'Resilience' key for Lakers as Monk stars in OT win

LOS ANGELES • A litany of injuries left the Los Angeles Lakers with just nine players in uniform.

Without LeBron James (abdominal strain), Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis - part of the team's "Big Three" - stepped up, scoring 25 and 24 points respectively.

But it was an unlikely source off the bench that helped to fuel the injury-depleted hosts to a 120-117 National Basketball Association (NBA) overtime win over the Miami Heat at the Staples Centre on Wednesday night.

Reserve guard Malik Monk starred with 27 points - including 16 in the second half and five in overtime as the Lakers (7-5) improved to 2-2 without James.

"Resilience," Davis said of the key trait for Los Angeles, who twice trailed by nine points in the fourth quarter.

Bam Adebayo scored 28 points for the Heat (7-4) before fouling out, while teammate Tyler Herro had 27 but Miami missed six of their first seven shots in overtime to fall into a five-point hole, which they failed to recover from.

In New York, the Milwaukee Bucks turned the tables on the New York Knicks, squandering a 24-point lead before emerging with a 112-100 victory at Madison Square Garden.

The hosts had rallied from a 21-point first-half deficit to stun the reigning NBA champions 113-98 on the road last Friday, but they could not work the same magic on their home floor.

Pat Connaughton's season-high 23 points for Milwaukee included three three-pointers in the final four minutes - part of a long-range barrage the Bucks used to hold on.

Grayson Allen added two three-pointers in the waning minutes for the Bucks (6-6), who finished with 26 three-pointers on 50 attempts.​

The Golden State Warriors are leading the league, ahead of the Utah Jazz in the West, and Eastern Conference leaders, the Washington Wizards (both 8-3).

"We definitely had that in the back of our mind," Finals Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo said of the Bucks' loss to New York last week.

"Coming here tonight on a back-to-back, obviously our bodies are tired, but at the end of the day, we've got to do what we've got to do. We kept our composure and that's who we are."

In San Francisco, Andrew Wiggins scored 35 points and Stephen Curry added 25 as the Golden State Warriors withstood a 48-point effort from Anthony Edwards to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 123-110.

The hosts improved their league-leading record to 10-1 as Wiggins took it to his former team, making all nine of his shots in the first half.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE