Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham labelled LeBron James as "phenomenal" after scoring his 38,000th NBA career point, while the four-time MVP refused to discuss the milestone after another loss.
The Lakers slumped to a 19-24 record with Sunday's 113-112 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers where Russell Westbrook failed to get a clear shot or pass away on the final play.
Earlier, James made history in the first quarter by bringing up his 38,000th career point, joining only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with that milestone.
James is on track to usurp Abdul-Jabbar's all-time NBA record of 38,387 points next month, although he would not be drawn on that after the game.
Instead, Ham offered praise for James, who finished with 35 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists.
"I thought Bron was phenomenal," Ham told reporters. "Really playing downhill. Playing the right way, running off the ball.
"Really finding guys as well. I thought he was really, really good."
James' performance was his 525th career 30-point game, while he is averaging 35.2 points, 10.0 rebounds and 8.5 assists across the past six games.
The 38-year-old was not in a reflective mood after the game, ignoring the 38,000-point milestone for concern about a disappointing loss.
"We got a stop, gave ourselves a chance to win the game and we didn't," James said about the final play.
"It's just frustrating, getting in those positions and not being able to come away with the victory."
LeBron James became the second player to 38,000 career NBA points before Russell Westbrook's failed final play as the Los Angeles Lakers lost 113-112 to the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.
With the Sixers leading by one point, Westbrook rebounded after Joel Embiid missed a two-point shot with 16 seconds remaining, opting to advance the ball, rather than take a timeout, before failing to get a clean shot or pass away as the clock expired under defense from Embiid and Georges Niang.
The finish took some gloss off James' significant achievement, reaching the 38,000 career points mark in the first quarter, before finishing the game with 35 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
Only one player in NBA history has more career points than James and that is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with 38,387. James is on track to surpass Abdul-Jabbar next month.
The game was tight throughout, with Embiid top scoring for the Sixers with 35 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field with two three-pointers. Embiid also had 11 rebounds and four assists. James Harden contributed 24 points, seven rebounds and 13 assists.
Westbrook played 34 minutes of the bench with 20 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists but four turnovers. That marked Westbrook's 198th career triple-double.
Jokic sinks late three to clinch Nugs win
Back-to-back NBA MVP Nikola Jokic landed a step-back three-pointer with 1.2 seconds left to secure the Denver Nuggets a 119-116 victory over the Orlando Magic.
Jokic finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists for his 12th triple-double of the season, with the Nugs clinching their 13th straight home win to remain top of the Western Conference.
Aaron Gordon added 25 points with eight rebounds and five assists, while Jamal Murray delivered 18 points with three three-pointers and seven assists.
Lillard leads Blazers past Mavs missing Doncic
Damian Lillard backed up with 40 points for the Portland Trail Blazers to complete a two-game back-to-back sweep of the Dallas Mavericks, 140-123.
Lillard shot 10-of-17 from the field and four-of-nine from three-point range with six assists for the Blazers, who had lost five in a row prior to the two games against Dallas.
The Mavs rested Luka Doncic after his season-low 15 points in Saturday's game, having starred in Thursday's double overtime win over the Lakers.
Julius Randle enjoyed one of his best games of the season on Sunday in the New York Knicks' 117-104 road victory against the Detroit Pistons.
Randle became the first Knicks player to score at least 40 points and grab 15 rebounds or more in the same game since Patrick Ewing in 1996.
He finished with 42 points on 15-of-24 shooting to set a new season-high, while his 15 rebounds were par for the course during his red-hot start to 2023.
Since the new year began, Randle is averaging 24.5 points and 14.7 rebounds per contest, snatching at least 15 rebounds in five of the seven games to propel the Knicks to seven wins from their past eight outings.
Speaking after the game, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau heaped praise on the man seeking to make his second All-Star team this season.
"Just great – not just the scoring, it was all around, everything," he said. "I loved how we started the game, and I thought [Randle] set the tone for us.
"In watching [the Pistons] play, getting ready to play them, I knew how well they had been playing. Sometimes that's hard to get across, but I thought Julius helped set the tone for being ready.
"Getting that lead early – we needed all of it. Whenever we needed a big bucket, [Randle] stepped up and delivered.
"His defense – there's so many things – his rebounding is just huge. He got every big rebound down the stretch. He had tough covers, he was all over the place, on the perimeter guarding guards and everything else. I thought he was terrific."
Fellow Knicks All-Star-hopeful Jalen Brunson has also started 2023 in fine fashion, averaging 33.3 points, 6.0 assists and 5.7 rebounds in January, but he made it clear Randle is at the centre of New York's success.
"He played great, he played how Julius plays," he said. "He was aggressive, he was dominant on both sides of the ball.
"He was focused – he's been focused for a long time – and he's taken it up a notch. We just have to keep following his lead, he's doing a great job."
With the win, the Knicks moved to 25-19, and 14-8 on the road, which is tied for the second-best record away from home this season.
Thibodeau said that is no coincidence, and it all starts on the defensive end. New York boast the NBA's third-best defense (110.1 points per 100 possessions) during away games, but are 25th (113.3) at home.
"I just think it's about going in and understanding that it starts with defense, and that's what carries you," he said. "Your defense, your rebounding and taking care of the ball – so eliminate all the ways in which you beat yourself first.
"On offense, if you're willing to share and we help create rhythm for each other, we're going to be very good offensively.
"Tonight, we made it a power game. They went small, so we rebounded the ball, got to the line, and did the things we wanted to do to control the game."
The Knicks will try to make it eight wins from nine when they host the Toronto Raptors on Monday.
Veteran point guard John Wall has been ruled out of action by the Los Angeles Clippers for at least two weeks after suffering an abdominal injury.
The injury occurred during the Clippers' loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday when Wall went up and finished an explosive dunk.
He went on to finish the game with a strong stat-line of 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists, but he told reporters his first highlight dunk in a while may have come at a price.
"I haven't jumped like that when somebody contested me in probably like three years to be honest," he said. "I think I just stretched it as much as I could when I dunked it."
Wall adds to an extended injury list for the Clippers that includes All-Star Paul George (hamstring), forward Marcus Morris (knee contusion) and guard Luke Kennard (calf).
In Wall's absence, Clippers head coach Ty Lue said he would turn to Reggie Jackson to takeover as point guard on the second unit.
With a victory against the Indiana Pacers safely secured, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant was able to gush over his stunning dunk during the contest.
The move, with just over four minutes left in the third quarter at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, saw Morant cut in from the right before leaping over Jalen Smith and slamming in a spectacular dunk that had his team-mates and even opposition fans left in visible awe.
The Grizzlies went on to win 130-112 to make it nine victories in a row, and Morant – who ended with 23 points, 10 assists and three rebounds – agreed the dunk was the best of his career so far.
"Yeah, easy," he said. "It's what everybody has been waiting for. I finally made it."
Kevin Durant and Kevin Garnett were among those to react on Twitter to Morant's effort, with the latter exclaiming: "When we look back on Ja's in game dunk highlights when it's all said and done it's gonna be up there with some of the greatest ever."
Desmond Bane, who top-scored for the visitors with 25 points, also acknowledged the effort of his team-mate, saying: "I ain't seen nothing like that one. That's probably going to go down as dunk of the year."
Memphis' win streak has taken them to 29-13 as they fight with the Denver Nuggets for superiority in the Western Conference, though coach Taylor Jenkins acknowledged his team is "not playing perfect basketball."
He was, though, happy to see the Grizzlies "finding different ways to win," adding: "Whether we're playing with a lead or playing from behind. Each game has presented a different challenge for us and our guys have stayed the course.''
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was clearly impressed by their performance, saying: "[The Grizzlies may] very well may be the best team on the planet right now.''
Ja Morant scored 23 points including an incredible one-handed dunk of the year candidate to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to their ninth straight win, 130-112 over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.
Morant drove forward, reached back with his right arm and launched a massive dunk with 4:20 remaining in the third quarter over Jalen Smith to open up a 20-point lead.
The Grizzlies guard finished the game with 23 points on seven-of-17 shooting from the field, with 10 assists and three rebounds.
Morant is averaging 28.7 points per game during the Grizzlies' nine-game win streak.
Desmond Bane was solid as always, going five-of-11 from three-point range in his team-high 25 points.
The victory means Memphis are tied with the Denver Nuggets at 29-13 for the best record in the Western Conference. The win was the Grizzlies' fourth straight on the road.
The Pacers, missing Tyrese Haliburton, were led by Chris Duarte with 25 points despite a hand concern.
Embiid seals Sixers victory over Jazz
Joel Embiid's jumper with 5.7 seconds remaining clinched a 118-117 victory for the Philadelphia 76ers over the Utah Jazz.
Embiid finished the game with 31 points on nine-of-18 shooting from the field with two three-pointers, seven rebounds and two blocks, while James Harden added 30 points and 11 assists.
Utah trailed for most of the game but hit the lead at 115-114 with 33 seconds left, with Jordan Clarkson scoring 38 points with nine rebounds.
Doncic kept to season low as Blazers fire
Luka Doncic was kept to a season-low 15 points as Damian Lillard led the Portland Trail Blazers to a 136-119 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
Doncic was benched with seven minutes to go by Mavs head coach Jason Kidd, in a game where the Blazers snapped a five-game losing run, having led 71-56 at half-time.
Lillard was exceptional with 36 points on 11-of-20 shooting with four three-pointers and 10 assists, while center Jusuf Nurkic added 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla says point guard Derrick White is OK after suffering a worrying neck injury early in Saturday's 122-106 win over the Charlotte Hornets.
White exited the game in the first quarter when he inadvertently collided with teammate Marcus Smart as he bent over to pick up the ball after P.J. Washington attempted a steal.
The collision led to White falling to the ground, clutching his head and neck, with the Celtics later ruling him out of the game with a "neck sprain".
"He's good," Mazzulla told reporters. "I haven't gotten a report back but he's OK, I spoke with him in the locker room."
In White's absence, Malcolm Brogdon played 31 minutes off the bench, contributing 30 points on 11-of-17 field-goal shooting with three rebounds and three assists.
The former Indiana Pacers point guard, who joined the Celtics in July, has added good scoring output lately, averaging 20 points over the last five games.
"It obviously changed our rotation as we were a man down, but I thought Malcolm was great tonight," Mazzulla said.
"He's a guy that is adjusting to playing on our team. He shows tremendous humility and patience. Tonight was big for him. He really helped our team and was really selfless. I'm happy for him."
MVP candidate Jayson Tatum led the way for the Celtics, who recorded their sixth straight win to improve their NBA-best record to 32-12, with 33 points.
Tatum scored 17 points in the third quarter as the Celtics responded to a 66-62 half-time deficit, to lead by 10 at the final change.
The Celtics small forward shot 12-of-27 from the field with four triples along with nine rebounds and six assists.
Mazzulla praised Tatum, who is learning how different teams are guarding him to develop his consistency.
"He's done a really good of developing an awareness, because it changes night to night and quarter to quarter," Mazzulla said. "He's done a nice job of building an awareness to what the coverage is and having a solution for that."
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