Lakers lose Davis early, hold off Magic behind Kuzma in scrimmage

FILE – Kyle Kuzma Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers react during the second half of a game against the Atlanta Hawks at Staples Center on November 17, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Katharine Lotze/Getty Images/AFP

MANILA, Philippines — The Los Angeles Lakers banked on Kyle Kuzma and LeBron James to hold off the Orlando Magic, 119-112, as NBA restart scrimmages continued at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Sunday (Manila time) in Orlando, Florida.

The Lakers also needed timely baskets from Dion Waiters late to hang on after losing a 19-point lead.

Kuzma finished with 25 points off the bench, a day after turning 25 years old, while James added 20 points and seven assists through three quarters. Anthony Davis had nine points and 10 rebounds before getting poked in the eye in the first quarter which forced him to sit the rest of the game.

D.J. Augustin had 21 points and five assists for the Magic.

Milwaukee got its second win of the exhibition in as many games with a 131-123 victory over Sacramento.

Kyle Korver put up 22 points and six rebounds to lead the Bucks while Brook Lopez added 21 points, four boards, five blocks, and two steals.

Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo added 15 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and one block for the Bucks.

Buddy Hield led the Kings with 19 points in 25 minutes off the bench.

Utah held off Miami 101-99 in a game that saw the lead change hands 16 times.

There were 10 lead changes in the fourth quarter alone with Solomon Hill getting a chance to give the Heat the win but his three-pointer fell short at the final buzzer.

Rudy Gobert had 21 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks to power the Jazz while Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson had 17 points apiece.

Kelly Olynyk had 27 points, eight rebounds, and two assists for the Heat while Tyler Herro added 20 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.

Brooklyn kept San Antonio at bay, 124-119, for its first win in the scrimmages.

Caris LeVert spearheaded the Nets’ charge with 27 points and three steals while Jarrett Allen added 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Derrick White led the Spurs with 22 points, three rebounds, and four assists while Jakob Poeltl had 12 points and 11 boards.

The Los Angeles Clippers used a solid fourth quarter to put down Washington, 105-100.

The Clippers outscored the Wizards, 29-16, in the fourth to secure the game.

Patrick Paterson led the Clippers, which had seven players score in double figures, with 16 points off the bench with Paul George adding 11 points.

Isaac Bonga had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Washington with Rui Hachimura tallying his own double-double of 15 points and 10 boards.

New Orleans had a strong first quarter and that was enough foundation to take down Denver, 119-104.

The Pelicans jumped to an early 33-20 lead in the opening period and had five players score 10 or more points in the exhibition.

Nickel Alexander-Walker led New Orleans with 21 points while Sindarius Thornwell added 12 points and six assists.

Nikola Jokic had a near triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists playing as the Nuggets’ point guard while Mason Plumlee had his own double-double of 18 points and 13 boards.