The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 120-114 in the National Basketball Association (NBA) League, with Luka Doncic scoring 36 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists, and LeBron James adding 26 points and 10 assists.
Jake LaRabia also had 26 points and Deandre Ayton added 15 points for the Lakers, who beat the Grizzlies 128-121 on Friday and had another win on Sunday.
Los Angeles won back-to-back championships after losing four of its previous five contests.
For Memphis, Jalen Wells had 23 points and rookie Cedric Coward had 16 points and nine rebounds, but he did not play after halftime due to an ankle injury.
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 14 points and Jock Landale had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who lost their fourth straight game.
Memphis guard Ja Morant missed his 15th game in the past 21 games with a calf injury.
On Sunday, Devin Booker made the game-winning 3-pointer in the final second as the Phoenix Suns rallied to silence the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, 108-105.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns overcame an early 18-point deficit to defeat the Thunder.
Devin Booker hit the game-winning 3-pointer in the final minute as the Suns rallied to silence the league leader with a 108-105 scoreline.
For Phoenix, Booker had 24 points and nine assists, and Dillon Brooks added 22 points, including a 3-pointer with 36 seconds left that outscored Canadian teammate and reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Oklahoma City.
That gave Phoenix a 105-101 lead, but Oklahoma City tied it at 105-105 with 8.2 seconds left when Booker connected.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 25 points and Jaylen Williams added 23 points for the Thunder, but the Suns ended Oklahoma City’s winning streak by four points.
The Thunder’s 30-6 record is the best in the league, and Detroit extended its lead in the Eastern Conference with a 114-110 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers and a 26-9 lead over the Pistons.
For Detroit, Cade Cunningham scored 27 points and backup Danis Jenkins added 25 points, including 21 points in the second quarter.
Star guard Cunningham had six rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one blocked shot as the Pistons overcame the injury absences of key players Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren and Caris LeVert.
But Jenkins stole the show with a monster second quarter, making all seven of his shots, including six 3-pointers.
In the Eastern Conference, the Cavs, led by Donovan Mitchell with 30 points, cut the deficit from 13 to two with 1 minute, 16 seconds left, and got within two again with 3.8 seconds left, but Jenkins made two free throws to close the gap.
The Cavaliers, touted as a contender in the East at the beginning of the season, finished the day in eighth place after being overtaken by the Miami Heat, who defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 125-106.
The Indiana Pacers lost 135-127 to the Magic in Orlando, tying a franchise record with their 12th straight loss.
The Pacers have been plagued by injuries since star Tyrese Haliburton suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the Championship Series, and the team has been a shadow of the team that lost in last season’s NBA Finals.
Pacers forward Pascal Siakam led all scorers with 34 points, but the Magic, led by Desmond Bane’s 31 points, took control with a 17-0 run in the second quarter and withstood a late Pacers surge.
The Brooklyn Nets took advantage of the absence of Denver star Nikola Jokic to defeat the Nuggets 127-115.
The Nuggets lost in their third game after Jokic’s injury, despite the return of Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon from extended injury absences.
Jamal Murray scored 27 points and set a career high with 16 assists for Denver. Brown scored three points in 24 minutes and Gordon scored 20 points in 21 minutes.
But it wasn’t enough without Jokic, the three-time Most Valuable Player. Thanks in large part to former Nugget Michael Porter Jr., he had 27 points and 11 rebounds in his first game against the Nuggets since being traded in July.
