Lakers spoil Doncic return

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The Los Angeles Lakers, fueled by a near triple-double from Anthony Davis, spoiled Luka Doncic's return from injury with a convincing 127-110 National Basketball Association victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.

Davis scored 28 points with 12 rebounds and nine assists and D'Angelo Russell scored 29 for the Lakers, who withstood a triple-double from Doncic — who had missed three games with a sprained right ankle.

Doncic scored 33 points with 13 rebounds and 10 assists. But Mavs star Kyrie Irving was limited to 12 points on 4-of-16 shooting and Dallas never led after the first quarter.

It was just one of the lopsided victories on a night that saw the Cleveland Cavaliers rout the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks 135-95, the Boston Celtics top the San Antonio Spurs, 117-98, and the Toronto Raptors beat the Miami Heat 121-97.

It, however, was no blowout in Atlanta, where Dejounte Murray drilled a buzzer-beating jump shot to lift the Hawks to a 106-104 victory over the Orlando Magic.

LeBron James said the Lakers' victory — which pulled them back to .500 for the season at 21-21 — owed much to finally having a healthy squad.