LOS ANGELES, US —
LeBron James
produced a 56-point masterpiece as the Los Angeles Lakers snapped their
four-game losing streak with a thrilling 124-116 win over the Golden State
Warriors on Saturday.
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James delivered his highest
single-game points tally since joining the Lakers in a pulsating battle with
the Warriors, who themselves are in a mini-slump that now runs to four
straight defeats.
A see-saw game at the Lakers' newly
renamed
Crypto.com Arena saw the lead change hands nine times, with the Lakers
jumping out to a 14-point lead in the first quarter before the Warriors hit
back with a 42-point second quarter display.
That left the Warriors in the
driving seat and leading by 14 before James and the Lakers gradually worked
their way back into the contest with a late burst of scoring in the fourth
quarter.
James, who finished with 56 points
and 10 rebounds, said afterwards that "desperation" had inspired
the Lakers.
"Just desperation," he
said.
"We needed this win for sure.
It means a lot. Obviously they're the second best team in the West. They've
been struggling a little bit of late, but we've been struggling all year pretty
much.
"For us to get a win like this
in front of our home fans – they deserve it. We haven't played like much of
anything of late so it's good to get a win like that in front of them."
James hopes the win can act as a
catalyst for the Lakers' troubled season. The 2020
NBA champions remain out of
the automatic playoff places and are ninth in the Western Conference with a
28-35 record.
"We've gotta see where we can
take it from here," James said.
"We've got a two-game road trip
coming up so let's see what we can do."
Lakers coach
Frank Vogel meanwhile
saluted James' leadership.
"He leads us with his
consistent demeanor, trying to get better every day," Vogel said.
"What he did tonight was
spectacular."
Heat too hot for Sixers
James' scoring was backed with 20
points from
Russell Westbrook while veteran Carmelo Anthony added 14 off the
bench.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors
scorers with 30 points while Jordan Poole added 23.
Elsewhere Saturday,
Jimmy Butler scored 21 points as the Miami Heat shut down Joel Embiid to end the
Philadelphia 76ers' five-game winning streak with a 99-82 victory.
The much-anticipated duel between
the first and second-placed Eastern Conference rivals was a mostly one-sided
affair with the Sixers weakened by the decision to rest star new recruit James
Harden.
That left Sixers big man Embiid
isolated as the Heat's defense took control to restrict the Sixers scoring,
including a season-low 14 points in the first quarter.
Butler was one of four
Miami players to finish in double figures.
Tyler Herro added 21 off the bench,
while Gabe Vincent finished with 16 points and Caleb Martin 14.
Embiid led the Sixers, scoring 22
points, while
Tyrese Maxey finished with 17 points and Tobias Harris 16 on a
disappointing night for the visitors, who looked weary after facing Cleveland
at home on Friday.
Save for a brief moment in the
opening minute of the first quarter, Miami led from start to finish, racing
into a 20-point lead early in the second quarter.
"We wanted to set the tone and
make a statement and we were able to do that and come out with a win,"
said Heat point guard Vincent, paying tribute to Heat talisman Butler's
performance.
"Jimmy does what Jimmy does ...
our leaders led, and we followed," Vincent said.
The win saw Miami improve to 43-22 at
the top of the
Eastern Conference standings.
Philadelphia remain in the second
spot with a 39-24 record.
In other games,
Ja Morant and
Desmond Bane scored 25 points and 24 points respectively to lead the Memphis
Grizzlies to a 124-96 blowout over the Orlando Magic.
The win puts the Grizzlies' into
second place in the Western Conference, improving to 44-21.
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