NBA roundup: Knicks hold off Lakers team missing suspended James, 106-100

Luka Dončić had 26 in his return to the lineup and Dallas defeated Los Angeles, while Portland handed the banged-up Denver Nuggets its fifth straight loss.

Wth James not in the arena, Anthony Davis struggling through an illness and Carmelo Anthony’s shot off in his old home, the Lakers never could take the lead.

Evan Fournier scored 26 points, Immanuel Quickley had 12 of his 14 in the fourth quarter after New York had blown a 25-point lead, and the Knicks beat a Los Angeles Lakers team missing suspended star LeBron James 106-100 on Tuesday night.

Julius Randle added 20 points, 16 rebounds and five assists for the Knicks, but sat for eight minutes of the fourth quarter after picking up his fifth foul. Quickley made sure that didn’t matter, hitting four 3-pointers in the period.

Russell Westbrook had 31 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, with 18 points in a sensational third quarter that helped the Lakers tie the game. But with James not in the arena, Anthony Davis struggling through an illness and Carmelo Anthony’s shot off in his old home, the Lakers never could take the lead.

They beat Detroit on Sunday after overcoming a 17-point deficit in the game James was ejected from for striking Pistons center Isaiah Stewart in the face and drawing blood. The NBA suspended the superstar forward for one game.

But the best Los Angeles could do in this one was tie it twice after New York dominated most of the first two quarters.

Davis, who woke up with a fever, had 20 points on 7-for-17 shooting. Anthony was just 3 of 14 for 12 points, and the Lakers lost for the fourth time in five games.

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MAVERICKS 112, CLIPPERS 104

Kristaps Porzingis scored 30 points, Luka Dončić had 26 in his return to the lineup and Dallas defeated Los Angeles.

The Mavericks were up 102-92 late in the fourth quarter before the Clippers scored 11 of the final 12 points to force overtime, including a 3-pointer by Paul George at the buzzer. Dallas, though, put up the first seven points of overtime and outscored Los Angeles 9-1 to snap a three-game losing streak.

Porzingis, who has scored 20 or more in a career-high seven straight games, had six points in overtime. He also made all 10 of his free throws in 40 minutes of action.

Reggie Jackson led the Clippers with 31 points and 10 rebounds. George scored 26.

Dončić, who missed the past three games due to left knee and ankle sprains, also had nine rebounds and nine assists in 41 minutes.

TRAIL BLAZERS 119, NUGGETS 100

CJ McCollum scored 32 points and Portland handed the banged-up Denver Nuggets its fifth straight loss.

Damian Lillard had 25 points and five assists to help the Trail Blazers to their fourth consecutive win and ninth in a row at home.

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Jeff Green led Denver with 24 points.

The defining run of the game came late in the second quarter. After the Nuggets took a 49-48 lead with 3:35 left, Portland seized control with an 18-3 spurt to close the first half, sparked by four 3-pointers from Lillard. From that point on, the smallest Blazers lead was eight points.

HEAT 100, PISTONS 92

Tyler Herro had 31 points and eight rebounds as Miami rallied to beat Detroit.

Miami (12-6) outscored the Pistons 27-6 in the first 8:17 of the fourth quarter to turn a nine-point deficit into a 12-point lead.

Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo each added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Heat, who won for the fifth time in six games. Kyle Lowry had 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Jerami Grant had 21 points and seven rebounds for Detroit (4-13), which went 1-4 on its homestand. The Pistons played without center Isaiah Stewart, who served the first of a two-game suspension for Sunday’s altercation with Lakers star LeBron James.