Doncic scores 45, grabs season-high 15 boards in win over Toronto

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic had 45 points, a season-high 15 rebounds, six assists and five steals in another prolific performance while leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 131-125 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night.

Doncic hit eight 3-pointers and increased his early lead in the NBA scoring race by dropping at least 37 points in his fourth consecutive game. The Slovenian superstar hit that mark in the first three quarters against Toronto, and he preserved the win late while scoring 40 or more points for the 20th time in his 98 regular-season games with the Lakers.

Austin Reaves scored 19 points and Walker Kessler had 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers, who rebounded nicely from a 17-point loss at Golden State on Friday in which they blew a 25-point lead.

Scottie Barnes scored 29 points and RJ Barrett added 22 for the Raptors, who opened a four-game road trip with their third loss in four games.

The Lakers led Toronto 102-76 with 90 seconds left in the third quarter, but the Raptors trimmed the deficit to single digits before Doncic and Reaves led a quick 9-1 rally.

The Raptors’ reserves then scored 11 points in 40 seconds after the Lakers removed their starters with 1:43 to play, trimming their 16-point deficit to 125-120 and forcing Doncic, Reaves and Kessler to return for the final few possessions.

CELTICS 108, MAGIC 97

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 32 points — 15 of them from the free-throw line — and Paul George added 17 as Boston won their fifth straight, over Orlando.

Anthony Black and Tristan da Silva each scored 23 to lead the Magic (2-4), who dropped to 0-3 at home. Orlando forward Franz Wagner had 14 points and a career-high 12 assists.

Boston (5-1) also got a pair of critical blocks from Neemias Queta in the final two minutes, and George’s 3-pointer with 1:32 remaining gave Boston an insurmountable 11-point lead.

The Celtics built a 15-point lead by shutting out Orlando over the first four minutes of the second half. Orlando battled back on the strength of three of da Silva’s five 3-pointers, using a 12-0 run to cut Boston’s lead to 77-74 entering the final period.

And early in the fourth quarter, Black completed a three-point play to tie it at 79, picking the pocket of George on an outlet pass. But on the following possession, Wagner couldn’t sink a layup to give Orlando the lead.

NETS 98, PACERS 90

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Michael Porter Jr. scored 23 points, and Julius Randle had 20 points to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 98-90 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night.

Day’Ron Sharpe had a double-double with 15 points and a team-high 13 rebounds for the Nets, who won for the first time this season. The Nets held a 43-37 edge in rebounds.

Andrew Nembhard led the Pacers with 23 points and Pascal Siakam had 17.

The Nets led by 12 three different times in the third quarter, but the Pacers cut the deficit to 75-72 in the first three minutes of the fourth with back-to-back 3-pointers by Larry Nance Jr. and Nembhard. That’s as close as Indiana got the rest of the way.

The Nets shot 38% in the first half but still managed to lead the Pacers 43-40 at halftime. Indiana made just 32% from the field and were just 4 of 20 from 3-point range. Both teams got off to sluggish starts with the Nets taking a 12-10 lead on Randle’s 3-pointer with less than five minutes left in the first quarter. That erased the Pacers’ last lead at 10-9.

WARRIORS 124, CLIPPERS 112

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg scored a career-high 37 points and dished out six assists in a game Golden State rested stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, and the Warriors beat Los Angeles for their fourth straight win.

Lendeborg notched his fourth game with 20 or more points, scoring five straight midway through the third quarter that gave the Warriors their biggest lead to that point at 83-68. He shot 13 for 19 — 6 of 11 from 3-point range — and his points were the most by a Warriors rookie since Curry went off for 42 on April 14, 2010, at Portland.

With two 30-point performances among his initial seven games, Lendeborg joined Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry as the only other Warriors to do so. Lendeborg bounced back from a tough outing in a win against the Lakers on Friday in which he fouled out.

Brandon Williams scored 17 points off the bench as the Golden State reserves contributed 40 points in all.

Rui Hachimura had 24 points and Kobe Sanders came off the bench to score 16 for the Clippers, who lost their fifth game in a row.