Kawhi Leonard scored 35 points, leading the hosts Los Angeles Clippers to a 130-127 victory over the Chicago Bulls in NBA on Sunday.
Leonard hit 14 of 22 shots, including 7 of 9 three-pointers, and made a three-pointer in the third quarter to top 10,000 career points, Reuters reported.
Paul George had 28 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, Lou Williams added 21 points and Marcus Morris Sr. chipped in 11 points and seven boards for the Clippers. Nicolas Batum recorded four of the Clippers’ 13 steals.
Zach LaVine had a season-high 45 points, connecting on 10 of 16 three-pointers, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Bulls, who lost their third in a row. It was the third consecutive game that LaVine scored at least 32 points.
Lakers 120 Rockets 102
Anthony Davis scored 27 points and blocked three shots in his return from a one-game injury hiatus as Los Angeles remained unbeaten on the road with a victory over Houston.
Davis, who missed the Lakers’ win over the Chicago Bulls last Friday with a right adductor strain, started 9 for 9 from the floor. LeBron James added 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists while Montrezl Harrell produced 16 points and eight boards off the Lakers bench.
Christian Wood paced the Rockets with 23 points while James Harden added 20 points and nine assists but committed seven turnovers. Houston shot just 12 for 41 from behind the arc.
No pause plans
The National Basketball Association said it is not planning to temporarily halt the 2020-21 season, despite teams struggling to cope with the impact of rising COVID-19 cases and injuries.
Sunday’s game between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat was postponed because the Heat did not have the league-mandated eight players available after contact tracing protocols left them shorthanded.
Miami said earlier that guard Avery Bradley would miss the game due to the NBA’s pandemic health and safety protocols while Boston would have had only eight players available, with nine players missing out due to injury and COVID-19 protocols.
“We anticipated that there would be game postponements this season and planned the schedule accordingly,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass told ESPN.
“There are no plans to pause the season, and we will continue to be guided by our medical experts and health and safety protocols.”
The Philadelphia 76ers, who faced Denver Nuggets on Saturday, also had the minimum eight players active due to injuries and virus concerns.
The NBA had postponed the game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets last month.