Holgren, SGA, Ajay Mitchell, Lu Dort, and Cason Wallace started for the home team. Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Branden Carlson were all unavailable for OKC.

Pritchard hit the first shot of the game on a mid-range pull-up over Wallace; Dort hit his straight-on triple as both teams eased into the contest. Pritchard nailed his second shot of the night with a step-back over Holmgren — he looked aggressive to start this game after missing the big San Antonio clash.

Hauser got in on the mid-range act; he hit his first shot and would have 5 points after one quarter. Ron Harper Jr. had another nice showing in the first quarter; off the back of his fantastic San Antonio game, he had 5 first-quarter points on 2-3 shooting.

Rookie Hugo Gonzalez played a solid quarter for Boston with 6 points in five and a half minutes. Brown had 8 points, 3 assists, and 2 boards in the first quarter as Boston led 28-27 after the first quarter of play.

Boston scored the first six points to start the 2nd quarter, Jordan Walsh and Luka Garza providing the spark as Boston went up 35-27. Walsh laced a triple as Boston whizzed the ball around the court with a series of fine passes. Boston’s bench was up and rowdy, as they had combined for 21 points of the team’s 38 early points.

Scheierman and Pritchard hit back-to-back shots as Brown watched on from the bench with Celtics up 43-36 on an entertaining start to the game. Brown returned to the game and swung a pass out to Scheierman in the corner; he hit his first triple of the game in front of the Boston bench.

JB was whistled for his third foul of the night, sprinting back on D to attempt a shot block on Wiggins. SGA rattled in his second three-pointer of the game, and he had 13 points with three minutes to go in the first half. Brown crossed over Dort and drove to the bucket; he was fouled with three OKC defenders in his airspace. JB would go 1 of 2 from the stripe; the score is now tied at 47 apiece.

Luka Garza played the role of a stretch big and nailed a big three-pointer. Boston swung the ball to the corner once more and found Hugo for his first triple of the night on the shorter three-point line. Scheierman hit a relocation three as SGA was left flat-footed, the road Celtics hitting the Thunder hard in the first half. A signature Payton Pritchard three at the buzzer of the half saw the C’s up 59-56 thanks to a stellar bench performance after a half of play.

Boston’s bench had 27 points in the first half; the team registered 15 assists on 23-49 shooting. As a team, Boston was 43% from beyond the arc after 24 minutes of play.

JB grabbed a board over Holmgren to start the third and converted on the putback, was fouled, and hit the extra shot. With Vooch out for Boston with a finger injury, Luka Garza was playing well for Boston on both ends. Hauser hit a wide-open three-pointer for the C’s, the team’s eleventh of the night.

Brown took on Ajay Mitchell and rose over him at the free throw line to hit a pull-up jumper. He went to the foul line for two shots on the next play and hit his sixteenth point of the game. SGA hit his 21st point of the game, overtaking Wilt Chamberlain’s record for most consecutive 20+ point games in NBA history. Wilt held the record for a staggering 63 years until tonight.

Scheierman continued his fantastic road trip shooting-wise; he hit his third three of the game from way downtown, giving a thumbs up in recognition of his recent injury. Queta took the smaller OKC players inside and dunked home an emphatic two-hander; Gonzalez stripped Ajay Mitchell in the key during a good third-quarter stretch for Boston, up 79-75.

Jordan Walsh entered the game at the end of the third and immediately grabbed a defensive rebound and dived on the floor for a loose ball. Gonzalez blocked a three-point attempt from Williams; the C’s young bench was providing a spark on the third night off the road trip.

Hugo dumped off a bounce pass to JB in the dunker spot; he rammed home an emphatic dunk for Boston. Hugo crashed into the defensive glass and was fouled by Isaiah Joe on the loose ball gather. Boston would take a three-point lead into the final quarter, 83-80, both teams playing some tremendous ball after three.

Brown dunked home his 27th point of the game on a solo breakaway to start the 4th quarter. OKC levelled the game at 87 points as SGA converted on a finger roll layup with 9 minutes to go. OKC took a two-point lead as Boston recorded a series of scoreless possessions. Garza had an illegal screen on Dort as Boston had 10 turnovers in the 4th quarter.

Boston had a call overturned as Williams grabbed a piece of Pritchard’s jersey as he rolled to the basket. Joe Mazzulla and the coaching staff with the great challenge scores tied at 91-91. Both teams combined for just 7-28 from the field at the 5 minute mark of the 4th quarter. Brown was fouled by Dort beyond the three point line he would hit all three attempts to take back a slim one point lead.

SGA drilled a jumper at the foul line for the Thunder to take a four point lead after the C’s had a pair of blown plays. Boston entered the bonus after the Thunder received their 5th team foul, Queta hit both free throws to cut it to 2 points. Pritchard drilled a tough shot over SGA to tie things up at 98-98. Dort was whistled for a trip on Brown, after the refs missed a similar play in the first half, Brown leveling the scores at 100 with 30 seconds to go.

Both teams were out of gas to end it, Boston digging deep with two starters out on a tough road trip. Gilgeous-Alexander hit another mid range jumper for 35th point of the game, OKC up a pair with 29 seconds to go. JB nailed a tough turnaround to even the scores at 102-102. Holmgren hit two free throws with Boston needing a 2 to tie it and a three to win with 0.8 seconds on the clock. Pritchard came up short on the final play of regulation, just short of the game winning three-pointer.

The Boston Celtics now travel home to host the Washington Wizards on Saturday at 6 pm EST.

Oklahoma Nijel Pack hit four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points, Derrion Reed had 15 points and 10 rebounds,and No. 11 seed Oklahoma beat sixth-seeded Texas A&M 83-63 in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Thursday night to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

Oklahoma (19-14) plays No. 17 and third-seeded Arkansas — which beat the Sooners 83-79 on Jan. 27 — in the quarterfinals Friday.

Xzayvier Brown added 16 points and Tae Davis had 14 points and nine rebounds. Mohamed Wague had eight rebounds to go with seven points and three blocks.

The Sooners hit six 3-pointers in a 22-5 run that gave them the lead for good and made it 28-11 midway through the first half. Griffen answered with a 3-pointer, but Davis scored the final six points in a 10-0 spurt to give Oklahoma a 24-point lead with five minutes left until halftime.

Pop Isaacs hit back-to-back 3s to spark a 10-0 run that trimmed Texas A&M's deficit to 54-42 with 15:25 left in the game but the Aggies got no closer.

Rashaun Agee had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Texas A&M (21-11). Agee broke the program's single-season record with 13 double-doubles (Tyler Davis had 12 in 2017-18).

Rylan Griffen also scored 13 points and Isaacs added 12.

Oklahoma outrebounded the Aggies 48-33, 19-11 on the offensive glass, and outscored Texas A&M 18-1 in second-chance points.

Up next

Oklahoma: Advances to the semifinals.

Texas A&M: Awaits a potential postseason invitation.

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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander broke Wilt Chamberlain’s record for consecutive games with 20 points or more, scoring 35 points in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 104-102 win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.

Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren was fouled on a rebound with 0.9 seconds remaining and made two free throws to break a 102-all tie. Boston’s Payton Pritchard missed a long 3-pointer as time expired.

Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 20 in 127 consecutive games, topping Chamberlain’s mark that had stood since 1963. He hit a midrange jumper with 7:04 left in the third quarter that gave him 21 points and tied the game at 69-all. He finished with nine assists and six rebounds and made 13 of 18 field goals.

The Thunder won their seventh straight game — all since Gilgeous-Alexander returned from an abdominal strain that kept him out of the All-Star Game.

Jaylen Brown scored 34 points for the Celtics. Boston’s Jayson Tatum sat out as he works his way back from surgery to repair his right Achilles tendon. He’s played in three games since his return, including Tuesday’s loss at San Antonio.

NUGGETS 136, SPURS 131

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 31 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists, Jamal Murray scored 39 points and Denver rallied to beat San Antonio, snapping its five-game winning streak as Victor Wembanyama sat out with an injury.

San Antonio guard Stephon Castle had 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his third career triple-double.

With the Spurs trailing 132-129, Castle had a 3-pointer rattle off the rim with 20 seconds remaining. Murray sealed the victory with four straight free throws.

After trailing by 20 points early in the third quarter, Murray’s 3-pointer gave Denver its first lead at 121-119 with 4:38 remaining. Murray’s basket was the start of an 11-0 run.

Wembanyama was questionable due to right ankle soreness and ruled out after going through pregame warmups. He must play in 13 of San Antonio’s final 16 games for end-of-season award eligibility.

The Spurs are 10-5 without Wembanyama, who watched from the second row of the team’s bench. San Antonio lost for the first time in 22 games when holding a 20-point lead.

SUNS 123, PACERS 108

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Devin Booker scored 43 points, Jalen Green had 36 and Phoenix beat NBA-worst Indiana for its fourth straight victory and the Pacers’ 11th loss in a row.

Seventh in the Western Conference, the Suns played the second game of a six-game trip they opened Tuesday night with a victory over Milwaukee.

Booker was 14 of 31 from field, hit 4 of 7 3-ponters and made 11 free throws without a miss. He also had seven rebounds and five assists. Green shot 14 of 23, making three 3-pointers. Royce O’Neale had 15 points on 5-of-8 3-point shooting.

Andrew Nembhard led the Pacers with 23 points — all the first half after he was questionable because of a lower-back problem.

Center Ivica Zubac had eight points and six rebounds in 16 minutes in his Pacers debut. Sidelined by a sprained left ankle since December, Zubac joined Indiana in a trade-deadline deal with the Los Angeles Clippers.

PISTONS 131, 76ERS 109

DETROIT (AP) — Duncan Robinson scored 19 points and Eastern Conference-leading Detroit beat Philadelphia for its second straight victory after a season-worst four-game losing streak.

Javonte Green added 17 points, and Jalen Duren had 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Pistons didn’t trail in either victory, beating Brooklyn and Philadelphia by an average of 30 points.

Cade Cunningham, who was double-teamed for much of the game, only took six shots from the floor, matching the third-lowest total of his career. He finished with eight points, but had 13 assists and five rebounds in 28 minutes.

Marjon Beauchamp scored 17 points, and Cam Payne had 15 for Philadelphia. The 76ers have lost five of seven.

Detroit led by 17 points in the second quarter, but the 76ers got back into it by aggressively trapping Cunningham. As a result, he only had eight points in the half and his nine assists were balanced by four turnovers.

MAGIC 136, WIZARDS 131, OT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jalen Suggs scored a season-high 28 points and made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:27 remaining in overtime as Orlando extended its longest winning streak of the season to six games with a victory over Washington.

Two nights after being embarrassed when Miami’s Bam Adebayo scored 83 points against them, the second-highest performance in NBA history, the Wizards fought back from 17 points down in the fourth quarter to tie it when Bilal Coulibaly banked in a 3-pointer with 5.8 seconds remaining.

Coulibaly made another 3 to tie it at 131 with 1:39 to play in OT, but Suggs answered with his 3 and then added two free throws with 56 seconds left.

Tristan da Silva added 26 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks for the Magic, including one on Coulibaly’s drive to the basket in OT. Desmond Bane scored 22 points, Wendell Carter Jr. had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Paolo Banchero finished with 18 points and 10 boards.

Coulibably scored a career-high 29 points, but Washington lost its 10th straight. Alex Sarr had 16 points and Trae Young had 15 points and six assists in 21 minutes.

HEAT 112, BUCKS 105

MIAMI (AP) — Bam Adebayo scored 21 points in the game following his 83-point performance, Pelle Larsson had a career-high 28 points and Miami beat Milwaukee for its season-best seventh consecutive victory.

Adebayo scored 12 of his points in the fourth quarter for the Heat, who remained No. 6 in the Eastern Conference — just percentage points behind No. 5 Orlando, which has won six straight. The Heat and Magic meet on Saturday night.

Kasparas Jakučionis scored 18 points, Davion Mitchell scored 13 and Kel’el Ware grabbed 13 rebounds for Miami.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 31 points for the Bucks, who got 19 points from Bobby Portis Jr. and a 16-point, 10-assist game from Ryan Rollins.

Antetokounmpo had a wide-open 3-point try from the top of the key that would have tied the game with 52 seconds left, but it rimmed out. Larsson controlled the rebound, then made a 3-pointer of his own 24 seconds later for a six-point lead — essentially sealing the win.

Miami again was without Norman Powell (groin), Andrew Wiggins (toe), Tyler Herro (quad) and Nikola Jovic (back).

HAWKS 109, NETS 97

ATLANTA (AP) — Jalen Johnson had 21 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, Zaccharie Risacher scored 19 points and Atlanta extended the NBA’s longest current winning streak to eight games, beating Brooklyn.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 18 points and CJ McCollum had 14 for Atlanta, which began the streak with a win over Brooklyn on Feb. 22. The Hawks moved into eighth in the Eastern Conference, 1 1/2 games behind seventh-place Toronto.

Josh Minott scored a career-high 24 points for the Nets, who have lost 12 of 14. Brooklyn was without leading scorer Michael Porter Jr., who has a sprained right ankle.

The Nets took an 83-82 lead at the start of the fourth quarter before McCollum scored six points during a 10-0 run by the Hawks. Brooklyn got no closer than four points the rest of the way.

MAVERICKS 120, GRIZZLIES 112

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Khris Middleton scored 22 of his season-high 35 points in the fourth quarter, Daniel Gafford added a season-best 22 points and Dallas snapped an eight-game losing steak with a victory over Memphis.

Max Christie and Cooper Flagg added 13 points apiece for Dallas. Middleton was 10 of 17 for the game, including 8 of 10 from 3-point range. Gafford added 14 rebounds.

Jaylen Wells led Memphis with 23 points and GG Jackson finished with 20. Javon Small had 19 points and nine assists. Taylor Hendricks had 17 points and 10 rebounds.

The Mavericks, who led by 20 in the first half, were outscored 30-21 in the third quarter and led just 86-84 going into the final period. Middleton had the first 11 Dallas points of the fourth to take the lead back to double digits and went to have the highest-scoring quarter of his career.

LAKERS 142, BULLS 130

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic had 51 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, LeBron James added 18 points in his return after missing three games because of injuries and Los Angeles used a strong third quarter to defeat Chicago.

Doncic scored 50 points for the first time as a Laker following the blockbuster trade that sent him from Dallas to Los Angeles in February 2025. It was Doncic’s 13th 40-point game in 82 appearances for Los Angeles, moving into ninth in franchise history.

Austin Reaves chipped in with 30 points, Deandre Ayton had 23 points and 10 rebounds for his 20th double-double of the season, and the Lakers’ four-game winning streak is their longest since running off seven in a row Nov. 14-30.

Los Angeles moved ahead of the idle Houston Rockets into third place in the Western Conference.

Josh Giddey scored 27 points and Matas Buzelis had 22 for the short-handed Bulls, who have alternated wins and losses over their past six games following 11 straight losses in February.

The Utah Jazz are dealing with multiple injuries this season and are in need of players to fill the roster to finish the season. Here is a list of the Jazz’s most recent transactions.

Utah Jazz waive Mo Bamba

According to Kevin Reynolds, the Utah Jazz have waived Mo Bamba before the end of his 10-day contract because of illness.

It’s too bad that things didn’t work out with Bamba, who will always draw interest with his incredible physical tools. But like with all other teams he’s been on, he didn’t leave any sort of lasting impression and the Jazz are moving on.

Utah Jazz sign Bez Mbeng alongside Andersson Garcia

We got the debut of Andersson Garcia yesterday, who had signed a 10-day contract right before the game.

It looks like with the release of Mo Bamba, the Jazz are also signing Bez Mbeng.

Mbeng is a defensive standout from Yale who adds to the defensive mentality that Garcia appears to bring.

With the injury to Keyonte George, Utah needs more depth, and they’re adding it with Garcia and Mbeng. It appears the Jazz have found a real piece in Blake Hinson. Will they find another in one of these additions?