NBA: LEBRON JAMES PRODUCES MONSTER DUNK AS LA LAKERS EDGE OUT CLIPPERS, MAVERICKS BEAT TIMBERWOLVES

LeBron James stole the show at the Crypto.com Arena on Sunday night with 25 points as the LA Lakers beat the Clippers by just three points. James produced a highlight reel moment in the match as he delivered a slam dunk over Paul George. Elsewhere, Dallas Mavericks beat Western Conference leaders Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Toronto Raptors overcame Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers goes to the basket during the game on January 7, 2024 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California

Image credit: Getty Images

Los Angeles Lakers ended a four-game losing streak in the NBA by beating the Los Angeles Clippers 106-103 on Sunday night.

LeBron James led the way for the Lakers, scoring 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists on the night.

The 39-year-old left his team-mates stunned when he dribbled the length of the court and produced a dunk over Paul George.

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Norman Powell’s three-pointer rattled in and out at the buzzer as the Lakers held on to win for only the fourth time in 14 games.

Anthony Davis produced a fine defensive performance, and scored 22 points and 10 rebounds, as the Lakers beat the Clippers for the second straight time, having lost 11 in a row to their rivals before that.

“We played like we needed to win, like it was a must-win,” Davis said.

“We competed on both sides of the basketball. We’ve just got to build off of it. We know what we have in the locker room. We know what it takes to win, and we displayed that tonight.”

Paul George scored 22 points for the Clippers while Ivica Zubac had 22 points and 19 rebounds, but their five-game winning streak came to an end.

“We just didn’t play a good offensive game,” Clippers coach Ty Lue said afterwards.

“There was a bad flow to the game offensively. I thought our defence was pretty good, but offensively we couldn’t get in a flow or a rhythm.”

Kyrie Irving produced 35 points and Luka Doncic added 34 as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-108.

Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards scored 36 points – his 12th straight game where he got at least 20.

RJ Barrett scored a season-high 37 points as the Toronto Raptors beat Golden State Warriors 133-118.

“I’m trying to play the right way and help my team-mates,” Barrett said after playing his fourth game since being traded from the New York Knicks to his hometown team.

“A lot of learning going on. I’m still learning the defensive system, trying to get better at that every day watching film. But I’m just trying to help, that’s all I’m trying to do.”

It was a match to forget for Stephen Curry, who scored nine points and missed all nine of his three-pointers in his second-lowest scoring total of the season.

The Denver Nuggets handed the Detroit Pistons their 18th straight loss on the road with by a comfortable 131-114 win.

Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic led the way for the Nuggets. Murray scored a season-high 37 points while Jokic had 16 assists as the Pistons lost their fourth game in a row.

Jaren Jackson Jr scored 28 points and 10 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies, without Ja Morant, overcame an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Phoenix Suns 121-115.