Lakers dominate Nets in Davis’ return

LeBron James totaled 33 points, seven rebounds and six assists as Los Angeles led most of the way and recorded a 106-96 win over Brooklyn in New York Tuesday.

The Lakers led for the final 37:45, improved to 2-1 on their six-game road trip and welcomed Anthony Davis back after the center missed 17 games with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee. He finished with eight points in 25 minutes. The Lakers had gone 7-10 without him.

James Harden notched a triple-double of 33 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, but it was not nearly enough as the Nets dropped to 2-3 since losing Kevin Durant to a sprained left knee on Jan. 15.

Elsewhere, Luke Kennard converted a four-point play with 1.9 seconds to play as the visiting Los Angeles Clippers overcame a 35-point deficit to post a 116-115 victory over the Washington Wizards.

The result tied the second-largest comeback in NBA history, when the Sacramento Kings escaped a 35-point hole against the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 21, 2009. The record was the Utah Jazz overturning a 36-point deficit to defeat the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 27, 1996.

The Wizards held a 115-109 lead with 11.2 seconds remaining before Kennard halved the deficit with a 3-pointer. Washington’s Kyle Kuzma was whistled for a five-second inbound violation, and Kennard a 3-pointer while being fouled by Bradley Beal. Kennard sank the ensuing foul shot to give Los Angeles its first lead of the game and the improbable victory.

Amir Coffey scored 29 points and Kennard finished with 25 off the bench as the Clippers improved to 2-2 on their eight-game road trip. Beal collected 23 points and nine rebounds and Kuzma added 19 and 12, respectively, for the Wizards, who took their fourth straight loss.

In Boston, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined to score 66 points as the hosts throttled Sacramento, 128-75, for their seventh win in 10 games.

Tatum finished with a game-high 36 points and six assists, while Brown put up 30 points and 10 rebounds. Robert Williams III scored 13 and pounded the boards for a game-high 17 rebounds. The Celtics led by as many as 60 points but fell short of a franchise-record 56-point victory in a 133-77 rout of Chicago in 2018.

Buddy Hield was the only scorer to reach double figures for the Kings, finishing with 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting. Sacramento dropped its fourth straight game and has lost nine of 11 overall.

Jonathan Kuminga led a balanced attack with 22 points off the bench as Golden State found its offensive form in a 130-92 thrashing of Dallas at San Francisco.