The Los Angeles Lakers made the perfect response to their dramatic midweek loss to the Orlando Magic, disposing of the Rockets 124-115 in Houston.
Although Houston started strongly to open up a seven-point lead after the first quarter, they ultimately were not able to fend off a 31-point explosion from LeBron James.
The 35-year-old veteran provided pivotal leadership down the stretch as he also finished with 12 assists and two steals.
39 PTS / 6 REB / 6 AST / 5 STL 📽@kawhileonard posts his fifth straight 30-point performance in New Orleans. pic.twitter.com/cKB1PUlIDR — LA Clippers (@LAClippers) January 19, 2020
The victory sees the Lakers, who were squeezed out 119-118 by Orlando on Thursday, extend their lead at the top of the Western Conference.
Kawhi Leonard had to pull out all of his tricks to help the Los Angeles Clippers edge past a resurgent New Orleans Pelicans outfit 133-130.
Having won four out of their previous five games, the Pelicans went into the clash desperate to give themselves the best chance at making it into the playoffs.
However their desire alone was not enough to compete with Leonard's 39-point performance.
The Philadelphia 76ers were pushed all the way by the New York Knicks, securing a narrow 90-87 win on a go-ahead three from Tobias Harris.
The best from The Greek Freak: 29 PTS | 12 REB | 4 AST | 1 STL | 25 MIN. pic.twitter.com/UGZiyoRnNr — Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 19, 2020
Ben Simmons had eight assists to go along with his game-high 21 points.
The Milwaukee Bucks continued to assert themselves as the best team in the NBA, demolishing the Brooklyn Nets by 20 points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 29 points to help push the Bucks to more than seven games clear on top of the Eastern Conference standings.
There was a major upset in Boston as the Phoenix Suns pulled out a shock 123-119 win over the Celtics.
Not even a 43-point fourth quarter was enough to keep Boston from being handed just their fifth home loss this season.
SGA: 22p/10r/5aCP3: 30p/4r/7aBaze: 9p/13rNerlens: 15p/2b/2sDennis: 15p (all in 2nd half) pic.twitter.com/UQGTqPr3eK — OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 19, 2020
A 30-point effort from Chris Paul helped the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 119-106 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
The victory gives the Thunder some breathing room in the Western Conference from the eighth-placed Memphis Grizzlies.
The Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz rounded out the day's winners.
