LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James had 11 points and 12 assists in the first game of his unprecedented 23rd NBA season, and Luka Doncic had 37 points and 10 assists in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 140-126 victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.
The 40-year-old James made his season debut in the Lakers’ starting lineup and played 30 minutes after missing training camp and their first 14 games due to sciatica. Vince Carter is the only other player in NBA history to participate in 22 seasons, but James passed him while opening the next chapter of a pro career that began in 2003.
James didn’t take long to find the flow: He put on a playmaking clinic in the second half, and Doncic scored 17 points in the third quarter while the Lakers pulled away from Utah.
Austin Reaves added 26 points as the Lakers improved to 11-4 with their third straight victory.
Keyonte George, who was born 10 days after James’ NBA debut, matched his season high with 33 points for the Jazz two nights after hitting the winning 3-pointer in a double-overtime thriller against Chicago.
Lauri Markkanen had 31 points for Utah, which has lost five of seven.
James didn’t score in his first 11 minutes on the court, but his two 3-pointers in the first half moved him past Reggie Miller for the sixth-most in NBA history.
James made a driving layup in the third quarter to extend his streak of double-digit scoring performances to a record 1,293 games — every game in which he has played since Jan. 6, 2007. The four-time NBA champion didn’t score again, but the Lakers moved comfortably ahead.
George scored 23 points and Markkanen had 22 in Utah’s 71-point first half. The Lakers took charge after halftime, closing the third on a 21-5 run.
Bronny James played the final 3:33 and hit a 3-pointer.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Desmond Bane had 23 points and five steals, Anthony Black came off the bench to score 21 points, and Orlando beat Golden State.
Six Orlando players scored at least 13 points, offsetting 34 points and nine assists from Golden State’s Stephen Curry and 33 points from Jimmy Butler.
Franz Wager had 18 points and eight rebounds and Wendell Carter Jr. had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Orlando, which has won four of its last five games. Tristan da Silva had 15 points and Jalen Suggs finished with 13 points and eight assists.
Orlando shot 50.6% overall but made only 8 of 32 3-point shots. After making five of their first six 3-pointers, the Warriors made only 8 of their next 30. Curry, who scored 56 points in Orlando in February and put up 49 and 46 points in games last week, shot 12 for 23 overall and made 7 of 15 3-pointers.
The Magic led by 15 in the middle of the second quarter before Curry closed the half with three 3-pointers and two free throws in the final four minutes to pull Golden State within 67-60 at halftime.
But after bursting down the lane for a layup late in he third quarter that left the Warriors down by 10, Curry went almost 12 minutes without a point. The Magic led 115-101 when Curry nailed a 3-pointer with 3:44 left.
Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga missed a third straight game with a knee injury and Magic forward Paolo Banchero missed his third straight game with a groin strain.
BROOKLYN (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 29 points, Payton Pritchard had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Boston beat Brooklyn to move above .500 for the first time this season.
Derrick White added 15 points for the Celtics, who won their third straight game to improve to 8-7. They played the Nets even for about three quarters before smothering them defensively in the fourth, allowing just one basket for the first 10 minutes of the period.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 25 points for the Nets, his career-best seventh straight game with at least 20. But after his 3-pointer gave Brooklyn a 90-89 lead with 9:08 left, the Nets didn’t make another basket until 1:56 remained.
Day’Ron Sharpe added 16 points for the Nets, who fell to 2-12 overall and 0-7 at home.
The Celtics started the season 0-3 and then won their next three. They dropped the next two games and hadn’t gotten their record back to even again until beating the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
Porter had 18 points at halftime and Pritchard scored 17. The teams combined for 22 2-pointers and 21 3-pointers in the first half, which ended with Boston leading 62-61.
The Celtics opened their first double-digit cushion when Brown followed a three-point play with a 3-pointer to cap an 8-0 burst and make it 75-65 with 7 1/2 minutes remaining in the third. Brooklyn cut it to one late in the period before Brown made another 3-pointer to send the Celtics to the fourth with an 89-85 edge.
With the Celtics leading 97-92, they chased down three missed shots on one possession to set up White’s 3-pointer. After a Brooklyn free throw, he made another 3 to make it 103-93. Brown’s 3 with 2:55 left capped an 18-3 run to make it 107-93.
ATLANTA (AP) — Cade Cunningham returned from injury with 25 points and 10 assists as Detroit won its 11th straight game over short-handed Atlanta.
Jalen Duren added 24 points for the Pistons (13-2), who have their best start since going 15-2 out of the gates in 2005-06. That team finished 64-18 and reached the Eastern Conference finals. The Pistons have the NBA’s longest winning streak this season and their longest since an 11-gamer during the 2007-08 season, the last time they won a playoff series. That team went 59-23 and also reached the East finals.
Duncan Robinson had 14 points including three 3-pointers in the first five minutes for an early spark for the Pistons, who beat Indiana at home on Monday.
Cunningham became the first player in Pistons history with 25-plus points and 10-plus assists in five consecutive games played.
Jalen Johnson had 25 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and three steals for the Hawks (9-6), who snapped a five-game win streak. Atlanta was missing starting forward Zaccharie Risacher with a hip injury from their previous game on Sunday suffered from an awkward fall following a dunk. Star guard Trae Young and starting center Kristaps Porzingis have also been sidelined by knee injuries.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 24 points and Onyeka Okongwu added 21 for the Hawks, who trailed by 19 in the second quarter and 94-80 late in the third before an 18-5 run cut the deficit to one with 6:08 remaining.
Alexander-Walker’s two free throws with 1:36 left brought the Hawks within two, but Cunningham, who missed the last three games with a hip injury, answered with a jumper and the Pistons inched away.
Dyson Daniels, who received his Most Improved Player award in a ceremony before the game, had 12 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals for the Hawks.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AP) — De’Aaron Fox had 26 points, Harrison Barnes added 23 points and San Antonio escaped with a victory over Memphis in a battle of injury-riddled rosters.
Barnes was 9 for 14 from the field, including seven straight points on a running hook, nine-foot floater and 3-pointer to give the Spurs a 107-101 lead with 53.2 seconds remaining. Keldon Johnson added 18 points on 8-for-15 shooting.
Cedric Coward had 19 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 18 points for Memphis, which lost its fifth straight.
San Antonio has won two straight and five of seven.
MRIs revealed Wembanyama has a left calf strain and Castle has a left hip flexor strain. Both Wembanyama and Castle are expected to miss two to three weeks.
The Spurs are 18-31 without Wembanyama and the Grizzlies are 76-93 without Morant.
Memphis took advantage of Wembanyama’s absence to outrebound San Antonio 59-38 and capture a 22-2 advantage on second-chance points.
The Spurs were able to overcome those lopsided margins by outscoring the Grizzlies 25-14 in the fourth quarter after a sloppy start.
Memphis opened the game on an 8-0 run, prompting San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson to call a timeout 89 seconds into the game. The Spurs opened the game shooting 17% from the field, missing 10 of 12 attempts.
SUNS 127, TRAIL BLAZERS 110
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Devin Booker scored 19 points and Phoenix pulled away in the second half for a victory over Portland.
Collin Gillespie added 19 points off the bench for the Suns, who led by as many as 25 after the break. Phoenix coach Jordan Ott rested Booker in the fourth quarter.
Shaedon Sharpe had 29 points for the Blazers, who were without Jerami Grant because of an illness. Portland was also missing guard Jrue Holiday for the second straight game because of calf soreness.
Rookie center Yang Hansen was back with the Blazers after a stint with the NBA G League Rip City Remix. Yang played his first minutes for Portland since Oct. 29 in the second quarter and drew cheers from the Moda Center crowd when he dunked.
The 7-footer from China, the 16th overall pick in the NBA draft, finished with nine points.
Portland, coming off a 1-4 road trip, trailed for much of the first half but stayed within single digits of the Suns until late, when Booker’s short basket and free throw put Phoenix in front 64-53.
Portland went on an 8-0 run to go into halftime trailing 64-61. But the Suns pulled away in the third quarter, going up 80-63 on Ryan Dunn’s dunk.
The Blazers made just 10 of 41 attempts from 3-point range (24.4%). Portland has lost three straight and five of six.
Dillon Brooks, who finished with 12 points and four assists for the Suns, got his 1,000th career assist in the first half.
