By ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James had 11 points and 12 assists in the first game of his unprecedented 23rd NBA season, and Luka Doncic had 37 points and 10 assists in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 140-126 victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night, Nov. 18.
The 40-year-old James made his season debut in the Lakers’ starting lineup and played 30 minutes after missing training camp and their first 14 games due to sciatica. Vince Carter is the only other player in NBA history to participate in 22 seasons, but James passed him while opening the next chapter of a pro career that began in 2003.
James didn’t take long to find the flow: He put on a playmaking clinic in the second half, and Doncic scored 17 points in the third quarter while the Lakers pulled away from Utah.
Austin Reaves added 26 points as the Lakers improved to 11-4 with their third straight victory.
Keyonte George, who was born 10 days after James’ NBA debut, matched his season high with 33 points for the Jazz two nights after hitting the winning 3-pointer in a double-overtime thriller against Chicago.
Lauri Markkanen had 31 points for Utah, which has lost five of seven.
James didn’t score in his first 11 minutes on the court, but his two 3-pointers in the first half moved him past Reggie Miller for the sixth-most in NBA history.
James made a driving layup in the third quarter to extend his streak of double-digit scoring performances to a record 1,293 games — every game in which he has played since Jan. 6, 2007. The four-time NBA champion didn’t score again, but the Lakers moved comfortably ahead.
George scored 23 points and Markkanen had 22 in Utah’s 71-point first half. The Lakers took charge after halftime, closing the third on a 21-5 run.
Bronny James played the final 3:33 and hit a 3-pointer.
Meanwhile in Orlando, Desmond Bane had 23 points and five steals, Anthony Black came off the bench to score 21 points, and the Magic beat the Golden State Warriors, 121-113.
Six Orlando players scored at least 13 points, offsetting 34 points and nine assists from Golden State’s Stephen Curry and 33 points from Jimmy Butler.
Franz Wager had 18 points and eight rebounds and Wendell Carter Jr. had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Orlando, which has won four of its last five games. Tristan da Silva had 15 points and Jalen Suggs finished with 13 points and eight assists.
Orlando shot 50.6% overall but made only 8 of 32 3-point shots. After making five of their first six 3-pointers, the Warriors made only 8 of their next 30. Curry, who scored 56 points in Orlando in February and put up 49 and 46 points in games last week, shot 12 for 23 overall and made 7 of 15 3-pointers.
The Magic led by 15 in the middle of the second quarter before Curry closed the half with three 3-pointers and two free throws in the final four minutes to pull Golden State within 67-60 at halftime.
But after bursting down the lane for a layup late in he third quarter that left the Warriors down by 10, Curry went almost 12 minutes without a point. The Magic led 115-101 when Curry nailed a 3-pointer with 3:44 left.
Earlier in New York, Jaylen Brown scored 29 points, Payton Pritchard had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and the Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets, 113-99, to move above .500 for the first time this season.
Derrick White added 15 points for the Celtics, who won their third straight game to improve to 8-7. They played the Nets even for about three quarters before smothering them defensively in the fourth, allowing just one basket for the first 10 minutes of the period.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 25 points for the Nets, his career-best seventh straight game with at least 20. But after his 3-pointer gave Brooklyn a 90-89 lead with 9:08 left, the Nets didn’t make another basket until 1:56 remained.
Day’Ron Sharpe added 16 points for the Nets, who fell to 2-12 overall and 0-7 at home.
