SportyTV | NBA: Lakers hold off Suns; Wolves stay hot

The Los Angeles Lakers survived a furious rally to beat Phoenix 116-114 on Sunday and increase their lead in the Pacific Division over the second-place Suns to 4 ½ games.

Los Angeles (18-7) went on a 24-0 run that gave them a 95-77 lead with 9:29 remaining in the fourth quarter before Phoenix (14-12) roared back and went ahead 114-113 on Dillon Brooks’ three-pointer with 12.2 seconds left.

LeBron James was then fouled by Devin Booker on a three-point attempt with 3.9 seconds to go, and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer made two of three free throws to help the Lakers escape.

Luka Doncic led Los Angeles with 29 points, James scored 26 and DeAndre Ayton had 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Booker had 27 points, seven assists and six boards after sitting out the Suns’ previous three games with a groin injury.

Got it done. pic.twitter.com/6JfYsKW32H
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 15, 2025

Timberwolves stay hot without Edwards

Despite not having star Anthony Edwards available again, the Minnesota Timberwolves continued their strong play with a 117-103 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

Edwards – among the NBA leaders with 28.7 points per game – sat out a second straight contest with soreness in his right foot for Minnesota, who won for the seventh time in eight games behind Julius Randle’s 24 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Jaden McDaniels added 21 points, and Naz Reid came off the bench to score 20 and pull down 11 rebounds as the Timberwolves improved to 17-9.

Sacramento fell to 6-20 and lost leading scorer Zach LaVine in the second quarter due to an ankle injury.

GOT THE DUB. pic.twitter.com/xXeVLDHMZ9
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) December 15, 2025

Williamson returns as Pelicans beat Bulls

Zion Williamson returned from his latest injury to help the New Orleans Pelicans register rare back-to-back wins with a 114-104 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

It was Williamson’s first game since November 29 due to a right adductor injury and just the 11th of the season for the two-time All-Star, who had 18 points and six rebounds in 27 minutes as the Western Conference-worst Pelicans (5-22) posted consecutive wins for just the second time this campaign.

Williamson has had a tough time staying on the court since New Orleans selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

He has played in only 225 of the Pelicans’ 499 regular-season games since the 2019-20 season, and Williamson also missed all 10 of New Orleans’ play-off contests and four of their five NBA Play-In Tournament matchups during that span.

The Bulls (10-15) lost for the eighth time in nine games, a stretch that began with a 143-130 defeat at New Orleans on November 24.