LeBron James is delighted to see fans back in the building despite getting into an altercation with spectators sitting courtside during the Los Angeles Lakers' road win at the Atlanta Hawks.
ESPN reported four people were ejected by the Hawks following the incident late in the fourth quarter of the Lakers' 107-99 victory at State Farm Arena.
A woman later posted on social media claiming she got involved after her husband and James exchanged words. Cameras showed a woman involved in the argument with her mask pulled below her chin, something not allowed with rules in place amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Referees halted the game and security personnel were called over, but James looked to cool the incident when talking after the contest, which was attended by 1,341 fans.
"At the end of the day, I'm happy fans are back in the building," said James.
"I miss that interaction. I need that interaction, we as players need that interaction. I don't feel like it was warranted to be kicked out."
James, who had 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, suggested alcohol may have been an influence in the incident.
He added: "They might have had a couple drinks, maybe and they could have probably kept it going during the game, and the game wouldn't have been about the game no more, so I think the referees did what they had to do.
"I love our fans. Laker Nation and everybody else that's against Laker Nation. It just feels better.
"Fans in the stands is just, it's just better. It's better for everybody. Especially on the last game of a 14-day road trip."
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel suggested the incident perhaps exposed a problem with having fans in attendance, especially when the woman lowered her mask.
"It certainly exposed something with regard to having fans in the pandemic," Vogel said.
"You obviously can't have fans taking their masks down and shouting at our players with the virus out there during these times."
Anthony Davis concurred but like James is happy to see fans back.
"With COVID going on, we obviously can't have that [masks being pulled down]. We want to make sure we all can be safe," Davis said.
"We love having fans at the game. Whether we're home or away, it just brings back the game that we love, that joy from the fans and the support.
"Whether it's 500 people or 1,000, 1,500, whatever it is, it's always enjoyable to play in front of a crowd."
NBA champions the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Atlanta Hawks 107-99 behind a dominant final quarter from LeBron James.
James posted 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds against the Hawks on the road, having only managed nine points through the first three quarters on Monday.
Lakers team-mate Anthony Davis scored 25 points of his own in Atlanta, where a small crowd were granted access to attend.
James was involved in a brief verbal confrontation with a female fan during the fourth quarter.
Trae Young (25 points and 16 assists) and Clint Capela (16 points and 13 rebounds) both had double-doubles for the beaten Hawks.
Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets tied an NBA record after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder 136-106.
The Rockets knocked down 11 three-pointers in a 48-point opening quarter to match a league record away to the Thunder.
Eric Gordon (25 points) and DeMarcus Cousins (17 points) each finished with five three-pointers, John Wall (18 points) and Danuel House Jr. (13 points) nailed four from beyond the arc, while Victor Oladipo (15 points) made three of his own.
Monk cools Heat
Malik Monk starred off the bench, posting a career-high 36 points as the Charlotte Hornets outlasted the Miami Heat 129-121 in overtime.
De'Aaron Fox had 38 points, including 17 straight Sacramento points during the final seven minutes, to lead the Kings past the New Orleans Pelicans 118-109. It capped a night which saw seven Kentucky players score 20-plus points in the NBA – Fox, Monk, Davis, Keldon Johnson (25), Devin Booker (24), Bam Adebayo (23) and Julius Randle (23). According to Stats Perform, it is the most 20-point games by players from any single college on any single day in NBA history.
Nassir Little put up 30 points, however, the Portland Trail Blazers still suffered a 134-106 defeat at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks.
A double-double of 23 points and 18 rebounds from Jarrett Allen inspired the Cleveland Cavaliers' 100-98 success against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Trent struggles in Milwaukee
Gary Trent Jr. had a tough night for the Trail Blazers. In 29 minutes, he was three of 13 from the field and made just two of eight three-point attempts for eight points.
Danilo Gallinari did not fare much better for the Hawks. Gallinari finished two-of-10 from the field, while draining only two of his five shots from beyond the arc for six points.
Booker calls game
The Phoenix Suns trailed by two points at the death, but Booker nailed a clutch three-pointer with 1.5 seconds remaining to stun the Dallas Mavericks 109-108. It was Booker's fifth career game-winning shot in the final three seconds of a contest.
Monday's results
Los Angeles Lakers 107-99 Atlanta Hawks
Charlotte Hornets 129-121 Miami Heat (OT)
Cleveland Cavaliers 100-98 Minnesota Timberwolves
Chicago Bulls 110-102 New York Knicks
Milwaukee Bucks 134-106 Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings 118-109 New Orleans Pelicans
Houston Rockets 136-106 Oklahoma City Thunder
Phoenix Suns 109-108 Dallas Mavericks
Memphis Grizzlies 133-102 San Antonio Spurs
Denver Nuggets-Detroit Pistons (postponed)
Clippers at Nets
In-form Western Conference leaders the Los Angeles Clippers (16-5) will put their three-game winning streak on the line against the star-studded Brooklyn Nets (13-9) on Tuesday.
Scott Brooks declared "the basketball gods gave us a break" after his Washington Wizards side produced a stunning comeback to beat the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday
The Wizards, bottom of the Eastern Conference, went on an astonishing 8-0 in the final 8.1 seconds at the Capital One Arena to snatch a dramatic 149-146 victory.
Second-placed Brooklyn (13-9) led by five points with only 10 seconds to play, but suffered a staggering collapse.
Bradley Beal landed a deep shot from beyond the arc after Nets star Kyrie Irving made a pair of free throws, before the Wizards stole the ball as the Nets tried to inbound – Russell Westbrook nailing a three-pointer to put Washington ahead.
Beal then sank two free throws to give the Wizards (4-12) their first win since January 11, bringing a four-game losing streak to a halt.
Wizards coach Brooks said: "It was the first game all year I had a White Claw. I wanted to enjoy it. This is a good feeling.
"I wanted our players to enjoy it. We fought. We fought hard.
"We've done it all year, and the basketball gods gave us a break tonight."
Westbrook (41) and Beal (37) became the first pair of Wizards team-mates to score 37-plus points in a single game since the team moved to Washington in 1974.
Twice in the past two days has a team won in regulation after trailing by five-plus points inside the final 10 seconds – the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday. It only happened twice in the previous 2,871 days – the Chicago Bulls in 2019 and Boston Celtics in 2016.
Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash urged his team to play with more pride after their stunning capitulation at the hands of the lowly Washington Wizards.
The Nets somehow lost 149-146 to the Wizards, who went on a remarkable 8-0 run in the final 8.1 seconds on Sunday.
Washington trailed by five points with just 10 seconds remaining but produced an incredible rally to upstage the James Harden-less Nets.
Bradley Beal nailed a deep shot from beyond the arc after Brooklyn's Kyrie Irving made a pair of free throws, before the Wizards stole the ball as the Nets tried to inbound – Russell Westbrook nailing a three-pointer to put Washington ahead.
Beal then sank two free throws to give the Wizards their first win since January 11, snapping a four-game losing streak.
Westbrook (41) and Beal (37) became the first pair of Wizards team-mates to score 37-plus points in a single game since the team moved to Washington in 1974.
"The most important thing is individual pride, making every possession count and mean something," first-year coach Nash said afterwards.
"I think too many possessions didn't mean enough for us tonight. We've got to sit down in a stance and guard and make it difficult, and if we can cut out three or four of those paint attempts or baskets, we win the game.
"But you hope you can clean up a heck of a lot of them and I think more than anything it's just a little bit of pride and a little bit of desperation to guard the ball and keep them out of the paint."
Twice in the past two days has a team won in regulation after trailing by five-plus points inside the final 10 seconds – the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday. It only happened twice in the previous 2,871 days – the Chicago Bulls in 2019 and Boston Celtics in 2016, per Stats Perform.
The star-studded Nets, without former MVP Harden due to a thigh contusion, were led by Kevin Durant (37 points), Joe Harris (30 points) and Irving (26 points) as they had their four-game winning run snapped.
Durant added: "They shot 20 more shots than us. They had 25 points off our turnovers, and they made timely shots. Got to give them credit. They played extremely desperate all night, physical, trying to get in the passing lanes, just trying to muck the game up.
"They needed a win. They hadn't won in a while, so you've got to give them credit. Tough loss for us."
On the final offensive possession, Durant said: "Russ [Westbrook] was sitting on top-side and Kyrie lobbed that up, then Bradley Beal was just sitting there waiting on it, then they had another guy sitting in the paint. We got a wide-open layup to lead the game because everybody was so focused on me right there.
"Coach drew up a good play and he was able to get somebody creeping for a layup, we just didn't finish it. But yeah, the ball was supposed to come to me for sure, but you see how they reacted, and we was able to get something good, we just didn't finish."
Los Angeles Lakers pair LeBron James and Anthony Davis are questionable for Monday's clash with the Atlanta Hawks.
James is listed with a left ankle sprain, while team-mate Davis has a right quadriceps contusion, according to the NBA champions.
Lakers superstar James posted 21 points in Saturday's 96-95 win over the Boston Celtics as Davis led the way with a 27-point, 14-rebound double-double.
James has been averaging 25.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game for the Lakers.
Davis, meanwhile, is averaging 22.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists.
The Lakers (15-6) sit third in the Western Conference, behind city rivals the Los Angeles Clippers (16-5) and Utah Jazz (15-5).
Nikola Jokic helped the Denver Nuggets end the Utah Jazz's 11-game winning streak in the NBA with 47 points in a 128-117 victory.
The Jazz had been the league's in-form team, but Jokic's dominant double-double display snapped their streak on Sunday.
Jokic matched a career high after going 17 for 26 from the field while making all four of his three-point attempts, having scored 33 points in the opening quarter.
The MVP candidate also collected 12 rebounds as Bojan Bogdanovic led the visiting Jazz with 29 points in Denver.
Meanwhile, the lowly Washington Wizards completed an unlikely comeback against the Brooklyn Nets, who were stunned 149-146 in an insane finish.
The Wizards trailed by five points with just 10 seconds remaining but produced an incredible rally to upstage the James Harden-less Nets.
Bradley Beal nailed a deep shot from beyond the arc after Brooklyn's Kyrie Irving made a pair of free throws, before the Wizards stole the ball as the Nets tried to inbound – Russell Westbrook nailing a three-pointer to put Washington ahead.
Beal then sank two free throws to give the Wizards – who went on an 8-0 run in the final 8.1 seconds – their first win since January 11, snapping a four-game losing streak.
Twice in the past two days has a team won in regulation after trailing by five-plus points inside the final 10 seconds – the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday. It only happened twice in the previous 2,871 days – the Chicago Bulls in 2019 and Boston Celtics in 2016, per Stats Perform.
Westbrook finished with 41 points and 10 rebounds, while Wizards team-mate Beal put up 37 points at home to the Nets.
The Nets, without former MVP Harden due to a thigh contusion, were led by Kevin Durant (37 points), Joe Harris (30 points) and Irving (26 points) as they had their four-game winning run snapped.
Raptors roar thanks to Siakam
Pascal Siakam's 30 points and 10 rebounds led the Toronto Raptors past the Orlando Magic 115-102, ending a three-game losing streak. Kyle Lowry (12 points and 14 assists) also posted a double-double.
No Joel Embiid, no worries for the Philadelphia 76ers, who rallied to top the Indiana Pacers 119-110. Embiid sat out due to back tightness but Tobias Harris (27 points) and Ben Simmons (21 points) stepped up after the 76ers used a 37-15 final quarter to beat the Pacers. Simmons was nine-of-12 from the field in 35 minutes.
Andre Drummond joined LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Tyson Chandler and LaMarcus Aldridge as the only active players with 9,000 career points and 8,000 career rebounds. He finished with 25 points and 22 rebounds in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 109-104 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Mitchell struggles on return
Jazz star Donovan Mitchell missed two games while in concussion protocol. Back in the line-up against the Nuggets, he had 13 points in 31 minutes. Mitchell was just three-of-12 from the field, while he nailed only three of his eight three-point attempts.
It was a tough outing for Orlando's Evan Fournier, who was two for 12 from the field and just one-of-six from beyond the arc in an 11-point display.
Durant with authority!
The Nets lost but former MVP Durant still provided plenty of highlights, including a monstrous dunk against the Wizards.
Sunday's results
Philadelphia 76ers 119-110 Indiana Pacers
Toronto Raptors 115-102 Orlando Magic
Washington Wizards 149-146 Brooklyn Nets
Minnesota Timberwolves 109-104 Cleveland Cavaliers
Los Angeles Clippers 129-115 New York Knicks
Denver Nuggets 128-117 Utah Jazz
Lakers at Hawks
Defending champions the Los Angeles Lakers (15-6) are on the road against the Atlanta Hawks (10-9) on Monday.
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