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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) is defended by Utah Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic (44) as he drives to the basket in the first quarter at Crypto.com Arena, California February 16, 2022. — Reuters pic
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LOS ANGELES, Feb 17 — Anthony Davis went down hard but LeBron James picked up the Los Angeles Lakers and carried them to a 106-101 NBA victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
James scored 15 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, when the Lakers erased a 12-point deficit.
James keyed the comeback, his contribution including a huge dunk off a pass from Russell Westbrook that put the Lakers up by two with 2:08 remaining.
They wouldn’t trail again on the way to a victory that looked unlikely when star forward Davis rolled his ankle shortly before halftime when he landed on Rudy Gobert’s foot after rising to collect a pass.
Davis, who had 17 points on seven-of-nine shooting, clutched his ankle in pain before he was helped off the court by teammates.
The Lakers said X-rays were negative, and Davis would receive treatment over the upcoming All-Star break.
Davis was averaging 23.3 points and 9.1 rebounds per game this season. He had already missed 17 games with knee trouble.
“It’s very deflating to see AD go down the way he did,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “There’s an energy you have to overcome and there’s how we adjust tactically.
“Credit our guys for hanging in there and continuing to fight,” added Vogel, who said Westbrook was a key motivator during the timeouts.
“And what we saw LeBron do was just remarkable,” Vogel said. “At this point in his career, to take over in the fourth quarter the way he did with just energy and will and determination was just really something special.”
Westbrook finished with 17 points and seven rebounds for the Lakers, who had 15 points from Malik Monk.
Donovan Mitchell led Utah with 37 points.
The Lakers’ win, which ended a three-game losing streak, was just one of the comeback victories that livened up the night.
In San Francisco, Monte Morris drained a three-pointer over Stephen Curry at the final buzzer to lift the Denver Nuggets to a 117-116 victory over the Golden State Warriors, who led by eight with less than three minutes to play.
The Phoenix Suns rallied in the fourth quarter for a 124-121 victory over the Houston Rockets, pushing their winning streak to seven games and improving their league-leading record to 48-10.
The Brooklyn Nets rallied from 28 points down to stun the New York Knicks 111-106 at Madison Square Garden.
Brooklyn rookie Cam Thomas scored 16 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, draining a long three-pointer with 7.7 seconds left to push the Nets’ lead to six points and essentially seal the win.
‘One-on-one time’
The shot had superstar Kevin Durant, watching from the bench as he continues to recover from a knee injury, on his feet celebrating.
“I knew it was one-on-one time,” Thomas said. “I just went to my go-to move.
“Glad it went in, cause I was struggling tonight,” added Thomas, who had made just two of three shots through the first three quarters. “I just had to keep playing through it,” Thomas said. “I’m glad it worked out for us.”
In Chicago, DeMar DeRozan scored 38 points to lead the Bulls to a 125-118 victory over the Sacramento Kings and break a record set by NBA great Wilt Chamberlain.
DeRozan became the first player in league history to score 35 or more points and connect on 50 per cent or more of his shots in seven straight games.
Chamberlain did it in six straight games on two occasions, during the 1960-61 season and the 1962-63 campaign.
Coby White drained six three-pointers on the way to 31 points for Chicago. Nikola Vucevic added 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, who notched a fifth straight win and edged ahead of the Miami Heat atop the Eastern Conference.
Detroit’s Jerami Grant drained the game-winner with 19.6 seconds remaining in Boston, lifting the Pistons to a 112-111 triumph that ended the Celtics’ nine-game winning streak.
Grant finished with 24 points for the Pistons, who had lost their last eight and 14 of their previous 16 games.
Jayson Tatum had a last chance for the Celtics, but his jump shot from the top of the key bounced off the rim. — AFP