Doncic honors his birthday and leads Lakers' thrashing of decimated Warriors

Luka Doncic celebrated his birthday with 26 points to boost the playoff ambitions of the Los Angeles Lakers in a 129-101 thrashing of the decimated Golden State Warriors on Saturday in an NBA day that also saw Bam Adebayo shine for the Miami Heat.

On his 27th birthday, Doncic made four 3-pointers and added six rebounds and eight assists in a dominant win for the Lakers (sixth in the Western Conference, 35-24) at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

LeBron James joined the Slovenian's party with a game-high 22 points, while Austin Reaves finished with 18 points to give the Los Angeles Angels a morale-boosting win after three straight losses.

The Warriors (eighth in the West, 31-29), without injured Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, were forced to limit damage throughout the game after trailing by 13 points at the end of the first quarter.

"We needed a win like this," Doncic said in remarks picked up by AFP. "Obviously, they don't have Steph or Jimmy, but it's still a dangerous game, so it was a great win. We'll take it game by game, but the chemistry is going to grow; I think today was one of the best games we've played together," said the Slovenian.

Adebayo puts Miami on the "right course"

Bam Adebayo, meanwhile, scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Miami Heat's 115-105 win over Houston, which cut short the streak of three straight wins by Kevin Durant's Rockets.

He shined at the home of his team, the Kaseya Center, which imposed conditions on defense and limited his mistakes down the stretch to secure his 32nd victory of the season. The South Florida squad, eighth in the Eastern Conference (32-29), takes the win as encouragement after winning five of the last 10 games and staying in contention for the final playoff qualifying spots.

"We have done what we had to do," Adebayo assessed. "We saw a turnaround in the decisive moments of the game, it's a step in the right direction, but we must continue to look for our best level in the closing of the season."

Heat forward Pelle Larsson scored 10 of his 20 points in the final quarter to help Miami hold on in a tense finish in which the third-ranked Rockets (37-22) in the West pulled within one with 7:21 to play.

Durant scored 32 points and dished out eight assists and Amen Thompson added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets, who were coming off a tough comeback win over Orlando in which they erased a 19-point deficit.

Hornets' fourth straight win

In Charlotte, guard Brandon Miller scored 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds to propel the Hornets to their fourth straight victory, 109-93 over Brazilian coach Tiago Splitter's Portland Trail Blazers.

Miller made six of Charlotte's 16 3-pointers and Coby White, acquired from the Chicago Bulls on Feb. 4, contributed 20 points coming off the bench.

In his third season with the Hornets, Miller extended the streak of consecutive games with at least 20 points to four.

The Hornets, second-to-last in the Eastern Conference last season, sit in ninth place (30-31) and are fighting for a playoff berth with six weeks left in the regular season.