LeBron James has been placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, and was ruled out for the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night.

Such a move almost certainly means one of two things: that James, who said earlier this season that he is vaccinated, either tested positive for COVID-19 or had an inconclusive result.

A person with knowledge of the situation said the Lakers are preparing for James to miss multiple games. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because neither the team nor James had revealed that detail publicly. ESPN previously reported that James is “expected” to miss several games.

Jarrett Allen and Lauri Markkanen notched season highs with 28 and 24 points respectively, and the Cleveland Cavaliers dominated the Dallas Mavericks for a 114-96 win on Monday night — their most lopsided win of the season.

Allen also had 14 rebounds, while Darius Garland added 18 points for the Cavaliers. Their largest lead was 31 points midway through the fourth quarter, when Markkanen’s fifth 3-pointer put Cleveland ahead 104-73.

Luka Doncic posted his second triple-double of the season with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Doncic made a season-high seven 3-pointers (7 of 11), while his teammates went 4 for 28 from behind the arc.

It may not seem like much, but winning consecutive games proved to be an arduous step for San Antonio, one the Spurs finally accomplished on Monday night.

Derrick White had a season-high 24 points, Dejounte Murray had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Washington Wizards 116-99 to win consecutive games for the first time this season.

San Antonio had not won back-to-back games in a stretch since late April (when they won three straight), sandwiching losing streaks in between all but one victory this season.

“I just told them right now, this one’s over, too,” Murray said. “On to the next and let’s build from it.”

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 16 of his 32 points in the third quarter and Anthony Edwards added 21 as the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied for a 100-98 win against the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.

The Timberwolves trailed by 12 early in the third before Towns willed them back into the game. After checking out, Edwards finished the third in strong fashion to help send Minnesota to its seventh win in eight games.

D’Angelo Russell had 21 points and a season-high 11 assists for Minnesota.

Nikola Jokic returned and scored 24 points, Aaron Gordon added 20 and the Denver Nuggets snapped their longest losing streak in nearly six years by beating the short-handed Miami Heat 120-111 on Monday night.

Bones Hyland scored 19 and Will Barton added 14 for the Nuggets, who had dropped six straight. Jokic hadn’t played in the last four of those because of a wrist injury but finished with 15 rebounds and seven assists.

Jeff Green scored 12 for Denver, which shot 58% on the day it was revealed Michael Porter Jr. will need back surgery. Porter has been limited to nine games this season.

Stephen Curry is among the most dangerous players in the NBA. But an angry Curry proved to be more lethal.

The Golden State rstar took out his frustrations Sunday on the Los Angeles Clippers after being called for a technical foul with 9:08 remaining in the fourth quarter. He scored 11 of his 33 points after that as the Warriors extended their winning streak to eight with a 105-90 victory.

“It was just an accumulation of all types of weird stuff. All that led into where I thought I got a foul,” said Curry, who also had a season-high six steals to go with five rebounds and six assists. “It definitely fired me and the team up. After that it was time to direct my energy into putting the ball in the basket.”

Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, Rudy Gobert had 21 points and 16 rebounds, and the Utah Jazz beat the Portland Trail Blazers 129-107 Monday night.

Jordan Clarkson added 22 points for Utah, which used quick passes and spacing to make 19 3-pointers and shot 53 percent from the field a game after making a season-high 20 3s. The Jazz matched their season high with 46 made field goals.

Anfernee Simons scored a season-high 24 points and Jusuf Nurkic also had 24 as the Trail Blazers fell to 1-10 on the road this season.

Utah’s Royce O’Neale missed his second straight game with a sprained ankle, and Joe Ingles had 14 points, four 3-pointers and six assists in his place. Clarkson made six shots from beyond the arc.

LeBron James and Isaiah Stewart had no Round 2 in the Lakers’ rematch with the Pistons.

James was too busy making sure Los Angeles got the same decision he wasn’t around to see last week in Detroit.

James had 33 points, nine assists and no confrontations with Stewart in the Lakers’ 110-106 victory Sunday night.

Russell Westbrook had 25 points and nine assists, and Anthony Davis added 24 points and 10 rebounds. The Lakers returned to .500 with their second win over Detroit in eight days, rebounding from an embarrassing triple-overtime loss to Sacramento on Friday.