MEMPHIS, Tennessee — LeBron James had 37 points – including six in the final minute – and 10 rebounds, and Anthony Davis had 36 points and 14 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies 123-120.
Rookie Marcus Sasser scored 24 points in his hometown return, including 13 straight Detroit points during a stretch of the third quarter, as the Pistons defeated the Dallas Mavericks – playing without Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving – 107-89.
Davis, returning from a left eye injury that kept him out of the Lakers’ loss to Golden State, was 11 of 22 in this game. James shot 13 for 20 to help the Lakers snap a two-game losing streak. “I felt fine. No issues,” Davis said according to AP. “Felt pretty good out there.”
GG Jackson scored 31 points to lead the Grizzlies, while Scotty Pippen Jr. had a career-high 28. Jake LaRavia also finished with 28 points, and Jordan Goodwin added 23 points and 16 rebounds.
Pippen added five rebounds, six assists and four steals to his stat line. “He sticks his body in there, lays it on the line,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said of Pippen, adding, “(he) was really impressive. This was one of his best games all season.”
The Pistons (14-67) led for most of the night against a Mavericks team that had won five consecutive games and 16 of 18 to secure a playoff spot. It was their largest win of the season and the third against an opponent that will finish with a winning record.
“It´s a blessing just to be able to play in this league, especially to be able to do it in front of my parents, my family,” said Sasser, who attended nearby Red Oak High School and the University of Houston. “It was real fun, for sure.”
“For him to have a game like that in his hometown in front of his family, I just thought it was a cool moment for us,” Pistons coach Monty Williams said.
Chimezie Metu scored 18 points for Detroit, matching a career high with four 3-pointers.
The Pistons snapped a six-game losing streak one night after a home loss broke the franchise record for losses in a season.
They watched an 84-68 lead seconds into the fourth quarter shrink to 96-89 with 4:18 left before running off the game´s final 11 points.
The Pistons also played without their leading scorer in completing a back-to-back. Guard Cade Cunningham, from nearby Arlington, missed his sixth consecutive game because of left knee soreness.
They were also missing center Jalen Duren because of lower back spasms. Five other Pistons were listed as out with injuries.
Detroit went into play ranking 29th averaging 14.5 turnovers per game and committed six to Dallas´ 20, outscoring the Mavericks 19-8 in points off turnovers.
Doncic, the NBA scoring leader, was declared out about two hours before tipoff with left ankle soreness. Irving was listed as out with left hamstring soreness.
Jalen Hardy scored a season-high 25 points off the bench for the Mavericks (50-31), who are 0-4 this season playing without their two star guards. Olivier-Maxence Prosper added 16 off the bench.
The loss means Dallas will finish fifth in the Western Conference, playing the fourth-place Los Angeles Clippers in the opening round.
“No one got hurt. We played everybody,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “There was a lot of good things.”
With the two sharpshooters out, Dallas shot 27.6% from downtown (8 of 29) instead of its previous average of 37.2%.
For Irving, it ended his longest stretch of consecutive games played this season at 31.
