NBA news and highlights: LeBron James and Lonzo Ball make history, Pistons upset Celtics, another Harden triple-double

Scott Rafferty and Benyam Kidane
and others
• 6 min read
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Missed some of Saturday's NBA action? We have you covered.

From an early one in Mexico City to something we haven't seen in nearly 40 years, here are the top storylines, best fantasy performers and can't-miss highlights from Saturday's slate of games.

Top Storylines

The Magic go 2-0 in Mexico City

Following their 97-91 win against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday, the Orlando Magic hosted the Utah Jazz on Saturday for the second and final game of this season's Mexico City Games.

Both the Magic and Jazz got off to an ugly start, but Orlando used a 41-point fourth quarter to defeat Utah by a final score of 96-89.

Evan Fournier led the way for the Magic with 24 points. He got some help from Nikola Vucevic, who finished with a 15-point, 19-rebound double-double, and Terrence Ross, who scored 19 points off the bench on 8-for-9 shooting from the field.

LeBron and Lonzo lead Lakers past Hornets in historic performance

LeBron James entered Saturday's game with a career 30-1 record against Charlotte since Michael Jordan took over as the team's owner, per Bleacher Report's Thomas Duffy.

That record is now 31-1.

MORE: LeBron discusses meeting Jordan for the first time

Powered by triple-doubles from LeBron and Lonzo Ball — making them the first Lakers teammates since Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to record triple-doubles in the same game — LA cruised to a 128-100 victory over the Hornets.


The last non-Laker teammates to record a triple-double in the same game? Vince Carter and Jason Kidd in 2007.

The end of two streaks

The Boston Celtics' win streak ends at eight games and the Detroit Pistons' losing streak ends at six.

The Celtics got a combined 47 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and six steals from Kyrie Irving and Marcus Smart, but it wasn't enough to overcome strong showings from Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond.

Griffin almost recorded a triple-double (27 PTS, 8 REBS, 6 AST) in the 113-104 win and Drummond almost had another 20-20 game (19 PTS, 20 RBS), what would've been his seventh of the season.

Drummond also had five blocks in the contest, one of which came on a Jayson Tatum dunk attempt down the stretch that sealed the deal.


Turnovers plague Clippers as OKC bounce back

The Oklahoma City Thunder returned home, snapping their two game skid with a 110-104 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

In a clash between two of the West's best teams, the Clippers were their own worst enemy, turning the ball over 26 times and the Thunder made them pay as they shot an extra 15 field goals on the night. 

Paul George was the star with 33 points, including five three-pointers, seven rebounds and six assists, leading the way early with 21 first-half points as Russell Westbrook got off to a slow start. Westbrook finished with 13 points, 12 assists, nine rebounds and six steals on the night.


Despite taking an 11-point lead into half-time, which they extended to 17 by the third quarter, OKC couldn't relax as the Clippers finished the game strong, scoring 35 points in the fourth. Trailing by six points with 20.7 seconds left, LA's Montrezl Harrell went to thre free throw line, missing both as Jerami Grant went down the other end for a dunk to ice the game.

Harrell finished with 21 points on the night, while Danilo Gallinari matched his season-high with 28 points and Tobias Harris added 22.

Best Fantasy Performers

Nikola Vucevic — 15 points (5-14 FG), 19 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks

Blake Griffin — 27 points (8-16 FG), 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal

Andre Drummond — 19 points (6-14 FG), 20 rebounds, 5 blocks and 3 steals

Marcus Smart — 21 points (5-7 3PT), 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals

LeBron James — 24 points (7-15 FG), 12 rebounds, 11 assists and 1 steal

Lonzo Ball — 16 points (7-11 FG), 10 assists, 10 rebounds and 5 steals

James Harden — 32 points (9-14 FG), 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 steals

Paul George — 33 points (11-19 FG, 5 3PT), 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 1 block

Kris Dunn — 24 points (11-19 FG), 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals  

Devin Booker — 28 points (10-16 FG),  7 rebounds and 7 assists

Karl-Anthony Towns — 28 points (9-24 FG), 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks 

LaMarcus Aldridge  — 29 points (10-16 FG) and 12 rebounds

Can't-Miss Highlights

D.J. Augustin beats the buzzer with a deep triple.


How did Donovan Mitchell make this?


LeBron James with a huge dunk in transition.


Lonzo Ball doing his best LeBron impression.


Jaren Jackson Jr. showing why Luka Doncic isn't the only rookie you should be paying attention to this season.


Dunn took things into his own hands


 

Box Scores

Jazz vs. Magic | Lakers at Hornets | Celtics at Pistons

Rockets at Grizzlies | Bulls at Spurs

Clippers at Thunder | Timberwolves at Suns

Author(s)
Scott Rafferty and Benyam Kidane