NBA: James Harden, Joe Harris star as Nets rout Lakers; Raptors hand Bucks fifth consecutive loss

Los Angeles: James Harden scored 23 points, Joe Harris added 21 with six 3-pointers and the Brooklyn Nets routed the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers 109-98 on Thursday night for their season-best fifth straight victory. Kyrie Irving had 16 points and seven rebounds as Brooklyn easily won this matchup of NBA title contenders and improved to 4-0 on a five-game West Coast trip with Kevin Durant missing his third straight game with a strained left hamstring. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 15 points and hit five of the Nets’ 18 3-pointers, LeBron James scored his 35,000th career point while getting 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers. Kyle Kuzma added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Anthony Davis and Dennis Schroder sat out for Los Angeles, leaving the defending champions without two of their top three scorers. Davis missed his second straight game after aggravating his strained right calf and Achilles last weekend. The Lakers also played without Schroder, a late scratch under the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Toronto Raptors 110 — 96 Milwaukee Bucks Norman Powell scored 29 points, Pascal Siakam had 27 and Toronto handed Milwaukee their fifth consecutive loss. Powell matched a season-high in scoring while shooting 9 of 12 overall, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Fred VanVleet added 17 points for the Raptors. The Bucks last dropped five straight games from 25 January to 3 February in 2017. This entire skid has come without guard Jrue Holiday, who has missed six consecutive games due to health and safety protocols. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 23 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for the Bucks before fouling out with 1:19 left. Miami Heat 118 — 110 Sacramento Kings Jimmy Butler had 13 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for his third consecutive triple-double, helping Miami beat Sacramento. Bam Adebayo also had a triple-double with 16 points, 10 assists and 12 rebounds to help Miami win for the first time in Sacramento in nearly five years. Tyler Herro scored 27 points, and Kelly Olynyk added a season-high 22. Marvin Bagley III had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Sacramento.