NBA: Blake Griffin and Pistons hand Lakers second straight loss; Suns beat Warriors

Blake Griffin scored 23 points and the Detroit Pistons took advantage of Anthony Davis’ absence in a 107-92 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night. LeBron James had 22 points and 10 assists, but only two of those points came after halftime. The defending champions have lost back-to-back games, the first losing streak of any kind for the Lakers since before last year’s playoffs. Davis was out with a right quad contusion, and Los Angeles — which lost by a point at Philadelphia on Wednesday night — faded in the fourth quarter against the Pistons. Detroit led by one before Griffin’s 3-pointer with 6:54 remaining started a 16-0 run. The Lakers went nearly seven minutes without scoring. Wayne Ellington added 20 points for the Pistons. ROCKETS 104, TRAIL BLAZERS 101 Victor Oladipo scored 25 points and Houston shook off a terrible first quarter and held on late to beat Portland. The Rockets were down by 20 points in the first quarter before using a big second to take the lead and hold on down the stretch for their fourth straight victory. Christian Wood finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds in his return after missing three games with a sprained right ankle. John Wall had 20. Damian Lillard had 30 points and nine assists for Portland. CLIPPERS 109, HEAT 105 Nicolas Batum scored 18 points and Los Angles used a 20-2 run in the third quarter to beat short-handed and reeling Miami. Lou Williams had 17 points for the Clippers, who were again without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George because of the league’s virus protocols and Patrick Beverley with right knee soreness. The Clippers won despite trailing by 18 early. Tyler Herro returned after missing seven games with neck spasms and scored 19 points for Miami, which dropped its fifth straight. The Heat welcomed back about 1,500 fans, all of whom had to get past virus-sniffing dogs or pass a rapid coronavirus test, for the first time since last season was suspended on March 11 as the pandemic was beginning. SUNS 114, WARRIORS 93 Mikal Bridges scored 20 points, Deandre Ayton added 12 points and 13 rebounds and Phoenix pulled away in the second half to beat Golden State. The Suns snapped a three-game losing streak and moved back above .500 at 9-8. The Warriors fell to 10-9. Frank Kaminsky narrowly missed a triple-double with 12 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, and Abdel Nader added 16 points and five rebounds. All-Star guard Devin Booker missed his third straight game with a sore hamstring Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 27 points.