Charlotte Hornets' Kemba Walker (center) drives in for a layup between Philadelphia 76ers' Jimmy Butler (No.23) and Ben Simmons on Saturday in Charlotte. Photo: VCG
In Charlotte, Walker's career night ended in disappointment as Butler, acquired in the week in a blockbuster trade with Minnesota, blocked a Walker shot to keep it tied at 119-119 with 15.7 seconds left in overtime and then drained a 27-foot (8.2-meter) jump shot with three-tenths of a second remaining to secure the win.
Walker, the first player in Hornets history to score 60 points in a game, connected on 21 of 34 shots from the field and made all 12 of his free-throw attempts. He also pulled down seven rebounds, handed out four assists and came up with four steals.
"I'm still proud - that's an unbelievable thing to do," a frustrated Walker said. "I'm just mad that we lost. It would have been even better with a win."
Another nail-biter saw the two-time defending champions Golden State Warriors drop a 112-109 decision to the Mavericks in Dallas. Slovenian rookie Luka Doncic scored 24 points, including the jump shot that put Dallas ahead for good with 1:10 remaining.
The Warriors, missing injured starters Stephen Curry and Draymond Green - and still smarting from the dust-up between Green and teammate Kevin Durant earlier in the week - led by eight in the second half before Dallas rallied to beat the Warriors for just the second time in their last 19 meetings.
The champions have now lost four of their last six, and have lost two in a row for the first time this season.
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers saw their promising four-game winning streak come to an end with a listless 130-117 loss to the Orlando Magic in Florida.
Nikola Vucevic scored 24 of his 36 points in the second half and grabbed 13 rebounds for Orlando, who led by as many as 21 points.
Three days after a 44-point performance that saw him move into the top five on the NBA's all-time scoring list, James was limited to 22 points. He added seven assists and four rebounds, but was on the bench in the fourth quarter when the Lakers never got the deficit below double digits.
