(Basketball news) LeBron James became the fastest and only the second person to reach 38,000 points but despite that the Lakers lost to the Philadelphia 76ers 113-112. For the 76ers, Joel Embiid had 35 points and 11 rebounds while James Harden added 24 points and 13 assists as they beat the Lakers the 6th time this season. For the Lakers, James put up 35 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds while Westbrook had 20 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, extending his NBA record with his 198th career triple-double. Anthony Davis has now been out for a month, missing his 15th straight game with a foot injury as the Lakers used their 24th different starting lineup this season. With this result the 76ers improved their record to 27-16 and moved to 4th in the Eastern Conference standings.
”It’s just frustrating to get into those positions and not be able to come out with the victory,” James said. ”We got the stop, gave ourselves a chance to win, and didn’t execute. … We’re playing good basketball. We’re just not winning games.”
”Wasn’t one of our better games, especially defensively,” 76ers coach Doc Rivers said. ”We had no pace. We were tired. As a coach, you’re saying, `Let’s just get to the fourth quarter and see if we can win it.”’
”(Embiid) was grabbing my wrist,” Westbrook said. ”I couldn’t get my hand up to shoot. … Couldn’t get the ball up. It’s frustrating, but I know the game didn’t come down to that one shot.”
”I don’t think I fouled him,” Embiid said. ”Physical play on both sides. You could’ve called a foul on the other end, too. He was unlucky because he lost the ball. I would say he was unlucky.”
The Golden State Warriors lost to the Chicago Bulls 132-118. For the Bulls, Nikola Vucevic matched his career high with 43 points and they snapped an 11-game losing streak against Golden State while Zach LaVine added 27 points despite shooting 1 for 8 from the 3-point range. For the Warriors, Klay Thompson scored 26 points and Stephen Curry added 20. The Bulls improved their record to 20-24 and snapped a three-game losing streak as they won without leading scorer DeMar DeRozan, who missed his third consecutive game due to a right quad strain.
”It’s got to be a team effort to slow (Vucevic) down and connect the game,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. ”It seemed like they had seven or eight stampede fast breaks that ended up in layups or dunks. And that’s because of poor offensive possessions, either on difficult shot attempts or turnovers.”
”I know I’m capable of it,” Vucevic said. ”I know how good I am, especially at the offensive end. It’s just me finding my spots and playing that way.”
Also read: NBA: Lakers suffer their 2nd successive defeat to the Mavericks, Celtics beat Nets
