Golden State extend winning streak to nine games…
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There were eight games on the NBA schedule on Sunday, but the biggest story was the Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Toronto Raptors.
With the visitors rocked by the news of DeMar DeRozan’s injury, the Lakers witnessed another milestone night for Kobe Bryant as he had his 20th career triple-double with 31 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists as his team claimed an overtime win.
Bryant became the first player in NBA history with at least 6,000 assists and 30,000 points as the Lakers did enough to improve to 4-13 for the season.
Kyle Lowry had 29 points, six rebounds and nine assists for the Raptors, but it wasn’t enough as the Eastern Conference leaders slipped to only their fourth loss of the year so far.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls closed out their seven-game road trip with arguably their most impressive performance of the season thus far at the Brooklyn Nets.
Pau Gasol had 25 points and 13 rebounds to record his third straight double-double, but Jimmy Butler continues to prove to be indispensable to the team with a team-high 26 points and key plays on both ends of the court.
“I think my teammates just find me in great positions to score the ball,” Butler said. “I think I strive at just doing whatever it takes to help my team win. Scoring, guarding, facilitating, whatever it might be. I’m just a winner. I don’t care about stats.”
Derrick Rose added 14 points while Nikola Mirotic contributed 12 points and 12 rebounds off the bench as the Bulls improve to 11-6 as the Nets fall to 6-9.
Over in the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors kept their winning streaks alive and extended them to seven and nine games respectively.
The Spurs enjoyed their trip to Boston and sealed a comfortable win behind 18 points from Danny Green as well as key contributions across the roster.
Meanwhile, the Warriors were also relatively comfortable against the Detroit Pistons with Stephen Curry playing enough minutes to record a double-double of 16 points and 10 assists.
However, leadership of the West still belongs to the Memphis Grizzlies who improved to 15-2 with their win over the Sacramento Kings.
Zach Randolph gave Marc Gasol some company this time round with 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead the stat line, but with DeMarcus Cousins sidelined with a virus, the Kings ultimately came up short.
NBA Results
San Antonio Spurs 111-89 Boston Celtics
Chicago Bulls 102-84 Brooklyn Nets
Golden State Warriors 104-93 Detroit Pistons
Memphis Grizzlies 97-85 Sacramento Kings
Miami Heat 86-79 New York Knicks
Orlando Magic 93-90 Phoenix Suns
Minnesota Timberwolves 93-107 Portland Trail Blazers
Toronto Raptors 122-129 Los Angeles Lakers
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