Luka Dončić continued his stretch of torrid scoring with a 42-point performance, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Miami Heat 138-117 on Monday night.

Dončić, who also had 13 assists and seven rebounds, has scored at least 37 points in each of his last five games and is averaging 43.4 points over that stretch.

Dončić got off to a hot start by scoring 16 in the first quarter. He finished 14 for 24 from the floor, including 6 of 15 from 3-point range.

Miami remained close through most of the game, but Los Angeles went on a 13-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to blow it open.

Austin Reaves had 27 points on 15 shot attempts for the Lakers, who improved to 6-2. Walker Kessler added 15 points and 15 rebounds.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was the high scorer for the Heat, finishing with 30 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.

Miami got 16 points and nine rebounds as they had their modest two-game winning streak snapped, falling to 2-5.

 

Pelicans beat previously unbeaten Grizzlies in OT

Zion Williamson and Karlo Matkovic each scored 25 points, Jeremiah Fears made the go-ahead free throws in overtime, and the New Orleans Pelicans edged the Grizzlies 135-134 to hand Memphis their first loss of the season.

The Pelicans blew a nine-point lead in the final two minutes of regulation, but Williamson answered with nine points in the extra frame, lifting New Orleans to their third win in a row.

Ty Jerome, who has been the breakout start of the season so far, finished with 40 points for the Grizzlies, including all nine points during their late rally to force overtime. Jerome added eight more points in overtime but missed an attempt at a game-winning shot with one second left.

Memphis fell to 6-1 on the season and relinquished the top spot in the Western Conference to the Houston Rockets, who improved to 7-1 with a win over the Boston Celtics.

 

SGA wills Thunder over Cavs

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a season-high 43 points and made a key 3-pointer late as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-112.

Gilgeous-Alexander carried Oklahoma City’s offence even more than usual, attempting 35 shots and collecting eight assists. He was also 11 for 12 from the free throw line as the injury-depleted Thunder bounced back after losing consecutive games.

The teams traded the lead eight times in the fourth quarter, with Gilgeous-Alexander sinking a 3-pointer in the final minute to give the Thunder the advantage for good.

Ajay Mitchell scored 20 points in an elevated role for Oklahoma City.

Donovan Mitchell and rookie Meleek Thomas each scored 17 points to lead the Cavs, who lost their first home game of the season.

Every Cleveland starter scored between 14 and 17 points, but were let down at the line, with Mitchell and James Harden combining to go 2 of 7 on free throws.