The early NBA Wednesday night (Nov. 29) action included Kristaps Porzingis leaving with an ankle injury as the Knicks won big over the Heat. Both The 76ers' young stars, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, had monster stat lines in a victory against the Wizards, while Anthony Davis got ejected for the first time in his career. Three games made up the late slate on Wednesday, and the celebrities were out in full force to watch the defending champions, the Golden State Warriors, take on the Los Angeles Lakers.

Warriors (16-6) defeat Lakers (8-13) 127-123 (OT)

With Steph Curry and Kevin Durant sitting out, the Warriors played their ‘B’ team on Monday (Nov. 27) in a close loss at home to Sacramento. But against the Lakers, Golden State had their superstars on the court. The early indication was that the Warriors were going to run away with the game. After a 10-point lead in the first quarter, Golden State remained in control until an 18-4 Lakers’ run just before halftime allowed Los Angeles to snatch a four-point lead.

The Warriors are well-known for their third-quarter dominance, but they couldn’t pull away from a scrappy Lakers team. Los Angeles dove for loose balls, hustled on both ends of the court, and did all of the little things that less-talented teams need to do when playing against superior talent.

The score was tied heading into the fourth quarter and remained close with the two teams trading buckets. A Kentavious Caldwell-Pope basket and free throw put the Lakers up three with 56 seconds left, but Durant answered immediately with a three-point shot to tie the score again. With five seconds left, Brandon Ingram drove to the hole but missed a floater to win the game.

Curry opened overtime knocking down back-to-back three-point shots. The Lakers were down two possessions for much of the extra time, but a Jordan Clarkson three made it a three-point game. Ingram then picked Durant’s pocket on the next play and got fouled. The Lakers had a chance to tie or go ahead, but couldn’t haul down a key offensive rebound on a missed free throw.

Durant (29 points) and Curry (28 points) led the way for Golden State. Ingram had a game-high 32 points, while Lonzo Ball added 15 points and 10 assists.

Spurs (14-7) defeat Grizzlies (7-13) 104-95

The Grizzlies' season has gone off-the-rails. From losing point guard Mike Conley, to losing nine games in a row and firing their coach, Memphis is in the midst of a tailspin. LaMarcus Aldridge came out and dominated the Grizzlies on Wednesday night, dropping 17 points in the first quarter to lead San Antonio to a 28-21 lead.

The Spurs’ lead was nine at halftime, but Memphis came out and reduced the deficit to six by the end of the third quarter. A Ben McLemore shot from deep cut the lead to three with 7:31 in the game, but the Grizzlies couldn’t crack the code to climb any closer.

Aldridge finished the game with an eye-popping 41 points on 17-of-24 shooting.

Nets (8-13) defeat Mavericks (5-17) 109-104

The Mavericks jumped out in the first quarter to a 27-21 lead behind 12 points and six rebounds by Maximilian Kleber. Brooklyn came back in the second, turning the tables on Dallas to take a one-point lead at the break. The two teams exchanged leads in the third quarter before the Nets crawled ahead by four at the end of the quarter. With the Mavericks down just two, any chance of a Dallas comeback was thwarted when Trevor Booker entered the game with 8:10 left. Booker poured in eight points down-the-stretch to help put the game on ice for Brooklyn.
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