Luka Doncic had 35 points, 13 assists, nine rebounds and five steals, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied in the fourth quarter before surviving a frantic final second for their fifth consecutive victory, 118-116 over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.
The Lakers finished the game on a 21-10 run, but the Spurs got one last chance when Marcus Smart committed an inbound violation after Kelly Olynyk’s putback layup with 1.2 seconds left.
Justin Champagnie then drew a foul from Jake LaRavia while trying to tip in the Spurs’ inbound pass, but Champagnie missed his first free throw, and nobody could tip in the second miss at the buzzer.
Deandre Ayton had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who extended their impressive start to the season with a furious rally from a nine-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter. Doncic scored eight points in the fourth, including a clutch go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:31 to play.
Victor Wembanyama had 19 points and eight rebounds before fouling out with 1:39 to play for the Spurs, who have lost two straight after a 5-0 start. Stephon Castle and Jeremy Sochan had 16 points apiece.
Doncic overcame a 9-for-27 shooting night with another handful of stellar plays as the Lakers won a foul-plagued game between two undermanned teams. Harrison Barnes and Sochan also fouled out in the fourth quarter.
Los Angeles trailed 106-97 with just over seven minutes to play but got back in it by holding San Antonio without a field goal for nearly 4 1/2 minutes.
Doncic’s fourth 3-pointer put the Lakers up 113-112, and Wembanyama fouled out on a charge drawn by Rui Hachimura two possessions later.
Austin Reaves missed his second straight game with a hamstring injury, but Doncic returned after his absence from the Lakers’ surprising win at Portland on Monday. LeBron James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, is yet to play for the Lakers this season due to ongoing sciatica rehabilitation.
Knicks, Nuggets remain perfect at home, Rockets extend win streak
Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns each posted double-doubles Wednesday night for the New York Knicks, who remained perfect at home this season by pulling away from the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 137-114 victory.
Brunson (23 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds) flirted with his first career triple-double. He had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists in the third quarter, when the Knicks outscored the Timberwolves 40-28 to turn a four-point halftime deficit into a 94-86 lead.
Towns finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds in his seventh double-double in eight games this season for the Knicks, who have won the first three games of a seven-game homestand and are 5-0 overall at Madison Square Garden.
In Tennessee, Amen Thompson scored a season-high 28 points with 10 rebounds and Alperen Sengun added 20 points and 16 boards to lead Houston to its fifth straight win, a 124-109 victory over the host Memphis Grizzlies.
Thompson knocked down 13 of 26 shot attempts while distributing seven assists to follow up on his 27-point, five-rebound, four-assist effort in Houston’s win over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.
The Rockets have defeated their past five opponents by an average of 19.2 points.
In Denver, Nikola Jokic produced 33 points, 16 assists and 15 rebounds, Aaron Gordon scored 24 points, and the host Denver Nuggets remained unbeaten at home with a 122-112 win over the Miami Heat.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 18 points off the bench, Jamal Murray contributed 14 points, Christian Braun finished with 11 points and Peyton Watson grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds for Denver. The Nuggets have won 11 straight regular- season games against Miami.
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