Lakers outplay Warriors; Bucks hurdle Clippers

LOS ANGELES – LeBron James scored 19 points and had plenty of time to sit back and enjoy the Los Angeles Lakers’ 117-91 NBA victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday.

James, playing in his 1,300th regular-season game, added six rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots in just 24 minutes on court.

He sat out all of the fourth quarter along with the rest of the starters from both teams as the Lakers closed out what had become a tough February with a dominant victory despite the continuing absence of star forward Anthony Davis.

The NBA champions, who lost five of their first six with Anthony sidelined, have now won two straight.

“When you lose a mega-piece like AD, it’s going to take some time both offensively and defensively,” James said of the adjustments required.

James said the Lakers were becoming more comfortable in the roles they’ve had to adopt with Davis sidelined, an absence that Lakers coach Frank Vogel said called on them to develop a “little bit of a new identity.”

Six Lakers scored in double figures as they avenged a narrow loss to the Warriors in January.

James capped an overwhelming first half with a pull-up three-pointer that put the Lakers up 73-44.

Eric Paschall led the Warriors with 18 points off the bench as star Stephen Curry was limited to 16.

In Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 17 of the Bucks’ last 22 points in a 105-100 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Down by seven early in the fourth quarter, the Bucks took a 101-100 lead on two Antetokounmpo free throws with 1:57 remaining.

With 10.3 seconds remaining, Khris Middleton found Antetokounmpo for a one-handed slam that made it 103-100 and after Kawhi Leonard’s potential game-tying three-pointer bounced off the front of the rim Middleton grabbed the rebound and made two free throws to seal the win.

The Clippers went scoreless over the last four minutes, with Leonard and Paul George both coming up empty on multiple possessions.