George ignores boos, scores 37 to lead Thunder past Lakers
Paul George ignored boos in the Staples Center, scoring 37 points for the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 107-100 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
George, who spurned the Lakers in free agency, had plenty of highlights to quieten the crowd on Wednesday.
Thunder star Russell Westbrook had a triple-double (14 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists), but had a terrible shooting game, hitting just three of 20 attempts.
A few players stepped up in LeBron James' absence, but the Lakers fell short. They are now 1-3 with James sidelined by a groin injury. He is considered day-to-day.
Kyle Kuzma has been the Lakers' second-leading scorer this season, but he left with a lower-back contusion. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ended up leading the way for Los Angeles, scoring 25 points on six-of-14 shooting. Brandon Ingram and JaVale McGee scored 17 and 15 points respectively.
The Lakers dropped to 21-17, while the Thunder improved to 24-13 this season.
Smooth.
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 3, 2019
Hayward heroics
Gordon Hayward scored 35 points on 14-of-18 shooting in a 115-102 Celtics win against the Timberwolves.
Anthony Davis had an impressive 34 points and 26 rebounds as New Orleans fell to Brooklyn 126-121.
Jaren Jackson Jr. was very efficient, scoring 26 points on eight-of-11 shooting while grabbing 10 rebounds in the Grizzlies' 101-94 loss to the Pistons.
Joel Embiid had 42 points and 18 rebounds in Philadelphia's 132-127 win against Phoenix.
Horrible Holiday
Justin Holiday scored three points and only made one of his seven shots from the field as the Bulls lost to the Magic 112-84.
Devonte' Graham scored 10 points on three-of-13 shooting in the Hornets' 122-84 routing at the hands of the Mavericks.
Towns with a huge dunk
Although Minnesota fell short to the Celtics, Karl-Anthony Towns was happy to punch a dunk home on Semi Ojeleye.
KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS! #AllEyesNorth 90#CUsRise 101
— NBA (@NBA) January 3, 2019
5:26 to play in the 4th on @ESPNNBA pic.twitter.com/3qmiUxD8wj
Joel Embiid slashed through the defense with a euro-step to finish at the rim in the 76ers' 132-127 win against the Suns.
Joel Embiid euro-steps into the BIG SLAM! #HereTheyCome 58#TimeToRise 36
— NBA (@NBA) January 3, 2019
: https://t.co/L3VurkatG8 pic.twitter.com/45O5c08GTt
Wednesday's results
Dallas Mavericks 122-84 Charlotte Hornets
Miami Heat 117-92 Cleveland Cavaliers
Washington Wizards 114-98 Atlanta Hawks
Brooklyn Nets 126-121 New Orleans Pelicans
Boston Celtics 115-102 Minnesota Timberwolves
Orlando Magic 112-84 Chicago Bulls
Detroit Pistons 101-94 Memphis Grizzlies
Philadelphia 76ers 132-127 Phoenix Suns
Oklahoma City Thunder 107-100 Los Angeles Lakers
Rockets at Warriors
Stephen Curry was out of commission in this season's first matchup with Houston. The Rockets are on a tremendous run and James Harden is catching fire every game. Although Chris Paul is out, the Rockets may be able to will themselves to another victory against the reigning champions.