NBA: Lakers and Bucks bow despite Westbrook and Antetokounmpo

In the absence of LeBron James, who suffered an ankle problem, Westbrook shared the offensive burden with Anthony Davis, finishing with 20 points, 13 assists and 14 rebounds at Paycom Arena.

But Westbrook and Davis, who scored 30 points, could not prevent a superb comeback from the Thunder, who was up 26 points behind at the end of the second quarter before recovering after the break to clinch. a first success in five meetings this season.

The Lakers had scored 41 points in the first quarter and seemed to be heading for victory by returning to the locker room at the break with a clear advantage (72-56). But Oklahoma City turned things around in the third quarter, taking a narrow 97-96 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Derrick Favors gave the Thunder the lead 118-115 with 31 seconds left, and the Lakers then missed three straight shots in the closing seconds.

The team coached by Mark Daigneault was able to rely on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who scored 26 points, while Josh Giddey and Darius Bazley each scored 18 points.

Westbrook’s game ended in an inglorious fashion, as the former Thunder was sent off in the final two seconds after protesting a spectacular, unopposed dunk from Darius Bazley.

“It’s a disappointing loss,” said Lakers coach Frank Vogel.

“Our focus, our intensity and our defensive effort have waned, but we have learned the lesson. We cannot take our foot off the accelerator against anyone,” he said.

Miami wins in Brooklyn

In Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 40 points, captured 16 rebounds and delivered seven assists, but the defending champions Bucks lost (113-108) to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

D’Angelo Russell was Wolves’ leading scorer with 29 points, while Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns both scored 25 points in a game Minnesota led from start to finish after accumulating 44 points in the first quarter.

“There are a lot of things we have to work on,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer explained.

Bam Adebayo was on the verge, with 24 points, to allow the Miami Heat to win among the Brooklyn Nets (106-93) in a clash between rivals in the Eastern Conference.

Adebayo was one of five Heat players to score at least 14 points in the hotly contested duel that saw Miami climb back to an eight-unit deficit early in the third quarter before breaking away in the fourth.

Kevin Durant scored 25 points for Brooklyn, but James Harden was limited to 14 points.

Meanwhile, in Boston, the Celtics are still awaiting their first home win of the season after suffering another loss (116-107) against the Washington Wizards.

Center pivot Montrezl Harrell led the way for the Wizards with 25 points off the bench while point guard Spencer Dinwiddie added 22 points.

The Los Angeles Clippers lost at home, 92 to 79 against Cleveland, for the second time in three games, despite the 16 points of Nicolas Batum, co-leading scorer of his team.

AFP