Lakers superstar makes ugly accusation; Aussie in ‘masterful’ statement — NBA Wrap

Lakers superstar Luka Doncic accused Magic forward Goga Bitadze of a vulgar comment after L.A.’s last-gasp 105-104 victory against Orlando.

Doncic picked up his 16th technical foul of the season in the win, putting him in line for a one-game suspension.

The Slovenian superstar, however, hopes he won’t be suspended after alleging that his interaction with Bitadze was sparked by the Magic forward telling him in Serbian that “he’d f*** my whole family”.

“We’ll try and get that rescinded,” added Lakers coach JJ Redick said of Doncic’s foul.

Bitadze rejected that claim.

“I’m a fan of his game and don’t want to look like it was directed to his family, or anything,” Bitadze said in a phone interview with ESPN and the Orlando Sentinel.

“It was just in the heat of the moment. I heard what he said and I felt like I had to respond the same way. So, from my side, if he feels like I said something too much or crossed the line, I apologise as a man.

“I can take [accountability], but I didn’t say anything but what he said. What he came out and said, I don’t think that’s the truth. I know that’s not the truth.”

Elsewhere, LeBron James made history in that game with a record-breaking 1,612th NBA regular-season appearance in the win.

The 41-year-old basketball icon’s appearance took him one clear of the mark of 1,611 held by Robert Parish since his retirement in 1997.

The four-time NBA champion had equaled Parish’s tally on Friday in stunning fashion, posting a triple-double in the Lakers’ win over the Heat in Miami.

It had looked as if James’ milestone appearance on Sunday would be tinged with disappointment with Orlando poised to end the Lakers’ eight-game winning streak, leading 104-102 with three seconds on the clock.

But a sensational buzzer-beating three-pointer with 0.6sec remaining from Luke Kennard rescued the Lakers to make it nine consecutive victories. The Lakers improved to 46-25 to tighten their grip on third place in the Western Conference.

James finished with 12 points, six rebounds and four assists. Austin Reaves finished with 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting.

James, playing his unprecedented 23rd season, already holds a host of NBA records, including points scored, field goals made and field goals attempted and the longest streak of regular-season games with at least 10 points scored — 1,297 — in history.

Including playoff games, James has amassed a total of 1,904 fixtures during his career. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a distant second with 1,797 appearances while Parish is third on 1,795.

AUSSIE DYSON DANIELS ‘MASTERFUL’ IN HAWKS VICTORY

Meanwhile, Australian Dyson Daniels had one of his best games of the season as he tied his career-high mark in points to help the Atlanta Hawks to 126-110 win over Golden State.

Daniels put up 28 points in the win to go with seven rebounds, six assists and four steals to step up in the absence of All-Star teammate Jalen Johnson (shoulder).

“Dyson, Dyson, Dyson,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said when asked what he saw to start the third quarter, which ended with Atlanta out-scoring Golden State 39-20.

While Daniels’ shooting woes this season have been well-documented, Snyder has been consistent in telling the Australian that he has full confidence in him and wants the NBA’s reigning Most Improved Player to keep firing if the shot is there.

That was the case on Sunday, with Daniels making a pair of 3-pointers and finishing with an incredibly efficient 12 shots from 17 field goal attempts.

“We feel strongly (and) I’ve said it before, just space, space and then read and if you’ve got that shot, take it. If you don’t, playmake. That’s been his focus and it’s good to see him knock one down tonight and we want to see him keep doing that,” Snyder added.

Fellow Australian Jock Landale added seven points and three steals off the bench.

FOUR EJECTED AFTER FIERY BRAWL IN THUNDER WIN

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points and the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder beat Washington 132-111 following a second-quarter melee that resulted in four ejections.

Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander added seven assists and three rebounds to his seventh 40-point effort of the season.

Chet Holmgren added 18 points and 10 rebounds while Isaiah Hartenstein had nine points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists.

The Thunder own the NBA’s best record at 56-15 and are on an 11-game win streak while the Wizards have the league’s second-worst record at 16-54 and lost their 15th game in a row.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 points in the first half to extend his NBA record streak of games with 20-or-more points to 131 in a row.

The win though was overshadowed by a wild melee in the first half that led to a flurry of ejections.

The altercation, which halted the game for 11 minutes, came with 27 seconds remaining in the second quarter just after Oklahoma City grabbed a 68-63 lead.

Thunder forward Jaylin Williams held the ball after the basket and twice bumped into Washington’s Justin Champagnie.

Oklahoma City’s Ajay Mitchell came up to confront Champagnie and was smacked in the face for his trouble to ignite the brawl.

Referee Nate Green pushed Champagnie back to try and ease tensions while Mitchell kept advancing and was pushed forward and into a camera and a wave of players fell into a pile behind the baseline, all trying to support their side in the melee.

Washington’s Champagnie was given two technical fouls and ejected while Williams was issued two technicals and ejected.

Mitchell and Thunder teammate Cason Wallace were both issued a technical foul for escalation of the altercation and each was ejected.

Mitchell scored 14 points while Wallace had four, Williams had none and Champagnie had three for Washington.

Oklahoma City led 69-64 at halftime but with two starters and key reserve Williams out for the second half — setting the stage for the reigning MVP to seize command.

Gilgeous-Alexander sank his first three-pointer of the game at the buzzer for the last of his 16 third-quarter points to give the Thunder a 103-96 edge entering the fourth.

Oklahoma City then outscored Washington 15-0 over the first 5:48 of the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

OTHER GAMES AROUND THE LEAGUE

Second-placed San Antonio improved to 53-18 with their fifth straight win in a wire-to-wire 134-119 blowout over the Indiana Pacers.

Keldon Johnson and Dylan Harper scored 24 points apiece while Victor Wembanyama added 20 for San Antonio.

In Houston, Kevin Durant’s 27 points helped the Rockets edge the Miami Heat 123-122.

Durant’s three-pointer with 3:35 to play took him past Michael Jordan’s 32,292 career points into fifth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

“It means a lot. I’m very grateful to be able to do this here for this fanbase that shows me so much love and support in every game,” Durant said of his scoring achievement.

“I’m grateful to be here and for this incredible journey it’s been. I’m looking forward to continuing.”

Elsewhere, the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 44-27 with a 111-106 defeat of the New Orleans Pelicans.