Pelicans down Lakers, Curry hurt in Warriors win
LOS ANGELES
The New Orleans Pelicans snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 131-121 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 4, even as Lakers superstar LeBron James crept closer to the NBA all-time scoring record.
Brandon Ingram shook off a scoreless first quarter to lead the Pelicans with 35 points. CJ McCollum added 23 and Trey Murphy added 21 as New Orleans turned the tide against a Lakers team that scored 72 points in the first half and led by 12 midway through the third quarter.
James scored 27 points and now needs 36 to overtake Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387.
He’s averaging more than 30 points per game this season, and could well achieve the summit next week when the Lakers host Oklahoma City tomorrow and the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 9.
Lakers star Anthony Davis scored 34 points against his former team.
The Golden State Warriors held on for a 119-113 home victory over the Dallas Mavericks after superstar Stephen Curry limped out with a lower left leg injury in the third quarter.
The Warriors led all the way against a Mavs team without injured star Luka Doncic, but things tightened up after Curry banged knees with Dallas’ McKinley Wright and departed for the locker room.
Curry’s 21 points led the Warriors, whose 23-point lead was cut to five with 1:28 to play.
In Brooklyn, the Nets shook off uncertainty sparked by Kyrie Irving’s bombshell trade request to rally from a 23-point deficit and beat the Washington Wizards 125-123.
The Nets, still without injured star Kevin Durant, Ben Simmons and T.J. Warren also made do without Irving, who was sidelined by “right calf soreness” after saying he wanted out by next week’s trade deadline.
Kristaps Porzingis led the Wizards with 38 points before fouling out.
In Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo delivered a triple double of 35 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to their seventh straight win, 123-115 over the Miami Heat.
In New York, Kawhi Leonard scored 35 points and Paul George added 30 for the Los Angeles Clippers, who lost a 17-point fourth-quarter lead but held on to beat the Knicks 134-128 in overtime.
