LeBron James was in great shape in the NBA on Tuesday. In the LA Lakers derby against the LA Clippers, he scored 46 points, but was let down by his teammates. The Lakers lost 115-133.
Vincent Van GenechtenBron: BELGIAN
LeBron James has been in absolute top form in recent weeks. In the month of January he has an average of 35 points. He is rapidly approaching the points record of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The now 75-year-old Abdul-Jabbar made 38,387 points in the American top competition. James is still 178 points off his record.
He has a new record since Tuesday in his own stadium. The world star is the first player in the NBA ever to score at least 40 points in a game against all clubs.
It was to no avail against the Clippers, who showed themselves more efficiently as a team. Paul George (27 pts) and Kawhi Leonard (25 pts) led the collective. The Lakers remain 13th in the west a long way from the playoffs. The Clippers are fifth. It made for almost iconic images of a grieving LeBron James on the couch.
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The Western Conference leader, Denver, escaped unscathed in New Orleans. The Nuggets threw away a nineteen-point lead before grabbing the victory in the final phase. Nikola Jokic, back from a hamstring injury, recorded a triple-double with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. It was the fourth straight game for the two-time NBA MVP with a triple-double, the fifteenth this season. Jokic made the winning shot against the Pelicans 16.9 seconds from the end. New Orleans, still without the injured Zion Williamson, remains fourth in the west despite its fifth loss in a row.
In the East, league-leader Boston suffered a second straight loss. Miami was too strong with 98-95. Bam Adebayo (30 pts) was on a roll. The Celtics missed Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, Malcolm Brogdon and Marcus Smart and that turned out to be too much of a good thing. They were still ten points ahead in the last quarter, but could not hold on in the final phase. Jayson Tatum scored 31 points. Miami remains sixth in the East, trailing Cleveland, which lost 105-103 in New York.
Despite 41 points and 15 rebounds from Luka Doncic, Dallas lost at home against Washington (126-127). Kyle Kuzma (30 pts) scored the Wizards free throw winning five seconds from the end. Phoenix picked up her fourth win in a row (128-97) against Charlotte.