Andre Drummond finished with a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds as Los Angeles Lakers defeated Brooklyn Nets 126-101 on Saturday in a battle between two teams lacking much of their star power.
The Lakers entered the game missing their two best players — LeBron James and Anthony Davis — but they overcame that with energetic play, strong perimeter shooting and a lockdown defence.
Without James and Davis, the Lakers had been one of the NBA's lowest-scoring teams over the past couple of weeks. James was missing his 11th game in a row and Davis has been sidelined for the past 25.
The Nets were without injured all-star James Harden and then lost guard Kyrie Irving, who had scored 18 points, when he was ejected for the first time in his career in the second half.
In Salt Lake City, Donovan Mitchell scored 42 points and Utah Jazz won its 24th consecutive game at home with a 128-112 victory over Sacramento Kings.
Mike Conley delivered 26 points and Joe Ingles came off the bench to score 20 to help the Jazz overcome a double-digit deficit en route to a one-sided win over the Kings. Conley also had five threes.
The Jazz became the first team to reach 40 wins in the season and posted its 11th win in 13 games.
Also, Devin Booker's 27 points, double-doubles from both Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton, helped Phoenix Suns to a dominating 134-106 victory over Washington Wizards.
The results: Brooklyn Nets 101 lost to LA Lakers 126; Oklahoma City Thunder 93 lost to Philadelphia 76ers 117; Cleveland Cavaliers 115 lost to Toronto Raptors 135.
Golden State Warriors 125 bt Houston Rockets 109; Phoenix Suns 134 bt Washington Wizards 106; Portland Trail Blazers 118 bt Detroit Pistons 103; Utah Jazz 128 bt Sacramento Kings 112.
