(REUTERS) - Anthony Davis had a team-high 21 points, LeBron James ran up a triple-double and the Los Angeles Lakers used a 44-point first quarter on Saturday night (Feb 1) to power a front-running 129-113 victory over the hosts Sacramento Kings in the NBA.
Avery Bradley poured 16 of his 19 points into the first 12 minutes for the Lakers, who were coming off a 127-119 home loss that followed a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant on Friday night.
The Lakers improved to 7-0 on the second night of back-to-backs and 2-0 against Sacramento this season, riding Bradley's four early three-pointers to lead by as many as 24 in the first 12 minutes.
Danny Green, Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope also nailed three-pointers in the quarter, which ended with the visitors on top 44-22.
The Kings, who had won in Los Angeles against the Clippers in their most recent action on Thursday, got as close as 12 in the second quarter and 13 in the third period.
But Caldwell-Pope and James buried consecutive rally-killing treys just before the midpoint of the final quarter, extending the Lakers' lead to 116-93 and paving way for a comfortable finish.
James' triple-double consisted of 15 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. It was his 11th of the season, one off Luka Doncic's league lead, and the 92nd of his National Basketball Association career. Only Oscar Robertson (181), Russell Westbrook (146), Magic Johnson (138) and Jason Kidd (107) have more career triple-doubles.
Caldwell-Pope added 15 points, Rajon Rondo and Alex Caruso 13 apiece, and Kuzma 12 for the Lakers, who won for just the fourth time in their last eight games.
The Lakers shot 51.2 per cent overall and 19-for-43 on three-pointers, with Bradley leading the way with five threes.
De'Aaron Fox scored a game-high 24 points, and Buddy Hield had 22 for the Kings, who had won three of their last four.
Harry Giles III notched 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Kent Bazemore added 10 points for Sacramento, which shot 42.9 per cent overall and 14-for-44 on three-pointers in the opener of a four-game homestand.
Lillard burns Jazz with 51 points as Blazers stay hot
In another game, Damian Lillard continued his torrid roll with 51 points on 17-of-29 shooting from the field, and he added 12 assists to lead hosts Portland past Utah 124-107.
He also made all eight of his free throws en route to his third 50-point effort over the past six games and fourth of the season. He is averaging 48.8 points during the six-game stretch.
Hassan Whiteside added 17 points, 21 rebounds and three blocked shots as the Trail Blazers won their fourth straight game and fifth in their last six.
Donovan Mitchell scored 25 points, and Bojan Bogdanovic and Mike Conley added 22 apiece but could not prevent the Jazz from losing their season-worst fourth straight game.
Elsewhere, Jaylen Brown scored 32 points, Jayson Tatum added 25 and Boston avoided a season sweep at the hands of visiting Philadelphia with a 116-95 win.
Marcus Smart had 16 points, Brad Wanamaker chipped in 15 and the Celtics won for the sixth time in their last seven games. Boston played without leading scorer Kemba Walker, sidelined by a sore left knee.
