LeBron, Lakers vent ire on Trailblazers; Jazz win 6th straight

MANILA, Philippines — LeBron James exploded for a season-high 43 points to lead the struggling Los Angeles Lakers past the Portland Trailblazers, 139-106, at the Crypto.com Arena in California on Friday (Saturday, Manila time).

After going 1-5 in their last six games, the Lakers took the statement win over the Trailblazers in dominating fashion.

The Lakers never trailed and led by as big as 35 points in the lopsided match up.

James paced the Lakers with his 43 points and 14 rebounds in less than 30 minutes of play.

Six other Lakers finished in twin-digit scoring with Malik Monk leading the supporting cast with 18 markers.

Portland guard Damian Lillard had 18 points in the loss as Ben McLemore topscored for them with 28 points.

The Trailblazers thus extended their losing streak to four.

The Lakers, meanwhile, move closer to .500 as they improved their record to 18-19.

Elsewhere, the Utah Jazz won their sixth game in a row with a 120-108 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Donovan Mitchell scored a season-high 39 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists to pace his squad.

Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson chipped in with 24 and 20 markers, respectively.

In the other games, the Boston Celtics were able to weather Western Conference contenders Phoenix Suns, 123-108.

All Celtics players available for the game scored at least four points.

Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart boh had 24 markers each to pace the Celtics past the Suns.

Devin Booker was the bright spot for Phoenix with 22 points in the loss.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls escaped the Indiana Pacers on the road after a long-range one-legged buzzer beater from DeMar DeRozan, 108-106.

DeRozan finished with 28 points and six assists.

Kristaps Porzingis, for his part, had an all around game of 24 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and two blocks to pace the Dallas Mavericks past the Sacramento Kings, 112-96.

The Miami Heat also took a win on Friday to extend their streak to five, beating the Houston Rockets, 120-110.

The Toronto Raptors leaned on Fred VanVleet's 31-point outing to close the year with a 116-108 win over the LA Clippers.

The Atlanta Hawks, the OKC Thunder, and the Memphis Grizzlies also emerged victorious over their respective opponents.