James’ triple-double boosts Lakers to win
Los Angeles rallies, deals Denver first loss
LOS ANGELES — Lebron James had 28 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds while leading the Los Angeles Lakers’ late rally for his first home victory at Staples Center, 121114 over the previously unbeaten Denver Nuggets on Thursday.
Kyle Kuzma scored 22 points and Javale Mcgee 21 to complement James’ 74th triple-double and first with his new team.
With Kobe Bryant watching from a courtside seat for the first time since Lebron’s Los Angeles arrival, the Lakers trailed by eight points with six minutes left before Lance Stephenson started a 15-2 rally with back-to-back 3-pointers. Stephenson totaled with 12 points.
James got Staples Center rocking with a go-ahead dunk with 3:31 to play before Lonzo Ball made an artful step-back 3-pointer. Kuzma added two dunks down the stretch of Los Angeles’ second win in two days after an 0-3 start.
At Oklahoma City, Jayson Tatum scored 24 points for Boston, which overcame 32-percent shooting in the first half and a 16-point intermission deficit to keep Oklahoma City winless. Russell Westbrook had 13 points on 5-for20 shooting, 15 rebounds and eight assists for the Thunder.
At Detroit, Andre Drummond had 26 points and 22 rebounds for Detroit, which is 4-0 for the first time since 2008-09. Kyle Korver scored 21 points for Cleveland, which was without Kevin Love (sore left foot) and is 0-5 for the first time since 2003-04.
At Orlando, Fla., Damian Lillard scored 34 of his 41 points in the second half for Portland, which got 22 of its final 26 points from Lillard and CJ Mccollum, who totaled 22. Nikola Vucevic led Orlando with 24 points and 11 rebounds.
Celtics 101, Thunder 95 — Pistons 110, Cavaliers 103 — Trail Blazers 128, Magic 114 —