Blake Griffin scored 23 points and the Detroit Pistons took advantage of Anthony Davis’ absence in a 107-92 win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
LeBron James had 22 points and 10 assists, but only two of those points came after half time. The defending champions have lost two games in a row, the first defeat for the Lakers since last year’s playoffs.
Davis was out with a bruise of the right quad, and Los Angeles – what lost by one point in Philadelphia on Wednesday evening – in the fourth quarter against the pistons faded.
Detroit led by a margin before Griffin’s 3-pointer started a 16-0 run at 6:54. The Lakers went almost seven minutes without scoring.
Wayne Ellington added 20 points for the pistons.
ROCKET 104, TRAIL BLAZERS 101
Victor Oladipo scored 25 points and Houston shrugged off a terrible first quarter and held out late to beat Portland. The Rockets fell 20 points in the first quarter before taking the lead with a big second, holding the track for their fourth straight win.
Christian Wood finished his return on 22 points and 12 rebounds after missing three games with a sprained right ankle. John Wall had 20.
Damian Lillard had 30 points and nine assists for Portland.
CLIPPERS 109, HEAT 105
Nicolas Batum scored 18 points and Los Angles used a 20-2 run in the third quarter to beat Miami. Lou Williams had 17 points for the Clippers who were again without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George because of the league’s virus protocols and Patrick Beverley with pain in his right knee.
The Clippers won by 18 despite an early deficit.
Tyler Herro returned with neck cramps after missing seven games, scoring 19 points for Miami, which lost their fifth straight.
The Heat welcomed back about 1,500 fans for the first time since the start of last season on March 11 when the pandemic began, all of whom had to walk past virus-sniffing dogs or pass a quick coronavirus test.
SUNS 114, WARRIORS 93
Mikal Bridges scored 20 points, Deandre Ayton 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Phoenix retired in the second half to beat Golden State. The Suns lost three games and rose 9-8 back over 0.500. The warriors fell to 10-9.
Frank Kaminsky narrowly missed a triple-double with 12 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, and Abdel Nader added 16 points and five rebounds. All-star guard Devin Booker missed his third straight game with an aching Achilles tendon.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 27 points.
