Lakers Hold Off Bulls, NBA Roundup

By ESPN

The Los Angeles Lakers needed a basket, and Julius Randle wanted the ball.

Coach Luke Walton loved the whole thing.

"If it's a one-on-one situation with space, we feel very confident that he'll win that matchup," Walton said.

Got it done in a big moment Wednesday night.

Randle made a strong move against Nikola Mirotic for a tiebreaking layup with 45.1 seconds left, and the Lakers held off the Chicago Bulls for a gritty 96-90 victory.

Randle had 13 points and matched a career high with 20 rebounds as Los Angeles bounced back from a 105-88 loss at New Orleans on Tuesday night. Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points apiece, and Larry Nance Jr. finished with 12 points and 11 boards.

"Our guys just played hard, stayed mentally locked in," Randle said.

Randle's drive and layup gave Los Angeles a 92-90 lead. After Jimmy Butler missed on the other side for Chicago, Williams went 1 for 2 at the line with 20 seconds to go.

Butler then missed another 3 and Randle and Nance combined for three foul shots to help Los Angeles hold on.

"Our guys have proven that when their backs are against the wall they can step up for a challenge," Walton said. "They did it tonight. That's a great win against a very talented team."

Butler had 22 points on 4-of-18 shooting for the Bulls, who were hoping to build on a 4-2 road trip. Dwyane Wade, who was listed as doubtful after getting some dental work on Tuesday, scored 17 points, and Robin Lopez finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and a career-high eight blocked shots.

"It was an ugly game," Wade said. "We have to find a way to win those games. No excuses."

The Bulls used 40 points from Butler to beat the Lakers 118-110 in Los Angeles on Nov. 20. But the Lakers held the Bulls to 35.2 percent shooting in the rematch and enjoyed a 60-46 rebounding advantage.

"I think the missed shots definitely affected us," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "You can't let that happen. That and rebounding has to be your constant."

Trail Blazers 131, Pacers 109

Two days of focused practice with an emphasis on defense served the Trail Blazers well.

Portland applied what it worked on, beating former coach Nate McMillan and the Indiana Pacers 131-109 Wednesday night behind Damian Lillard's 28 points, 10 assists and four steals.

"It was a really good defensive game. I think everything we addressed in practice the last two days, the effort, the mindset, how locked in we were the last two days, I think it translated to the court," Lillard said.

Maurice Harkless added 23 points for the Blazers, who led by as many as 28 in their fifth consecutive victory over the Pacers.

The Trail Blazers had lost six of their last eight games as they've struggled to find consistency on defense. Portland was coming off a 130-114 loss at home to the Houston Rockets on Sunday.

Jeff Teague led Indiana with 25 points, while Myles Turner had 19 points and 10 rebounds. It was the first of a five-game road swing for the Pacers, who had won two straight.

Kings, 76ers Game Postponed

A scheduled game between the Sacramento Kings and Philadelphia 76ers was postponed Wednesday night by the NBA because of condensation on the court at the Wells Fargo Center.

The game, which was slated to start at 7 p.m., was called off at 8:03 p.m. A makeup date was not immediately announced.

The Philadelphia Flyers hosted an NHL game at the arena Tuesday night and the ice surface remained under the basketball court -- standard procedure at the Wells Fargo Center. However, Wednesday was an unseasonably warm, humid day for late November in Philadelphia, and it likely affected the surface.

"With our ice surface, sometimes humidity is our biggest opponent when we prepare for a game," said John Page, president of the Wells Fargo Center complex. "We've never had an issue before, but we need to make sure we don't have this issue again."

Sacramento center DeMarcus Cousins said players noticed the court was slippery at Wednesday morning's shoot around. By pregame warmups, the problem had worsened.

Wednesday, November 30 Scoreboard

Sacramento at Philadelphia, postponed

Detroit 121, Boston 114

Toronto 120, Memphis 105

Los Angeles Lakers 96, Chicago 90

Oklahoma City 126, Washington 115 (OT)

New York 106, Minnesota 104

San Antonio 94, Dallas 87

Miami 106, Denver 98

Phoenix 109, Atlanta 107

Portland 131, Indiana 109

Thursday, December 1 Schedule (All Times Central)

Dallas at Charlotte, 6 p.m.

Milwaukee at Brooklyn, 6:30 p.m.

Orlando at Memphis, 7 p.m.

Los Angeles Clippers at Cleveland, 7 p.m.

Miami at Utah, 8 p.m.

Houston at Golden State, 9:30 p.m.

Friday, December 2 Schedule (All Times Central)

Orlando at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

Sacramento at Boston, 6:30 p.m.

Los Angeles Lakers at Toronto, 6:30 p.m.

Minnesota at New York, 6:30 p.m.

Cleveland at Chicago, 7 p.m.

Los  Angeles Clippers at New Orleans, 7 p.m.

Detroit at Atlanta, 7 p.m.

Washington at San Antonio, 7:30 p.m.

Houston at Denver, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, December 3 Schedule (All Times Central)

Brooklyn at Milwaukee, 4 p.m.

Minnesota at Charlotte, 6 p.m.

Atlanta at Toronto, 6:30 p.m.

Boston at Philadelphia, 6:30 p.m.

Los Angeles Lakers at Memphis, 7 p.m.

Chicago at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

Denver at Utah, 8 p.m.

Miami at Portland, 9 p.m.

Phoenix at Golden State, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, December 4 Schedule (All Times Central)

Orlando at Detroit, 5 p.m.

New Orleans at Oklahoma City, 6 p.m.

Sacramento at New York, 6:30 p.m.

Indiana at Los Angeles Clippers, 8:30 p.m.