sport news NBA ROUNDUP: Nets win again, while LeBron James nears Kareem Abul Jabar's NBA ... trends now
Kyrie Irving made his first seven shots, sparked a big bench celebration with a one-handed follow slam after he finally missed and scored 27 points as Brooklyn beat San Antonio Spurs to earn a 12th straight victory.
Kevin Durant added 25 points and 11 assists for the Nets (25-12), who have ridden the longest winning streak in the NBA this season to within a game of Boston for the best record in the league. Brooklyn has won 16 of its last 17 games.
Irving shot 11-for-14, Durant was 10-for-14 and neither played in the fourth quarter for the Nets, who are 23-7 under Jacque Vaughn. T.J. Warren finished with 18 points and Brooklyn shot 62 percent from the field.
The Brooklyn Nets won their 12th straight with Kyrie Irving's help, as the guard had 27 points
STUNNER: Yuta Watanabe, of the Nets, was awed by Irving's dunk in the first half vs. the Spurs
Keldon Johnson scored 22 points for the Spurs, as they linguish above the last-place Houston Rockets in the Western Conference.
WARRIORS 143, HAWKS 141, 2 OT
Klay Thompson scored a season-best 54 points and Kevon Looney tipped in his own miss at the buzzer in the second overtime as Golden State outlasted Atlanta.
Trae Young tied the score for the Hawks on a layup with 8.2 seconds remaining before the Warriors won it. Young made four crucial free throws late in the first OT and finished with 30 points and 14 assists.
Looney had a career-high 21 rebounds to go with 14 points and five assists. Draymond Green hit his only 3-point attempt of the game with 43.8 seconds left in the second OT and finished with 13 rebounds and 11 assists.
Thompson shot 21-for-39 and his 10 3-pointers matched a season high. He drained a go-ahead three with 18 seconds left in the first overtime after his tying three with 1:55 to go in the initial extra period.
Donte DiVincenzo knocked down a tying three for the Warriors with 0.6 seconds remaining in regulation.
Klay Thompson scored 54 points against the Hawks, just six points shy of his personal best, 60
76ERS 120, PELICANS 111
Joel Embiid had 42 points and 11 rebounds, James Harden scored 27 and the Philadelphia 76ers beat a New Orleans team that lost Zion Williamson to a strained right hamstring.
Williamson scored 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting through three quarters before he left for the locker room in the fourth.
The 22-year-old pulled up on a fastbreak and handed off the ball late in the third.
Williamson, averaging 26 points, gingerly ran to the corner and lingered on the court for a bit before he was lifted from the game.
CJ McCollum scored 26 points for the Pelicans.
BIG MEN BATTLE: Joel Embiid scored 42 points against an injured Zion Williamson and the Pels
LAKERS 121, HORNETS 115
LeBron James scored 43 points to pull within 500 of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's NBA career scoring record, and Los Angeles avenged last month's home loss to Charlotte.
James had two dunks on alley-oops, including a high-flying reverse slam off a feed from Dennis Schroder, to push his career total to 37,903 points, leaving him 484 behind Abdul-Jabbar's long-standing record of 38,387.
Thomas Bryant had 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Austin Reaves and Schroder each had 15 points as the Lakers finished a 3-2 road trip.
Terry Rozier had 27 points to lead the Hornets, who have lost 13 of their last 16 games.
LaMelo Ball added 24 points and Mason Plumlee had 18 points and 14 rebounds for Charlotte.
LeBron James had more than 40 points for the second straight game as L.A. beat the Hornets
HEAT 110, CLIPPERS 100
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