DETROIT — LeBron James was ejected early in the third quarter after drawing blood by hitting Isaiah Stewart in the face, leaving Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook to rally the Los Angeles Lakers to a 121-116 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.

Davis had 30 points, 10 rebounds and two big blocked shots late on Pistons 20-year-old rookie Cade Cunningham. Westbrook contributed 26 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.

Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, had 13 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to become the youngest player in franchise history with a triple-double.

James was sent to the locker room after his left elbow and hand appeared to make contact with Stewart’s face when they were tangled up while boxing out for a rebound. Detroit’s center had to be held back more than once, keeping him separated from the NBA superstar, and he was also ejected.

Westbrook was assessed a technical after the officials reviewed the play and the fallout from it.

All parties were relieved that an all-out melee wasn’t witnessed as it was on Nov. 19, 2004, when the Pistons and Indiana Pacers had a brawl that spilled into the stands.

After calm was restored on Sunday night, Detroit closed the third quarter strong and led 99-84 entering the fourth.

Westbrook and Davis both scored in double figures in the final quarter, leading a rally that gave the Lakers a win to reach .500 this season.

Detroit had the ball with 5.9 seconds left with the chance to potentially tie the game, but Hamidou Diallo turned the ball over and Davis made free throws to seal the victory.

James had 10 points and five assists in his second game back in the lineup. After missing eight games with an abdominal strain, he played Friday night in a 130-108 loss at Boston.

CLIPPERS 97, MAVERICKS 91: Paul George scored 12 of his 29 points in the third quarter and Los Angeles ended a two-game skid with a  victory over Dallas in Los Angeles.

Reggie Jackson scored eight of his 23 points in the third, when the Clippers turned a one-point halftime deficit into a nine-point lead.

Kristaps Porzingis had 25 points with eight rebounds as the Mavericks played their third consecutive game without star Luka Doncic because of a sprained left knee and ankle.

Jalen Brunson scored 20 points for the Mavericks, who have lost all three games without Doncic to open a four-game road trip.

PHOENIX 126, DENVER 97: Cam Johnson scored a career-high 22 points, Deandre Ayton added 21 and fast-starting Phoenix ran its winning streak to 12, routing short-handed Denver in Phoenix.

The Suns scored 48 points in the first quarter for a 20-point lead, shooting 17 of 22 (77.3%) from the field, including 7 of 8 from 3-point range.

Johnson, Devin Booker and Jae Crowder all hit two 3-pointers during the early run. The Suns haven’t lost since Oct. 27 against Sacramento when Harrison Barnes made a 3-pointer at the buzzer. It’s the longest winning streak for the franchise since they won 17 straight during the 2006-07 season.

Denver star forward Nikola Jokic missed his second straight game with a sprained right wrist. The Nuggets have lost four straight to fall to 9-8.

BULLS 109, KNICKS 103: DeMar DeRozan scored 31 points, Zach LaVine added 21 and Chicago rallied in the fourth quarter for a victory over New York in Chicago.

Coby White scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter as Chicago won its second straight and fourth in five games.

Julius Randle had 34 points on 13-for-18 shooting for New York.

The Knicks won the first meeting between the teams on Oct. 28 in Chicago.

After trailing by as many as six points in the third quarter and 74-72 heading into the fourth, the Bulls opened the final quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers by White and Derrick Jones Jr. to grab a 78-74 edge. For White, it was his first 3-pointer since being activated Nov. 15 following offseason left shoulder surgery.

A few minutes later, White hit another 3-pointer to give Chicago a 91-84 lead with 7 minutes to go. The Bulls maintained the lead the rest of the way.

NOTES

KINGS: Sacramento fired coach Luke Walton after getting off to a disappointing start in his third season in charge.

Walton was informed of the decision a day after a 123-105 home loss to Utah that dropped the Kings to 6-11 on the season.

“After a thorough evaluation of the season thus far, I decided to make a change to the head coach position,” Kings general manager Monte McNair said in a statement. “I want to thank Luke for his efforts and contributions to our team.”

Walton had a 68-93 record in two-plus seasons as coach, failing to get Sacramento back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

ESPN first reported the firing.

Associate coach Alvin Gentry takes over on an interim basis. Gentry most recently served as head coach for the New Orleans Pelicans (2015-20). He has also had head coaching stops with Miami, Detroit, the Clippers and Phoenix. He has a career record of 510-595.

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