LeBron gets ejected, but the Lakers win anyway

The LA Lakers were getting their asses whooped by one of the league’s worst teams, but a pivotal event happened with 9:18 left in the third quarter that changed the complexion of the game.

While battling for rebounding position after a free throw (which Jerami Grant made anyway), LeBron James took a swipe at Isaiah Stewart’s face, which drove Stewart into a frenzy. Out for blood, Stewart went after LeBron. This wasn’t one of those ‘hold me back’ moments either, as Stewart was definitely ready to fight right then and there. By the end of the scene, Stewart had blood dripping all over his face.

In this alternate angle, you see Stewart really trying to go after LeBron, as he (quite literally) was seeing red.

In another isolated angle of the incident that sparked everything, it appears that what James did wasn’t an accident. He seemed to wind up before smashing Stewart with the back of his hand.

James and Stewart were both ejected from the game, and Russell Westbrook was assessed with a technical after being deemed to be an escalator during the confrontation between the two teams. This was just the second time that James had been ejected in his career.

The Lakers were still down 15 heading into the fourth quarter, but finished with a furious comeback and outscored the Pistons 37-17 in the fourth quarter to win 121-116.

Anthony Davis finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists while Russell Westbrook almost had a triple-double with 26 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists. That was enough to ruin a big game from Jerami Grant, who had 36 points on 12 of 25 shooting and 5 of 9 from three. Cade Cunningham also had a triple-double with 13 points, 12 points and 10 assists.

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The Suns make it 12-straight

The Phoenix Suns started hot against the Denver Nuggets, who are still missing Nikola Jokic. He was questionable heading into the game with a wrist injury, and ended up with a DNP. The Suns exploded to a 48-28 lead after the first quarter, and the Nuggets never managed to recover.

Mikal Bridges was the only starter to play more than 28 minutes. DeAndre Ayton had 21 points and 8 rebounds in 26 minutes of action, while Devin Booker had 17 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in 28 minutes. Chris Paul got the most rest out of the starters, only playing 24 minutes, but still finished with 9 points, 3 rebounds and 10 assists.

The Knicks and Bulls put on a playoff-type game in Chicago

Tom Thibodeau, Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson have a good history together in Chicago, and almost eked out a win in their old building. It was a hard-fought game that was nothing less than a grind. Although the Chicago Bulls had a first half lead, the Knicks grinded their way to a a 74-72 lead heading in to the final quarter. The Bulls did just enough to fight back in the end on the way to a 109-103 win.

Julius Randle played his heart out for the Knicks, finishing with 34 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists while shooting 13 of 19 from the field. He couldn’t get enough help from the rest of the Knicks’ starting five, as they combined for a grand total of 25 points.

The Knicks played hard defense and played with a “let anyone except Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan beat us” scheme. They succeeded in muting LaVine’s contribution, limiting him to 21 points on 7 of 20 shooting, but they simply couldn’t stop DeRozan. The Bulls’ marquee summer signing dropped an efficient 31 points, 5 rebounds, 5 Assists, 2 steals and a block while shooting 10 of 20 from the field and making all 9 free throws.

The Mavericks got another big night from Kristaps Porzingis, but it wasn’t enough

Kristaps Porzingis has been having a great November, and has only failed to score at least 21 points once in eight games played, but that hasn’t stopped the Dallas Mavericks from going on a three-game losing streak. The ‘Unicorn’ had 25 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks today while shooting 10 of 18 from the field, but it wasn’t enough to stop the LA Clippers from getting a 97-91 victory. The only other Maverick to score in double figures was Jalen Brunson, who finished with 20 points.

Paul George put on another good performance for the Clippers, finishing with 29 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal while shooting 12 of 25 from the field – counteracting his 6 turnovers. Reggie Jackson had a fine shooting night, finishing with 23 points on 8 of 14 shooting (4 of 8 from three), and Ivica Zubac put in a 16 points and 10 rebounds.

It’s no coincidence that the Mavericks have gone on this losing streak while Luka Doncic has been sidelined. He hasn’t played since their last win, which was a 111-101 victory against the Denver Nuggets. KP can only do so much, as the rest of the Dallas roster isn’t good enough to win without Luka.

Steph’s bad shooting night doesn’t stop the Warriors from keeping the best record in the league

Steph Curry shot badly from the field today, going 2 of 10 from the field and 1 of 6 from three on the way to 12 points and 8 assists. You’d think that would stop the Warriors from keeping their momentum, but they got big contributions from Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole. The two combined for 65 points and shot the lights out, going 22 of 33 from the field, and 14 of 17 from three. 

The Warriors as a team showed Steph that he could lean on them. Draymond Green was effective overall, with 4 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists and a block with a single turnover. Kevon Looney had 7 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Otto Porter Jr. shot 5 of 9 from three to finish with 15 points and 5 rebounds, while Chris Chiozza added another 11 points from the bench.