MIAMI — Luka Doncic scored 60 points, LeBron James had a triple-double on a night where he tied the NBA record for games played, and the Los Angeles Lakers pushed their season-best winning streak to eight games with a 134-126 win over the Miami Heat on Thursday (Friday in Manila).
It tied the second-most points Doncic ever scored in a game, behind a 73-point night against Atlanta in 2024 and matching a 60-point night against New York in 2022. Doncic also broke the record for a Heat opponent, topping the 58-point effort from James Harden for Houston on Feb. 28, 2019.
Doncic — the NBA’s scoring leader — has now scored at least 30 points in eight consecutive games, reached 50 for the second time in his last five games and did so on the second night of a back to back. James finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, and Austin Reaves scored 18 for the Lakers.
Bam Adebayo had 28 points for Miami, which has dropped three straight. Tyler Herro scored 21 points and Norman Powell had 20 for Miami, which led by as many as 15 in the early going.
James didn’t miss a shot until early in the fourth quarter, meaning he connected on 21 of 22 in a span of just over seven quarters. He made his last shot attempt in Monday’s win at Houston, then went 13 for 14 in Wednesday’s win over the Rockets, followed by a 7-for-7 start against the Heat.
But Doncic was the story, getting 39 of his 60 after halftime. He finished 18 of 30 from the field, 9 of 17 from 3-point range and 15 of 19 from the foul line.
The Heat were without Jaime Jaquez Jr. (left hip tightness) and Andrew Wiggins (toe).
Spurs 101, Suns 100
In San Antonio, Victor Wembanyama hit a 17-foot, pull-up jumper with a second left and the San Antonio Spurs wrapped up a playoff spot to end a six-season drought.
Wembanyama had 34 points and 12 rebounds. His winning jumper capped a furious final-minute rally to secure the top-six finish in the Western Conference.
De’Aaron Fox added 23 points and Julian Champagnie had 14 in the Spurs’ fourth straight victory.
Collin Gillespie scored 24 points and Devin Booker had 22 for the Suns. They remain seventh in the West.
Fox’s finger-roll layup cut Phoenix’s lead to 100-99 with 26.6 seconds remaining.
Suns coach Jordan Ott was forced to call a timeout when Fox and Dylan Harper trapped Booker between the sideline and halfcourt with 11.7 seconds remaining. San Antonio immediately fouled on the ensuing inbounds, and Rasheer Fleming missed both free throws.
Wembanyama then dribbled the clock down to its final seconds before pulling up to hit the winner on Oso Ighodaro.
Spurs guard Stephon Castle was ruled out an hour before tipoff with tightness in his right hip. Castle’s defense was missed as Phoenix’s backcourt of Booker and Gillespie combined to shoot 15 for 34. AP
NBA All-Star guard Cade Cunningham of the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons has a collapsed left lung and will miss at least two weeks and possibly more, the team announced Thursday (Friday in Manila).
The exact timeline for a return to play is still unknown. The Pistons said Cunningham would be re-evaluated at the two-week mark.
“Obviously, it’s tough,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said in Washington on Thursday before Detroit played the Wizards. “Tough for Cade to go through what he’s going through now. How important he is to the team, how important being with his team is to him doesn’t make it easy. He’s a huge part of what we do from a leadership standpoint.
“Obviously, the talent’s there, but just being around him every single day makes people’s days better.”
Cunningham is averaging 24.5 points and 9.9 assists for the Pistons, stellar numbers for a club on pace for its best season in nearly two decades. Only eight players in NBA history have finished a season averaging that many points and assists, and Cunningham would be the first to do so in a Detroit uniform.
The regular season ends in less than four weeks. The Pistons — who had listed Cunningham as out for Thursday’s game in Washington with a left back contusion and said Thursday that further testing revealed the lung issue — won’t start their playoff run until April 18 or 19, when the East quarterfinals begin.
Detroit entered Thursday 5-2 in games without Cunningham this season.
“It’s everybody’s responsibility to keep moving forward,” Bickerstaff said. “Head down, 10 toes forward and go to work. And that’s what this team has done all year.”
Cunningham got hurt in Tuesday’s win over Washington, leaving midway through the opening quarter with what the team called spasms. He dived for a loose ball and collided into Wizards guard Tre Johnson with 7:44 left in the first, then seemed to be laboring until he checked out 1:04 later.
Detroit is 49-19, 3 1/2 games ahead of Boston for the top spot in the East with 14 games remaining. Cunningham has appeared in 61 games this season, so an extended absence could also mean he doesn’t reach the 65-game threshold for eligibility for awards such as the All-NBA team.
