LeBron James had 21 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds one day after flying to Atlanta and back to watch a football game on his day off, and the Los Angeles Lakers sent the Washington Wizards to their 11th consecutive defeat with a 111-88 victory Tuesday night, Jan. 21.
LeBron James makes triple-double as Lakers obliterate Wizards
At a glance
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James had 21 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds one day after flying to Atlanta and back to watch a football game on his day off, and the Los Angeles Lakers sent the Washington Wizards to their 11th consecutive defeat with a 111-88 victory Tuesday night, Jan. 21.
James recorded his 121st career triple-double and his ninth of the season. The top scorer in NBA history showed no ill effects from his long trip Monday to watch his Ohio State Buckeyes’ College Football Playoff championship game victory over Notre Dame.
Anthony Davis had 29 points and 16 rebounds for Los Angeles. Dorian Finney-Smith hit four 3-pointers while scoring 16 points, and Austin Reaves added 16.
Bilal Coulibaly scored 17 points for the Wizards, who haven’t won since New Year’s Day. Jordan Poole and Corey Kispert had 15 points apiece for Washington, which dropped to 1-18 on the road midway through a six-game trip.
Bronny James played the final 1:59.
Coulibaly had his highest-scoring performance in January, while Kyle Kuzma had 12 points and nine rebounds against his former team.
They had periods of struggle, but they didn’t trail in the final 44 minutes and mostly handled their business against the NBA’s worst team. Los Angeles reached the midway point of its schedule at 23-18.
Meanwhile in Denver, Nikola Jokic had 27 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his 19th triple-double of the season, reserve Aaron Gordon was nearly perfect from the floor and the Nuggets beat Philadelphia, 144-109, extending the 76ers’ losing streak to seven games.
Jokic finished his triple-double late in the third quarter with an assist that led to a dunk from Gordon. Jokic didn’t play in the fourth quarter.
Gordon was 6 of 7 from the floor — 3 of 3 from 3-point range — and hit all four attempts at the free-throw line to finish with 19 points. The Nuggets had six players in double figures, including a 23-point performance from Julian Strawther.
Tyrese Maxey had 28 points and 10 assists for a Sixers team that remains without standout big man Joel Embiid due to swelling in his left knee.
This game was part of the NBA’s “Rivals Week” — a matchup that was expected to feature the last four NBA MVPs in Embiid (2023) and Jokic (’21, ’22, ’24). It got sidetracked by the injury to Embiid, who hasn’t played in Denver since 2019.
In Toronto, Scottie Barnes had 17 points and 11 rebounds, RJ Barrett scored 19 points and the Raptors overcame a 21-point deficit to beat the struggling Orlando Magic, 109-93.
Gradey Dick scored 17 points and Bruce Brown had 15 as Toronto snapped a four-game losing streak against Orlando.
The Raptors won for the first time this season when trailing at halftime. Toronto came in 0-23 in such games.
In New York, Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 16 rebounds, Jalen Brunson scored eight points down the stretch and finished with 17 as the Knicks beat the Brooklyn Nets, 99-95.
OG Anunoby scored 20 points and Precious Achiuwa had 11 points off the bench as the Knicks won their second straight game.
D’Angelo Russell finished with 23 points and 10 assists and Cam Johnson scored 16 for the Nets, who have lost four straight games and nine of their last 10.