By Field Level Media
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Luka Doncic scored 35 points and Austin Reaves added 30 as the Los Angeles Lakers helped their prospects for a top-four finish in the Western Conference with a 124-108 victory over the visiting New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.

LeBron James produced 27 points and eight assists and Jaxson Hayes had 12 rebounds with six points as the Lakers won in advance of a back-to-back road set against the first-place Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday and Tuesday.

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The Lakers (47-30) pulled a half-game ahead of the fourth-place Denver Nuggets as Reaves went 6 of 9 from 3-point range and set a franchise record with 15 made 3-pointers in consecutive games.

Jose Alvarado scored 27 points and Karlo Matkovic added 15 for the Pelicans (21-56), who are finishing off the season without Zion Wiliamson (back) and CJ McCollum (foot). Yves Missi had 13 points and 11 rebounds for New Orleans, which has just three wins in the past 11 games and has not won consecutive contests since late February.

Los Angeles took a 93-84 lead into the fourth quarter and was up 104-95 before going on a 6-2 run to take a 13-point lead with 5:55 left on a layup from James.

The Lakers essentially sealed the victory when Reaves threw a long-range pass to James for an alley-oop dunk with 4:09 remaining for a 114-99 lead. James, who sustained a right thumb injury in the first half, scored 14 points in the fourth quarter after going scoreless in the third.

The Pelicans got off to a fast start, leading 30-25 after one quarter. New Orleans held a seven-point advantage early in the second before the Lakers grabbed the lead for good at 45-44 with 6:43 remaining in the half on a Jordan Goodwin layup.

Los Angeles led 62-53 at halftime, with James and Doncic each scoring 13 points before the break. Alvarado had 18 for the Pelicans.

The Lakers finished with a 3-0 record against the Pelicans this season.

Clippers blow out Mavericks, jockey for playoff berth

Kawhi Leonard had 20 points and sparked a key early run as the Los Angeles Clippers sailed past the Dallas Mavericks 114-91 on Friday night in Inglewood, Calif.

The Clippers have won 10 of their last 12 games. Ivica Zubac and Norman Powell each had 14 points for Los Angeles. The Mavericks scored their fewest points of the season.

Dallas played without Anthony Davis, who was a late scratch with an adductor strain. Dereck Lively II (injury management) also did not dress for the Mavericks, who also lost Klay Thompson to an injury in the first half after playing 12 1/2 minutes. Guard Jaden Hardy also was helped off the court with 2:13 left after rolling his ankle.

The two teams meet again Saturday night, also in Inglewood.

The Clippers (45-32) pulled into a three-way tie for sixth place in the Western Conference with Memphis and Minnesota. Dallas (38-40) remained in ninth place in the West.

The score was tied at 8-8 midway through the first quarter when Leonard took over. He scored on a jumper from the elbow, a spin in the lane, two free throws and then made a 3-pointer for a personal 9-4 run that gave the Clippers a lead they did not relinquish.

Los Angeles closed the first quarter on a 19-6 run and led 29-16 at the buzzer.

The lead grew in the second quarter as the Mavericks sorely missed Davis’ presence inside and outside. The Clippers went on a 10-0 run as Leonard drilled a 3-pointer, Powell made a long trey from the wing, Drew Eubanks scored inside and Leonard converted from the baseline. The lead grew to as high as 25, and Los Angeles led 58-35 at the break.

Dallas kept things around 20 points in the third quarter, but Los Angeles opened the fourth quarter on a 19-5 run, highlighted by three 3-pointers by Bogdan Bogdanovic.

In the fourth quarter, brothers Max Christie (Mavericks) and Cam Christie (Clippers) played against one another for the final six minutes.

Zubac had his 21st double-double since the All-Star break.

Stephen Curry, Warriors down Nuggets, tighten race for 4th

Stephen Curry bombed in a game-high 36 points, Brandin Podziemski and Jimmy Butler III combined for 45 more and the Golden State Warriors dumped the Denver Nuggets 118-104 on Friday in San Francisco.

The Warriors (46-31) earned their fifth straight win to climb within a half-game of the fourth-place Nuggets (47-31) in the Western Conference playoff chase.

Golden State is one game ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves in its effort to avoid the Western play-in tournament.

Curry shot 7-for-15 from 3-point range and Podziemski 4-for-8 as the Warriors outscored the Nuggets 48-36 from long range. Golden State recorded its first victory over Denver in three tries this season.

A third straight loss dropped Denver four games behind the second-place Houston Rockets with just four games remaining.

Trying to run the Warriors into exhaustion after Golden State endured a six-game trip that ended in a tough win over the Los Angeles Lakers the night before, the Nuggets used a 44-point first quarter to go up by 10.

However, Golden State had its way the rest of the night, with Podziemski chipping in with 26 points to complement Curry’s third straight game with 36 or more.

Podziemski also found time for team highs in rebounds with eight and assists with six for the Warriors, who improved to 21-5 since the acquisition of Butler in February.

Butler had five assists and five steals to go with his 19 points.

Needing depth help on the second night of a back-to-back, Kevon Looney was the Warriors’ top performer off the bench with seven points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes.

Going once again without sidekick Jamal Murray, sidelined due to a hamstring injury, Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 33 points, a game-high 12 rebounds and a game-high nine assists. He hit 13 of his 17 shots and accounted for four of Denver’s 12 successful 3-point attempts.

Michael Porter Jr. backed Jokic with 23 points and nine rebounds, Aaron Gordon had 15 points and eight assists, and Christian Braun amassed 16 points and seven rebounds.

Surging Rockets end Thunder’s winning streak at 11 games

Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun combined for 65 points and the Houston Rockets rode a scorching second quarter to a 125-111 victory over the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.

Green scored 34 points, Sengun added 31, and the Rockets (51-27) won for the 14th time in 16 games. Houston posted a 48-33 rebounding margin to maintain control after building a 23-point lead late in the second quarter.

Amen Thompson posted 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Steven Adams paired eight points with 12 rebounds. Jabari Smith Jr. totaled nine points and 17 boards off the bench for Houston.

Jalen Williams paced the Thunder with 33 points on 13-for-21 shooting. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander notched 22 points and eight assists, and Chet Holmgren hit 6 of 8 3-pointers and scored 20 points for the Thunder (64-13), who had their 11-game winning streak snapped.

The Thunder closed the third quarter on a 12-3 run — Gilgeous-Alexander scored eight during that rally — and shaved the margin to single digits multiple times in the fourth before Green scored on a finger roll layup to push the lead to 11 with 7:09 to play.

The Rockets capped the win with a pair of emphatic plays. Thompson blocked a jumper by Gilgeous-Alexander with 3:27 left, and Sengun’s spin and dunk a minute later pushed the lead to 122-108.

Ball security plagued the Thunder early, with five turnovers in the first quarter yielding 12 points for the Rockets. Gilgeous-Alexander led a rally that pulled the Thunder to within 25-22, but with Green and Sengun combining for 25 points in the frame, Houston carried a 35-28 lead into the second.

Houston seized control early in the second behind when Adams made a block on Isaiah Hartenstein and scored two second-chance baskets, to extend to a 52-37 lead. The margin reached 69-46 on Smith’s 3-pointer, before the Thunder scored the final seven points of the half.

The Rockets hit 6 of 11 shots from long range in the second quarter plus 19 fast-break points in the half. Sengun and Thompson scored eight each in the second.

Coby White, Nikola Vucevic net 31 each to lead Bulls past Blazers

Coby White and Nikola Vucevic each scored 31 points, and Josh Giddey notched his sixth triple-double of the season as the Chicago Bulls beat the visiting Portland Trail Blazers 118-113 on Friday night.

Giddey racked up 15 points, a career-best 19 rebounds and 12 assists as Chicago (35-42) moved up to ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Deni Avdija posted 37 points and 11 rebounds, Dalano Banton contributed 21 points, Shaedon Sharpe added 17 points, and Donovan Clingan pulled down 18 boards for the Blazers (34-44).

They entered the game severely underhanded, with Toumani Camara (left ankle) and Duop Reath (right knee soreness) joining Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant, Deandre Ayton and Scoot Henderson in a lengthy casualty ward.

Portland managed to slice a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to two points in the fourth quarter, before the Bulls recovered as White iced the victory from the free-throw line.

The Bulls fed Vucevic in the paint to open a 26-20 lead, before Portland fought back to hold sway 33-30 at the end of the first break.

Portland manufactured several second looks throughout the first two quarters as Chicago coughed up 10 first-half turnovers and allowed the Trail Blazers to reel in 10 offensive boards.

Portland had 19 more field-goal attempts for the half than the Bulls, but the Blazers’ wayward shooting — 24 of 61 from the floor, 6 of 24 3-pointers — meant their cushion was only 54-52 at intermission.

The lead changed hands 11 times in the third frame — and 18 for the game — before the Bulls pulled away for the first time as Portland continued to misfire offensively, shooting 9 of 27 for the quarter.

Giddey had 10 points, eight boards and four assists for the period, which Chicago dominated 40-29 to lead 92-83 entering the fourth.

White hit his third trey to increase the Bulls’ buffer to 109-93 with 7:03 remaining in the fourth, but the score was cancelled when replays confirmed his foot was out-of-bounds.

Portland pounced on that stroke of fortune and, with a 15-2 burst capped by a Banton 3-pointer, slashed Chicago’s advantage to 108-106.

Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley help Cavs hold off Spurs

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points and Evan Mobley added 25 points and 12 rebounds as the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers did just enough to beat the San Antonio Spurs 114-113 on Friday.

The Cavaliers (62-15) won their third straight contest and reduced their magic number to clinch the best record in the Eastern Conference to one. Cleveland leads defending league champion Boston by five game with five regular season games left.

Cleveland was up by 23 points late in the second quarter and by 17 at halftime before the Spurs rallied to make it 88-82 late in the third. The Cavaliers rebuilt their advantage to 16 points on Mobley’s dunk with 8:33 to play, but San Antonio refused to relent, drawing within 112-107 on a layup and a 3-pointer from Chris Paul, the latter with 2:16 remaining.

After the Cavaliers’ Darius Garland sank a jumper, Harrison Barnes poured in back-to-back 3-pointers to bring San Antonio within a point with 28.6 seconds to play.

Garland then missed a desperation shot from beyond the arc with 4.6 seconds left, giving the Spurs a chance at a final shot to win.

Barnes missed a contested, driving layup at the buzzer, allowing Cleveland to escape with the victory.

Garland finished with 19 points while De’Andre Hunter had 18 for the Cavaliers.

Devin Vassell led the Spurs (32-45) with 24 points. Barnes added 23, Stephon Castle racked up 22 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds and Julian Champagnie scored 15 points for San Antonio, which has dropped six of its past seven games.