(Basketball news) The Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t continue their good form as they lost to their arch nemesis the Los Angeles Clippers 133-115. For the Clippers, Paul George had 27 points and nine rebounds, and Kawhi Leonard added 25 points for their third straight win overall. For the Lakers, LeBron James hit a career-high nine 3-pointers while scoring 46 points as he has scored at least 40 points against the Clippers for the first time in his 20-year career, giving him a 40-point game against all 30 teams in the NBA. James is also closing in on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career scoring record with his 101st 40-point game as he trails Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points) by just 177 points, putting him in position to potentially break the record at the end of the Lakers’ upcoming five-game on the road. While Russell Westbrook scored 17 points and Thomas Bryant added 15.
The Lakers could get Anthony Davis back Wednesday from his 20-game absence with a right foot injury. Along with that Rui Hachimura sat on the Lakers’ bench one day after they acquired him from Washington in a trade for Kendrick Nunn as the Japanese big man will be in uniform on Wednesday. On the other hand, the Clippers moved to 5th in the Western Conference table as their record stands at 26-24.
”I was able to make a few shots tonight and try to help us stay in the game,” James said. ”But the Clippers, they are really good. Exceptionally good when they’re shooting the 3-ball, and tonight they did that.”
”I’ve got to this place by not even thinking about it,” James said. ”Just being in the moment, trying to play the game the right way. Even tonight, as well as I shot the ball, I was still trying to distribute to my guys, to make sure they felt some type of rhythm. That’s just always how I’ve played the game.”
”We were forcing them into really tough shots, and they were just making them,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. ”Against a great team like that, you’ve got to play damn near perfect to overcome that deficit.”
The Boston Celtics lost their second match in a row as they lost to the Miami Heat 98-95. For the Heats, Bam Adebayo scored 30 points and grabbed 15 rebounds while Highsmith had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Max Strus scored 13 points and Victor Oladipo had 12 points. For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum finished with 31 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists while Derrick White scored 23 points, and Robert Williams III had 11 points. Tatum had 21 points in the first half as he is averaging 15.3 points in the first half this season which is the third-best in the NBA behind only Luka Doncic and Joel Embiid. With this the Miami Heat improved their record to 27-22.
”They booted us in the Eastern Conference finals last year,” said Adebayo, who is averaging 21.6 points and 10.2 rebounds so far this season. ”I feel like a lot of guys still carry that.”
”It’s not really my nature to go out and campaign,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ”I just think he’s an All-Star and he showed it tonight. It’s a big win. It was on TV. I hope people notice.”
”It was just two good teams out there playing,” Celtics interim coach Joe Mazzulla said. ”They made a few more plays at the end than we did.”
Also read: NBA: Orlando Magic shock the Celtics while Bucks breeze past the Pistons
