LOS ANGELES: Cleveland star LeBron James tied Larry Bird for sixth all time in NBA triple-doubles Thursday as the Cavaliers beat the Los Angeles Lakers 121-112.
“King” James scored 25 points with 12 rebounds and 12 assists for the 59th triple-double of his 15-season career.
Cleveland’s Kevin Love led all scorers with 28 points, while Jose Calderon added a season high 17.
Lonzo Ball, the Lakers rookie playing against James for the first time, finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Brandon Ingram scored 26 points to lead the young, energetic Lakers, who seized an early lead before the Cavaliers found their range.
Cleveland scored 100 points for the 22nd consecutive game, winning for the 16th time in 17 contests.
James helped put the game away, his dunk with 2:20 remaining and short shot with 1:38 to play putting the Cavs up 117-108.
“Tonight the difficult challenge was the way they were kind of spreading the floor, running up and down,” James said. “But if we defend, if we share the ball, move the ball, we’re going to give ourselves a good chance to win every night.”
In other early games, the New York Knicks lost star forward Kristaps Porcinis with a left knee injury in the third quarter but held on for a 111-104 victory over the Nets in Brooklyn.
Although they were just across town from their Madison Square Garden Arena, for the Knicks it was a much needed road win — just their second of the season.
Courtney Lee scored a season high 27 points for the Knicks. Michael Beasley, who replaced Porzingis, added 15 points and Turkish center Enes Kanter added 13 points with nine rebounds.
The Detroit Pistons, called out by coach Stan Van Gundy after dropping their seventh straight game on Tuesday, snapped their skid with an emphatic 105-91 victory over Hawks in Atlanta.
Andre Drummond scored 12 points, pulled down 19 rebounds and handed out nine assists for the Pistons.
“It’s a little less burdensome now,” Van Gundy said of ending the losing streak that had stretched over the first two weeks of December. “Maybe we just get back to playing basketball.”
James triple-double fuels Cavaliers over Lakers
James triple-double fuels Cavaliers over Lakers
China, North Korea make winning starts at Women’s Asian Cup
- China beat South Korea in Mumbai four years ago to win their ninth Asian Cup and are the most successful team in the tournament’s history
SYDNEY: China kicked off their Women’s Asian Cup title defense with a battling 2-0 win over resilient tournament debutants Bangladesh in Group B on Tuesday, courtesy of Wang Shuang and Zhang Rui hitting the target.
But it was hard work in front of a boisterous crowd at Western Sydney Stadium against a young team ranked almost 100 places below them.
Earlier, Myong Yu Jong bagged a hat trick as three-time champions North Korea marked their first game at the continental competition since 2010 with a slick 3-0 win over Uzbekistan in the same group.
China beat South Korea in Mumbai four years ago to win their ninth Asian Cup and are the most successful team in the tournament’s history.
But they have struggled in recent times and are bidding to recreate their glory days under Australian coach Ante Milicic.
It was tougher than expected against a Bangladesh team that showed no fear and would have taken the lead but for a fine fingertip save by Chen Chen from Ritu Porna Chakma’s dipping shot.
Playing at a fast and furious pace, China created plenty of opportunities but had to wait until just before halftime to open their account when Wang’s long-range shot curled in.
Zhang added a second minutes later from outside the box to stun Bangladesh.
But the underdogs, coached by England’s Peter Butler, refused to lie down and admirably regrouped to prevent any more goals despite China’s constant threat.
North Korea were dominant against the Uzbeks, striking early to pile on the pressure, and there was no way back for a side that lost their starting goalkeeper to a neck injury after 10 minutes.
Midfielder Myong clinically finished on the turn in the sixth minute after a goalmouth scramble in front of a smattering of North Korean fans.
She doubled the lead with a penalty after Chae Un Yong was shoved over and made it 3-0 with another spot kick on 41 minutes, again planting the ball into the left-hand corner.
The second half was played almost exclusively in the Uzbek half, but they limited the damage by defending well.
One of Asia’s most successful women’s sides, North Korea are looking to replicate their titles from 2001, 2003 and 2008.
Their momentum from the 2000s was checked when they were banned from the 2015 World Cup qualifying for failed doping tests and they did not play any games from 2019 to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
