LeBron's a winner for Lakers in blowout of Suns

LeBron James won his first game as a member of the Lakers, finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists in a 131-113 victory against the host Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.

Lance Stephenson had 23 points, eight rebounds and eight assists off the bench, and JaVale McGee led five starters in double figures with 20 points.

Kyle Kuzma scored 17 points and Josh Hart made his first start of the season for Los Angeles and scored 15.

Phoenix guard Devin Booker scored 23 points before leaving with a strained left hamstring late in the third quarter. Deandre Ayton had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Tyson Chandler had 14 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

James had 10 points and five assists in the second quarter to help the Lakers outscore the Suns 44-24 and take a 76-54 lead into the half.

Los Angeles took its first double-digit lead on a basket by Stephenson with 9:30 left in the first half, and Hart's steal and layup made it 63-43 with 3:51 remaining.

James drove to the basket in the final seconds, grabbed his own rebound off the glass and put it in with 2.4 seconds left on the clock, giving Los Angeles its biggest lead heading into the break.

Phoenix could only get as close as 17 points in the third quarter before the Lakers took a 106-86 lead into the fourth, when James sat out.

Los Angeles finished with 34 assists and eight turnovers while shooting 52 percent from the floor.

The Lakers were without starting small forward Brandon Ingram and starting point guard Rajon Rondo, who were serving the second game of suspensions for their roles in a fight on Saturday night against the visiting Houston Rockets. Ingram was suspended four games and Rondo for three.

Booker, who became the second Phoenix player to score at least 25 points in the first three games of a season, made his first three shots to help the Suns to an early 8-2 lead, but the Lakers eventually took a 32-30 advantage heading into the second quarter.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Pacers rally back from 21-point deficit to beat Magic

Victor Oladipo scored 24 points and Lance Stephenson added a season-high 21 as the Indiana Pacers rallied for a 114-112 victory over the Orlando Magic on Saturday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Thaddeus Young added 20 points for the Pacers, who trailed by 21 in the first half. Stephenson had nine points in the fourth quarter. Domantas Sabonis chipped in with 17 points and team-high nine rebounds.

Trailing 106-96, the Pacers used a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter to grab a 111-106 advantage with 2:22 to go. Oladipo's basket gave Indiana its first lead of the game at 107-106 with 3:30 left.

Orlando's Evan Fournier's layup cut the Pacers' lead to 113-112 with 22 seconds to go. Sabonis hit the second of two free throws to push the lead 114-112 with 20.5 seconds remaining.

Aaron Gordon was fouled with 7 seconds left and missed the first free throw. He missed the second on purpose, and Fournier got the rebound. Jonathon Simmons missed a 3-point shot with 2 seconds to go, and Oladipo got the rebound.

Gordon recorded highs for the Magic with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Fournier added 21 points.

The Magic shot 54.5 percent overall from the field, while the Pacers shot 54 percent. The Pacers swept the season series with the Magic.

The Magic led by as many as 21 before settling for a 70-53 halftime lead. Pacers guard Darren Collison sank a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.

Indiana cut the deficit to 78-71 with 7:23 left in third quarter. The Pacers couldn't get any closer in the third quarter, but trailed the Magic by just eight points (92-84) after three quarters.

Indiana trimmed Orlando's lead to five points early in the fourth quarter, then made the late run.

Orlando shot 60 percent in the first half, while Indiana made 45.7 percent.

Gordon converted a rare four-point play with 2 seconds left in the first quarter to give the Magic a 32-22 lead.

The Magic shot 59.1 percent in the opening quarter.

Indiana center Myles Turner entered the game with four-plus minutes left in the first quarter after missing the last nine games with a right elbow injury. Turner scored four points in 11 minutes.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Randolph leads Grizzlies to victory over Jazz

Zach Randolph scored 25 points and Lance Stephenson added 16 off the bench to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 94-88 victory Friday over the Utah Jazz at FedExForum.

The win was the seventh in nine games for the Grizzlies (37-24) and the first of the season in three tries over the Jazz (28-33). Utah lost its fifth straight and fell to 9-21 on the road.

Gordon Hayward led the Jazz with 18 points and Rudy Gobert contributed 13 points and 18 rebounds. Memphis shot 45.7 percent to Utah's 42.7 percent and overcame being outrebounded 45-42.

Randolph was efficient in the clutch. He drained a rare 3-pointer with 3:23 to go for an 89-81 Memphis lead and sank four free throws in the final 14 seconds to secure the victory.

Utah closed the gap to 90-87 after two Gobert free throws with 1:01 to go before Randolph stepped up. Randolph also had a key offensive rebound with 22 seconds to go with Memphis clinging to a 90-88 lead.

The Grizzlies trailed by five entering the fourth quarter, but took advantage of the errant shooting by the Jazz. Utah missed its first seven shots of the quarter as the Grizzlies opened with an 8-0 run. Memphis never trailed after Vince Carter's 3-pointer from the left wing gave the Grizzlies a 78-77 lead with seven minutes left.

Memphis, which led by 10 at the half, could not maintain its advantage. Utah opened the third quarter with a 21-10 run, taking a 61-60 lead on a 3-pointer by Trevor Booker. The Jazz pushed their lead to seven points later in the quarter on a jumper by Hayward and led 72-67 entering the final quarter.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Pacers overpower Bulls but Bynum out indefinitely

INDIANAPOLIS - Paul George, Roy Hibbert and Lance Stephenson led a balanced Indiana attack to power the Pacers over Chicago 91-79 Friday, but learned center Andrew Bynum will be sidelined indefinitely.

George contributed 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for the Pacers while Stephenson netted 15 points and Hibbert added 12 points and 11 rebounds.

It was the fifth win in six NBA games for Indiana, which improved to an Eastern Conference-best 51-18.

Chicago, led by 17 points each from D.J. Augustin and Jimmy Butler, fell to 38-31, fourth overall in the East but 13 games behind Indiana in the Central division with 13 games to play.

Joakim Noah contributed 12 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and four steals for the Bulls, who allowed Indiana 17 points in a row early in the third quarter to fall behind for good.

Stephenson scored nine points in the Pacers' key run, which produced a 63-45 Indiana lead.

Before the game, the Pacers said Bynum will be out indefinitely with soreness and swelling in his right knee.

Bynum missed all of the 2012-13 season with knee issues. He averaged 8.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in 24 games with Cleveland, then traded to Chicago but dumped without playing a game for the Bulls in a salary cap move.

In two games with Indiana, Bynum averaged 11.5 points and 9.5 rebounds.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Pacers roll to 7-0 with win over Nets

NEW YORK CITY - The Indiana Pacers stretched their NBA season-opening winning streak to a franchise-best 7-0 on Saturday with a 96-91 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Pacers forward Paul George led all scorers with 24 points as Indiana handed Brooklyn their first home defeat of the season.

David West added 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists and Roy Hibbert and Lance Stephenson finished with 15 points apiece for the Pacers.

The franchise's previous best start to a season was a 6-0 opening in 1970-71, when they were in the old American Basketball Association.

The Nets, too, had four players score in double figures.

Deron Williams had 17 points and 10 assists and Joe Johnson added 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

Brook Lopez chipped in 16 and Paul Pierce scored 15 for the Nets, who trimmed a 10-point Pacers lead to three with less than three minutes remaining.

After a foul by Williams, Indiana's George Hill sank two free throws and George drained a fade away jump shot to stretch the lead back to seven.

Brooklyn responded with baskets from Lopez and Williams to again close the gap to three with a minute and a half to play.

Neither team scored again until West's two free throws in the waning seconds sealed it for the Pacers.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com