Cleveland Cavaliers’ Darius Garland, left, reacts after a basket during the second half of an NBA basketball in-season tournament game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James scored his 39,000th point on the way to 17 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers completed an unbeaten run through group play in the NBA In-Season Tournament with 131-99 a victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.
Anthony Davis had 26 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who are likely to host a quarterfinal game early next month to begin the knockout stages of the league’s first in-season tournament.
The 38-year-old James became the first player in league history to top 39,000 points.
D’Angelo Russell added 20 points and eight assists for the Lakers, who went up by 30 in the third quarter and got their two superstars out of the game for good before the fourth began.
John Collins scored 15 points and Omer Yurtseven had a season-high 18 for the Jazz, who have lost seven of their last nine games.
CAVALIERS 122, 76ERS 119, OT
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Darius Garland scored 32 points and Jarrett Allen added 26 as short-handed Cleveland beat Philadelphia in overtime in the NBA In-Season Tournament.
The Cavaliers remained alive for the Eastern Conference’s wild-card berth despite playing without three rotation pieces in Donovan Mitchell, Caris LeVert and Isaac Okoro due to injury.
Cleveland had six players in double figures. The Cavs dominated the paint and the glass, outrebounding the Sixers 61-53 and holding a 68-52 edge in points in the paint.
Joel Embiid scored 32 points and Tyrese Maxey added 30 for the Sixers, who were eliminated from tournament contention.
PACERS 157, HAWKS 152
ATLANTA (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton scored 37 points, Buddy Hield hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer in the final minute and Indiana beat Atlanta in the highest-scoring NBA game this season to clinch a spot in the NBA In-Season Tournament quarterfinals.
Hield’s jumper from the left wing broke a 152-all tie with 52 seconds left. Dejounte Murray was called for an offensive foul on a 3-point attempt on the Hawks’ next possession, then missed a difficult layup following an Indiana turnover with eight seconds remaining. Hield made a layup at the buzzer.
Trae Young led the Hawks with 38 points and eight assists. Bogdan Bogdanovic had 26 points on 10-for-15 shooting. Murray scored 28.
The Pacers are 3-0 in East Group A with one game left in group play.
MAGIC 126, RAPTORS 107
ORLANDO Fla. (AP) — Paolo Banchero scored 25 points, Jalen Suggs added 18 and Orlando won its fourth straight, beating Toronto in an NBA In-Season Tournament game.
Cole Anthony came off the bench with 15 points and 10 assists in the Magic’s second win in three tournament games.
Dennis Schroder led Toronto with 24 points while Pascal Siakam had 16 points and eight assists for the Raptors, who shot 50.7% and made 14 of 28 3-point shots, but committed 23 turnovers.
Toronto center Jakob Poeltl, who came into the game second in the league in field-goal percentage (.699), had 10 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out.
SUNS 120, TRAIL BLAZERS 107
PHOENIX (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 31 points, passing Elvin Hayes for 11th place all time, and Phoenix defeated Portland in an In-Season Tournament game.
Durant, playing in his 1,000th NBA game, needed 14 points to pass Hayes, who had 27,313 in his career. He achieved that in the first quarter on 6 of 6 shooting, including a 3-pointer and a free throw.
Devin Booker scored 28 for the Suns, who won their fourth in a row overall and are 2-1 in West Group A in the tournament.
Deandre Ayton scored 12 points in the first quarter and finished with 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who lost their eighth in a row.
