The Los Angeles Lakers held off a late Phoenix rally to secure a 116-114 victory in a hard-fought NBA showdown on Sunday.

Luka Doncic led the way with 29 points, while LeBron James added 26, powering the Lakers to a dominant 24-0 run in the second half that gave them a 99-79 lead with 8:40 left in the fourth quarter.

The Suns mounted a furious comeback, taking a 114-113 lead with just 12.2 seconds remaining after Dillon Brooks drained a three-pointer. Brooks then bumped James, earning his second technical foul of the night and triggering James’ ejection.

James missed the technical free throw but was fouled by Devin Booker on a three-point attempt and made two of three free throws with three seconds left to reclaim the lead for Los Angeles.

“We got behind the eight ball a lot in the fourth quarter, but I thought for the majority of the game our physicality was good,” James said. He also reflected on his earlier skirmish with Brooks: “Just competing. It’s the NBA, no boys allowed. We’re out there competing, and we were able to get the last laugh.”

In other NBA action, Golden State star Stephen Curry delivered a spectacular 48-point performance, hitting 12 three-pointers in a 136-131 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. Curry was two short of tying former teammate Klay Thompson’s record of 14 threes in a game and one shy of his own career-best of 13. The 37-year-old also passed Michael Jordan for the most 40-point games after age 30, reaching 45. Despite Curry’s heroics, Jerami Grant and Shaedon Sharpe scored 35 points apiece to lead Portland to victory.

The Atlanta Hawks narrowly defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 120-117, with Jalen Johnson posting 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists to become the 12th player in NBA history to record four consecutive triple-doubles and the second this season alongside Denver’s Nikola Jokic.

Rookie Kon Knueppel scored 29 points, while Brandon Miller added 25 points and 13 rebounds as the Charlotte Hornets upset the Cleveland Cavaliers 119-111 in overtime. Darius Garland led the Cavs with 26 points, but Donovan Mitchell was limited to 17 and missed a potential game-winner at the end of regulation. Cleveland struggled in overtime, failing to score on all 10 of their attempts.

Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets dominated the Milwaukee Bucks 127-82, with nine players scoring in double figures. Rookie Egor Demin led the Nets with 17 points, and Noah Clowney contributed 16, helping Brooklyn match the franchise record for largest margin of victory. Giannis Antetokounmpo was absent due to injury. “I thought that was awful – awful all around,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “Give Brooklyn credit. They played hard as heck … they played right. We didn’t.”