LEBRON James scored on a game-winning runner as the Los Angeles Lakers escaped with a 103-101 victory over Los Angeles Clippers at the resumption of the 2019-2020 NBA season on Thursday night (Friday in Manila) at Disney’s World in Orlando, Florida.
With the game tied at 101-all following a three-point conversion by Clippers’ Paul George, James rebounded his own miss for an inside basket with 12.8 seconds left to surge the Lakers ahead for good.
James finished the match with 16 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, while Anthony Davis has game-long brilliance as he finished with 34 points as the Lakers improved to 49-14.
It was a seesaw battle for both teams with the Lakers leading by as much as 11 points in the opening half on early hits by Davis. The Clippers rode on the outside shooting of George in the third canto as they established an 11-point advantage.
It was quickly erased by the Lakers with Davis draining back-to-back outside conversions and Dion Waiters, Kyle Kuzma and Danny Green also hitting from outside to take a 91-80 advantage.
George tallied 30 points, including six three-point baskets, while Kawhi Leonard added 28 markers as the Clippers remained at second place in Western Conference with 44-20 record.
In the first game, Rudy Gobert drained two free throws as the Utah Jazz completed its fight back from a double-digit second half deficit to stave off the New Orleans Pelicans, 106-104.
Trailing by 12 points late in the third quarter, the Jazz leaned on the exploits of Filipino-American guard Jordan Clarkson, Donovan Mitchell and Joe Ingles to snatch the lead at 98-97.
Free throws by Mitchell gave the Jazz a 104-102 edge but Brandon Ingram tied the score at 104-all before Gobert seized the win for Utah with two free throws from a foul by New Orleans’ Derrick Favors.
Clarkson top-scored with 23 points, while Conley and Mitchell added 20 markers apiece for the Jazz, which improved to 42-23. Ingram, meanwhile, led the way with 23 points for the Pelicans, which dropped to 28-37./PN
