NBA: Doncic carries Lakers past Thunder

The Lakers dealt the NBA-leading Thunder back-to-back losses for only the second time this season by connecting on 22 of 40 shots from 3-point range. Doncic was 5 of 11 from beyond the arc while adding seven rebounds and six assists, while Austin Reaves went 4 of 8 on 3-point tries in a 20-point effort.

Los Angeles, which also received 19 points and seven assists from LeBron James, won for the fourth time in five games and moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the slumping Denver Nuggets for third place in the Western Conference.

The Thunder got 26 points and nine assists from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander but had a rare off day defensively as they dropped consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 17-19. Oklahoma City was coming off a 125-111 defeat to the Houston Nuggets on Friday.

Los Angeles was on the mark right from the start, as it put together a 16-6 run capped by two Gabe Vincent 3-pointers to open up a 40-29 lead late in the first quarter, and remained in control from that point on.

Lakers set a new season-high for threes in a game with 22, tying the franchise highpic.twitter.com/uu20cg4Pkr

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 6, 2025

Another big run, a 13-3 spurt to begin the second quarter, extended the Lakers' advantage to 55-35 just three minutes into the period. Their lead got as high as 29 points in the first half before they cruised into the intermission up 78-56 behind Doncic's 22 points through the first two quarters.

The Thunder failed to mount a serious threat after the break, as their deficit never got below 18 points at any stage in the second half. The 27-point defeat stands as Oklahoma City's most lopsided loss of the season.

The Golden State Warriors' hot stretch came to an end following an uncharacteristic cold performance from Stephen Curry, who was held to three points in 33 minutes in his team's 106-96 loss to the Houston Rockets.

Houston limited Curry to a 1-of-10 shooting effort to halt the Warriors' five-game winning streak and improve to 15-2 since March 6, the best record in the NBA over that period. Curry entered the contest averaging a scorching 41.7 points over his previous three outings, including a 52-point performance against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday.

Dillon Brooks shot the ball very well for Houston, going 10 of 13 from the field while leading the Rockets with 24 points. Jalen Green added 21 points and Alperen Sengun contributed a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds.

Buddy Hield and Brandin Podziemski paced the Warriors with 20 and 19 points, respectively, with the duo a combined 10 of 20 from 3-point range.

Golden State opened the game strong, building a 24-13 lead late in the first quarter before the Rockets scored the period's final five points. Houston would move ahead in the second quarter, though its advantage was just one at half-time after Curry made his only shot of the game, a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left that brought the Warriors within 51-50.

The Warriors were never able to get back in front, however, as Houston started the second half on an 11-3 run to take a 62–53 edge three minutes into the third quarter.

SUNDAY'S FINAL SCORESAlperen Sengun and the @HoustonRockets improve to 15-2 over the last 17 games!Dillon Brooks: 24 PTS (10-13 FGM)Jalen Green: 21 PTS, 5 ASTJabari Smith Jr.: 16 PTS, 9 REB https://t.co/awaWXpz83k pic.twitter.com/snPddhxSSL

— NBA (@NBA) April 7, 2025

Hield helped keep Golden State in it with 11 second-half points, though the Rockets eventually pulled away as Green knocked down 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to give his team a 99-86 lead with 4:10 left to play.

Obi Toppin made the most of a spot start by scoring 22 points to help the Indiana Pacers extend the Denver Nuggets' recent struggles with a 125-120 comeback win on Sunday.

The Pacers ran their winning streak to four games despite trailing by 13 points in the first half and missing key starter Pascal Siakam due to a sore elbow. Indiana also got just nine points from Tyrese Haliburton, though the star point guard did dish out 14 assists.

Toppin filled in more than adequately for Siakam, however, and Indiana's three other starters all chipped in at least 17 points. Myles Turner led the way with 24, Andrew Nembhard had 19 along with six assists and Aaron Nesmith delivered 17 points.

Denver dropped its season-high fourth straight game despite another monster outing from Nikola Jokic, who amassed 41 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists for his league-leading 32nd triple-double of the season.

The Nuggets also got a career-high 30 points out of Christian Braun in their fifth straight game without standout guard Jamal Murray (hamstring), whom coach Michael Malone said may not return until the playoffs when speaking to reporters prior to the contest.

Jokic's 29 points and nine assists in the first half helped carry Denver to a 50-37 advantage midway through the second quarter, though the Pacers were able to steadily chip away until going ahead for good early in the fourth.

Indiana trimmed the Nuggets' lead to 66-61 at half-time and narrowly moved in front by the end of the third quarter when Haliburton hit a short floater to give his team a 98-97 edge at the period's end.

The Pacers' momentum carried over into the fourth quarter, as they put together a 9-2 run capped by a Turner 3-pointer to extend their lead to 116-106 with 6 1/2 minutes left. The Nuggets countered with a 12-3 spurt, however, to get within 119-118 with under three minutes to go.

Denver committed three costly turnovers down the stretch, however, including a backcourt violation from Jokic with Indiana clinging to a 122-120 lead with 15.8 seconds remaining. Nesmith then sank two free throws on the following possession to keep the Nuggets at bay.