Eds: Updates with Pacers-Kings; should stand ADVERTISING Eds: Updates with Pacers-Kings; should stand TORONTO (AP) — LeBron James had 24 points and a season-best 13 assists, Kevin Love added 15 points and 13 rebounds, and the Cleveland Cavaliers won their
Eds: Updates with Pacers-Kings; should stand
TORONTO (AP) — LeBron James had 24 points and a season-best 13 assists, Kevin Love added 15 points and 13 rebounds, and the Cleveland Cavaliers won their sixth straight game by beating the Toronto Raptors 105-91 Friday night.
Tristan Thompson set season highs with 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Kyrie Irving scored 15 for Cleveland, unbeaten since a 110-93 home loss to Toronto on Nov. 22.
Amir Johnson scored a season-high 27 points and Kyle Lowry had 22 as Toronto lost for the third time in five games.
James Johnson scored 11 for the Raptors, who failed to win their third straight home meeting with Cleveland.
Irving, who scored a season-high 37 points in Thursday’s win at New York, had just two points in the first half but connected on six of 12 field goal attempts in the second half.
SPURS 107, GRIZZLIES 101
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Manu Ginobili scored 17 points, and Tim Duncan had a triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead San Antonio past Memphis.
The victory extended the Spurs’ winning streak over the Grizzlies to nine and ended Memphis’ 22-game regular-season home winning streak.
Danny Green added 16 points for San Antonio, and Tony Parker scored 14. Corey Joseph had 12 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter to thwart several Grizzlies rallies.
Marc Gasol led Memphis with 28 points and 12 rebounds, while Mike Conley had 23 points and 10 assists. Tayshaun Prince finished with 20 points, connecting on eight of 11 shots, including all four from outside the arc. Zach Randolph had 10 points for Memphis, which lost its second straight.
The Spurs never trailed, their biggest lead reaching 15. San Antonio shot 14 of 25 from 3-point range, including Ginobili hitting all five of his attempts.
HORNETS 103, KNICKS 102
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kemba Walker drove for a left-handed layup as time expired to lift Charlotte over New York, snapping the Hornets’ 10-game losing streak.
Gerald Henderson scored a season-high 22 points and Al Jefferson had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Hornets, who nearly squandered a 20-point lead for the third time this season.
The Knicks stormed back from 20 down late in the third quarter behind 32 points from Carmelo Anthony to take the lead with less than a minute left. But Anthony missed a short jumper and the Hornets grabbed the rebound with 4 seconds remaining.
After a timeout, Walker received a half-court inbounds pass around the top of the key, faked to the right and found a crease down the left side of the lane. He put the ball off the glass for the winner, sending the Knicks to their seventh straight loss.
Walker finished with 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting, but it was his second game-winning shot of the season.
ROCKETS 114, TIMBERWOLVES 112, OT
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — James Harden had 38 points before fouling out and Nick Johnson scored on a driving layup with 0.8 seconds to go in overtime that helped Houston escape with a victory over Minnesota.
Harden made 11 of 17 shots and also had six assists, but he fouled out with 1:20 to play and the Rockets let a 13-point lead with 5 minutes to go slip away. Jason Terry hit a 3-pointer and then two free throws in overtime to finish with 19 points.
Thaddeus Young had 19 for the Timberwolves, the last two coming with 15.9 seconds to go in overtime to tie the game at 112. But Johnson got loose on the final possession and bulled to the rim to hit a tough layup that gave the Rockets their sixth win in seven games.
CELTICS 113, LAKERS 96
BOSTON (AP) — Tyler Zeller had season highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Boston went ahead for good less than two minutes into the game against Los Angeles.
The Lakers had cut a 14-point deficit to 92-83 with 7:49 remaining on a three-point play by Nick Young. Then a basket by Avery Bradley began a 13-point Celtics run that put them ahead 105-83 with 3:54 left. They led by at least 17 the rest of the way.
Kobe Bryant scored 22 points but shot only 9 of 21 as the Lakers lost their second consecutive game after winning two in a row.
Boston won its second straight after losing the previous five. Jeff Green scored 19 points and Jared Sullinger had 17 points and 13 rebounds.
THUNDER 103, 76ERS 91
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Russell Westbrook had 27 points to lead Oklahoma City over Philadelphia.
It was the first win for the Thunder (6-13) with stars Kevin Durant and Westbrook healthy and back in the lineup together.
Durant, the NBA’s reigning MVP, had 10 points in his second game after missing the first 17 with a broken right foot. Westbrook, playing his third game since returning from a broken hand, shot 8 of 14.
Serge Ibaka scored 19 points and Jeremy Lamb added 15 for the Thunder, who won their 11th straight against Philadelphia.
Robert Covington had 21 points and Michael Carter-Williams contributed 16 points and 14 assists for the 76ers (1-17), who were playing their first game since avoiding equaling the NBA record for losses to start a season with Wednesday’s 85-77 victory at Minnesota.
WIZARDS 119, NUGGETS 99
WASHINGTON (AP) — Kris Humphries scored 20 points, Rasual Butler and Kevin Seraphin each had 16 and Washington posted its biggest win of the season against Denver.
The Wizards won their fourth straight, improving to 13-5. They set a season high for points.
Wilson Chandler, who scored 10 straight Denver points during a 2-minute span in the third quarter, led the Nuggets with 20 points. The Nuggets dropped to 9-10. Their 89 points equaled a season low.
Six Wizards scored in double figures. Marcin Gortat had 15 points, Bradley Beal 14 and Paul Pierce, playing two days after he left Wednesday’s game with a jammed left big toe, had 11.
John Wall narrowly missed a triple-double with nine points, 12 assists and eight rebounds.
HAWKS 98, NETS 75
NEW YORK (AP) — DeMarre Carroll scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half, Paul Millsap had 17 points and Atlanta beat Brooklyn for its fifth straight victory.
Brook Lopez had 20 points and Joe Johnson added 12 for the Nets, who had won two straight — including a tough victory over the defending champion Spurs on Wednesday night.
Jeff Teague finished with 14 points and Dennis Schroder scored 13 for the Hawks, who led by as many as 32 and improved to 4-4 on the road. Atlanta is 8-2 at home.
Shabazz Muhammad scored 20 points for the Timberwolves, who were coming off an embarrassing loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday night that snapped the 76ers’ 17-game losing streak to start the season.
SUNS 118, MAVERICKS 106
DALLAS (AP) — Goran Dragic had 28 points and a season-high 13 assists, Markieff Morris scored 22 and Phoenix ended Dallas’ five-game winning streak.
Eric Bledsoe had 19 points for the Suns, who ran out to an 18-point lead in the first quarter and held on after Dallas pulled within five in the fourth.
Monta Ellis scored 33 points for the Mavericks, who couldn’t match their best winning streak of the season after going 4-0 on an Eastern Conference road swing.
The Suns shot 70 percent in the first quarter and set a season high for points in a half, leading 69-57 at the break.
Phoenix shot 56 percent for the game and won for the 26th straight time when shooting at least 50 percent. The streak dates to the start of the 2013-14 season.
BUCKS 109, HEAT 85
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Kendall Marshall came off the bench and scored a season-high 20 points, including three big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, as Milwaukee beat Miami.
Khris Middleton had 14 points for the Bucks, who got a huge effort from their bench. Milwaukee’s reserves outscored the Heat’s reserves 60-18.
Milwaukee’s starters helped out, too. Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo each had 14 points, and Brandon Knight added 13.
Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 28 points and Chris Bosh added 21 as Miami opened a five-game road trip with its third straight loss.
MAGIC 98, JAZZ 93
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Tobias Harris scored 22 points and Victor Oladipo had 20 to help Orlando outlast Utah and send the Jazz to their eighth loss in a row.
Harris made a 3-pointer from the corner and then converted a three-point play on a drive to give the Magic an 88-78 lead with 4:04 to play.
Drives and jumpers from Harris and Oladipo kept the Jazz at bay and gave the Magic their second victory in their last eight games.
Kyle O’Quinn scored 13 points, Ben Gordon had 12 and Channing Frye added 11 for the Magic, who close their road swing at Sacramento on Saturday with a chance to go 3-3 on the trip.
Derrick Favors led the Jazz with 21 points, 13 rebounds and a season-high five blocked shots. Enes Kanter had 16 points and Rodney Hood scored 15, but defense was again the problem for the reeling Jazz, who dropped their sixth straight at home.
KINGS 102, PACERS 101, OT
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Rudy Gay scored 27 points, Carl Landry made the game-winning basket with 0.8 seconds left and Sacramento beat struggling Indiana to stop a four-game losing streak.
Landry rebounded a missed shot by Gay, made a quick fake and converted underneath.
The Kings led by as many as 17, but were outscored 24-16 in the fourth quarter and didn’t have a basket over the final 4:12. They outscored the Pacers 6-5 in overtime.
Darren Collison had 20 points for the Kings, and Landry finished with 14.
David West scored 16 for Indiana, which has lost four straight and five of six.
DeMarcus Cousins, the Kings’ leading scorer and rebounder, missed his fourth straight game with a viral infection. Sacramento had been 0-16 over the past three seasons with Cousins out of the lineup.
