Staff Reporter.
DeMar DeRozan scored a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give the Chicago Bulls a 108-106 win at the Indiana Pacers.
DeRozan top-scored for the Bulls with 28 points, while Coby White added 24 and Nikola Vucevic made his fourth straight double-double in a game in which the lead changed hands 12 times.
“But we grinded it out and won it on a big shot. It was a hell of a win to pull out.”
The Bulls, missing coach Billy Donovan due to Covid-19, have thrived despite adversity.
“It’s credit to our hard work,” DeRozan said. “For our team to be able to hold all those things off and, at the end of the year, to be on top of our conference speaks volumes to what type of team we are.”
Victory extended the Eastern Conference leaders’ winning run to six games.
The Pacers, who had six players missing through Covid-19 protocols, have now lost three in a row.
LeBron James scored 43 points and added 14 rebounds the day after his 37th birthday to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 139-106 demolition of the Portland Trail Blazers.
James reached double figures in points with less than six minutes played, and recorded a double-double inside the first half.
Team-mate Russell Westbrook posted a triple-double – 15 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists – while Ben McLemore led the Trail Blazers with 28 points off the bench.
The Boston Celtics beat the Phoenix Suns 123-108, while Trae Young made 35 points and 11 assists as the Atlanta Hawks overcame a 16-point deficit to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 121-118.
Six Miami Heat players reached double figures as they held off the Houston Rockets 120-110 for a fifth consecutive win, and the Memphis Grizzlies made it four in a row with a 118-105 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
Donovan Mitchell returned from a two-game absence through injury to score a season-high 39 points as the Utah Jazz beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 120-108.
The Dallas Mavericks beat the Sacramento Kings 112-96, the Toronto Raptors overcame the LA Clippers 116-108 and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the New York Knicks 95-80.