LeBron leads Sixers past Bulls
WASHINGTON — Three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes overcame an injury scare to lift Kansas City over the New York Jets on Sunday (Monday in Manila) while Joe Burrow sparked Cincinnati to victory over Atlanta in Madrid.
Two-time L Most Valuable Player Mahomes completed 23-of-31 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns in the Chiefs’ 35-12 triumph over the Jets.
Burrow completed 24-of-29 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score in Cincinnati’s 34-17 victory, the Bengals’ fourth triumph in a row.
At Kansas City, Mahomes suffered a right elbow injury and lost a fumble in the second quarter after being sacked by Jets rookie defender David Bailey, but his 120 passing yards and two touchdown throws gave the Chiefs a 14-12 halftime lead.
Mahomes directed touchdown drives of 60 and 82 yards in the third quarter and 57 yards in the fourth and said the elbow was not a factor “once I got it warmed up a little bit.”
“It’s doing good,” Mahomes said of his right elbow. “It’s part of playing football. You get hit, you’ve got to bounce back and we were able to get it loosened back up and we went back out there and played.
“A couple of errant throws early in the second half. My guys rallied behind me. They ran the ball well in the second half. My offensive line did a great job protecting me and then I threw when I needed to.”
Kenneth Walker ran 18 times for 102 yards and a touchdown and caught four passes for 41 yards and two touchdowns for the Chiefs (6-2).
The Bengals improved to 6-2, level with idle Pittsburgh atop the AFC North division ahead of next week’s showdown against the Steelers.
“The sky is the limit when we play like this. This is how we need to attack every game going forward,” said wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who made 10 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown.
“Intense impact,” Burrow said of Chase. “He was unbelievable.”
Burrow leads the L with 23 touchdowns.
“He does a good job getting out of the pocket and making scramble plays, keeping the play alive,” Chase said. “That’s why he’s one of the best.”
The Denver Broncos improved to 7-2 with their fifth win in a row as Bo Nix threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns in a 26-21 triumph at Carolina in a matchup of division leaders.
Niners reach 7-1
San Francisco improved to an L-best 7-1 with a 38-17 home victory over the Las Vegas Raiders as Brock Purdy threw for two touchdowns and ran for another.
Host Chicago will try to reach 7-2 in a later game against Tampa Bay.
Green Bay’s Jordan Love threw for 372 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score to spark the Packers (6-3) to victory 45-27 at New England.
Dak Prescott threw for 335 yards and two touchdowns while Javonte Williams ran for 101 yards and scored the deciding one-yard touchdown run with 68 seconds remaining to give Dallas a 27-23 victory at Indianapolis.
New Orleans edged visiting Cleveland 23-22 in overtime on Tyler Shough’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson. Cleveland’s Shedeur Sanders tossed a 39-yard touchdown pass to Harold Fannin but a two-point conversion pass to win the game failed.
Matthew Stafford threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Puka Nacua for the winning points and the Los Angeles Rams’ defense stopped Washington in the final seconds for a 20-13 road victory. Nacua caught 14 passes for 150 yards.
Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 74 yards and scored the only touchdown in Detroit’s 19-9 victory at Miami, the Lions improving to 6-2.
Dominic Zvada kicked four field goals to lift the New York Giants to a 19-11 victory at Philadelphia.
Houston’s CJ Stroud threw for 384 yards and five touchdowns as the Texans routed the Los Angeles Chargers, 44-22. AFP
MIAMI — LeBron James had his best game yet for the Philadelphia 76ers, who bounced back with a 127-121 win in Chicago on Sunday over a Bulls side that has now lost seven straight NBA games.
Veteran superstar James scored 22 points — his highest tally since joining the Sixers this summer — and a return to form after a paltry eight points in Friday’s disappointing loss to Cleveland.
James also had five assists while Jaylen Brown top-scored with 29, Tyrese Maxey poured in 27 and Joel Embiid pulled down 10 rebounds.
The star-studded Sixers have lost just twice so far this season, for their best start after 11 games since 2000.
Philadelphia grabbed the lead early in the second quarter and never trailed from there, though a resilient Chicago pulled within two points in the closing stages.
“We have a lot of guys that’s been in situations, late-game situations, and we have a ‘no panic’ button,” said James.
“We understand that we got to get stops on this end, but if teams make a run, we understand how to be calm on the other end as well.”
The Bulls remain joint-bottom of the Eastern Conference with the Milwaukee Bucks — the only team Chicago has beaten so far this campaign.
They were without shooting guard Norman Powell, their second-leading scorer this season, who was placed on the injury report hours before tip-off with back discomfort.
But Josh Giddey provided some hope with a double-double including 19 points and 15 assists.
Meanwhile, James’ former Los Angeles Lakers team overcame the absence of red-hot talisman Luka Doncic to beat the Detroit Pistons, 121-116, and also move to 9-2.
Doncic, who has been averaging more than 40 points per game this season, was left out with lower back tightness, the team announced.
Austin Reaves stepped up, scoring 43 points, including two calm free throws in the final seconds to take the game beyond Detroit’s reach.
The Lakers never trailed but had to fight hard to retain a razor-thin lead for most of the fourth quarter.
Daniss Jenkins led the Pistons’ comeback attempt from the bench with 31 points, while Kevin Huerter added 24.
The Charlotte Hornets announced that forward Kon Knueppel will miss at least four weeks with a left hamstring strain, while guard Dennis Schroder is out for at least two weeks with the same injury.
