KRISTAPS Porzingis scored 16 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter to lead seven players in double figures as the Washington Wizards rallied to snap a six-game losing streak, beating the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 127-119 on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
The win overshadowed a monumental night for Los Angeles star LeBron James, who had 38 points and passed Karl Malone for second on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Washington trailed by as many as 16 before taking its first lead of the game at 107-106 on Porzingis’ three-point play with 7:26 left in the fourth quarter.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope posted 18 points and 10 rebounds against his former team while Daniel Gafford added 17 points apiece for Washington, which outscored the Lakers 34-20 in the fourth quarter. Tomas Satoransky had a season-high 16 points, Corey Kispert added 13 and Rui Hachimura had 10.
James scored on a cutting layup with 5:20 left in the second quarter to move past Malone with 36,930 points. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sits atop the league’s all-time scoring list at 38,387 points.
In other games, it was the Wolves 138, Bucks 119; Cavs 113, Pistons 109; and Hornets 129, Mavs 108.
Wolves 138, Bucks 119
Karl-Anthony Towns recorded his seventh double-double in the last eight games as Minnesota earned a win over visiting Milwaukee to extend its win streak to four games.
Towns poured in 25 points and 11 rebounds on 6-of-12 shooting to help the Timberwolves sweep the two-game season series with Milwaukee. Anthony Edwards also had 25 points, and D’Angelo Russell chipped in 16.
With Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined due to knee soreness, Khris Middleton paced Milwaukee with 15 points and seven rebounds on 6-of-13 shooting. Brook Lopez and Pat Connaughton also supplied 15 points, Jrue Holiday tallied 14 and Grayson Allen contributed 13.
Cavs 113, Pistons 109
All-Star guard Darius Garland had a team-high 24 points and a game-high 12 assists, and teammate Cedi Osman came off the bench for 16 points to power Cleveland to a victory over visiting Detroit.
The Cavs also got 15 points from Lamar Stevens, and 14 points and 10 rebounds from Kevin Love.
