Cameroonian career-high scoring not enough for the Wizards and their triple-double-man

Pascal Siakam tallied a career-high tying 44 points, along with 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Raptors in the losing effort.

Russell Westbrook recorded 13 points, 17 rebounds and 17 assists for the Wizards as they defeated the Raptors in overtime, 131-129, his 34th triple-double of the season and the 180th of his career.

Bradley Beal added 28 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Wizards in the victory. The team from the US capital improve to 31-36 on the season, while the Raptors fall to 27-40.

They have shared the same city since 1984 and same arena since 1999, but the degree to which the Lakers and Clippers have circled one another reached a new level in the summer of 2019.

Not since both franchises assembled star-studded rosters two years ago has one of their regular-season meetings been marked by such a gulf between them as Thursday’s 118-94 Clippers victory.

Paul George scored 24 points, and the Clippers outscored the Lakers by 26 points in his 31 minutes. Kyle Kuzma scored a game-high 25 for the Lakers.

When Anthony Davis stepped backward just nine minutes in and knocked his right ankle on the scorer’s table, they were suddenly down the All-Star big man, too, who was later ruled out because of back spasms. Another huge woe for the reigning champions as LeBron James is slowly recovering from his injury.

Luka Doncic scored 24 points as the Dallas Mavericks overcame Kyrie Irving's 45-point performance with a 113-109 win over the Brooklyn Nets in a clash of two of the top teams in the NBA on Thursday.

Doncic also had 10 rebounds and he got plenty of help from his supporting cast, including Tim Hardaway, who finished with 23 points in front of the pandemic-limited crowd of 4,600 at the American Airlines Center in Texas.

The victory leaves the Mavericks in fifth place in the west, a half game in front of the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Mavericks are trying to advance directly into the post-season without having to take part in this season's new play-in tournament.

Dorian Finney-Smith finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, and Jalen Brunson chipped in 15 points for Dallas who have won eight of their past 11 games.

Kevin Durant scored 20 points and had nine rebounds for the Nets, who have struggled on this road trip and have now lost four consecutive games.

Brooklyn played without injured James Harden for the 16th match in a row.

The Nets are in second place in the Eastern Conference but their lead over third place Milwaukee is now just a half game.

Elsewhere, the Bulls defeated the Hornets, 120-99. Nikola Vucevic led the way for the Bulls with 29 points, 14 rebounds and three assists, while Zach LaVine added 13 points, three rebounds and two assists in his return to action.

P.J. Washington tallied a team-high 24 points (6-8 3pt FG) for the Hornets, while LaMelo Ball added four points (1-10 FG), four rebounds and nine assists in the losing effort. The Bulls improve to 27-39 on the season, while the Hornets fall to 32-34.

Steph Curry joined Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant in elite company Thursday after he dropped 34 points in three quarters during a 118-97 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Curry now has 35 30-point games in his 12th season. - the only players with more 30-point games in their 12th season or later are Jordan (44) and Bryant (36).

The Warriors moved into eighth place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of Memphis.

Mychal Mulder added 25 points in just 20 minutes off the bench, making seven 3-pointers in 13 attempts. Andrew Wiggins had 18 points and seven rebounds.

NBA RESULTS

Charlotte Hornets 99 - Chicago Bulls 120

Dallas Mavericks 113 - Brooklyn Nets 109

Toronto Raptors 129 - Washington Wizards 131 (after overtime)

Detroit Pistons 111 - Memphis Grizzlies 97

Indiana Pacers 133 - Atlanta Hawks 126

Golden State Warriors 118 - Oklahoma City Thunder 97

Los Angeles Clippers 118 - Los Angeles Lakers 94

© Agence France-Presse