NBA Top Performances Of The Day, Feb. 4: Brandon Ingram's 35 Points Leads Pelicans Past LeBron James And Lakers

TOP PLAYER OF THE DAY:

The New Orleans Pelicans snapped a 10-game losing streak behind Brandon Ingram’s 35-point performance against the Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron James pulled within 36 points of the all-time scoring record but the team failed to get the win.

OTHERS:

-The Oklahoma City Thunder fell to the Houston Rockets in a close game on Wednesday. They responded with a record-breaking 153 points in the rematch Saturday night behind another star performance by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s 42-point game paved the way for the highest scoring team performance in franchise history. The All-Star reserve also had six assists, three steals, four rebounds and two blocks. Gilgeous-Alexander had as many points in the first quarter as Houston’s leading scorers had all night. He set the tone for the Thunder in their pursuit of revenge.

“I thought tonight was a pretty big leadership statement game for him,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “When you need a response like we needed tonight coming out of the other night, you rely on your guys that are most experienced.”

- Jamal Murray had a season-high 41 points in the Nuggets’ blowout win against the Atlanta Hawks. Murray is averaging 30.6 points in his last five games.

- Zach Lavine had 36 points, six rebounds and five assists in the Bulls’ victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

- Cam Thomas stepped up for the Brooklyn Nets in the absence of star Kyrie Irving. Thomas finished the game with a career-high 44 points to overcome the Nets’ 23-point deficit against the Washington Wizards.

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.