PHILADELPHIA — LeBron James became the youngest player to reach 25,000 career points, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers past the winless Philadelphia 76ers 107-100 on Monday night.
PHILADELPHIA — LeBron James became the youngest player to reach 25,000 career points, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers past the winless Philadelphia 76ers 107-100 on Monday night.
James had 22 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds and rallied the Cavs in the second half against a scrappy Philly team that had built a 15-point lead. James and the rest of the Eastern Conference champions had enough to push back the undermanned Sixers.
James scored the milestone basket on a dunk with 8:07 left in the fourth quarter. The 30-year-old James became the sixth active player with 25,000 points and the 20th overall. He joined Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki, San Antonio’s Tim Duncan, Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett, Los Angeles’ Kobe Bryant and Paul Pierce of the Clippers.
ROCKETS 110,
THUNDER 105
HOUSTON – James Harden scored 37 points, and the Houston Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 110-105 on Monday night for their first win of the season.
It was the first loss for the Thunder, who won their first three games while the Rockets dropped all three of theirs.
An 8-1 run by the Rockets made it 107-100 with about two minutes left. Harden capped that key stretch with a 3, knocking it down with Russell Westbrook right in his face.
Westbrook made a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left to cut the lead to 108-105, and Harden missed a 3 on the other end. But Westbrook and Kevin Durant both missed 3-pointers on the next possession and Dwight Howard made a pair of free throws with 5.7 seconds left to secure the victory.
Durant led the Thunder with 29 points, and Westbrook added 25 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists.
SPURS 94,
KNICKS 84
NEW YORK — LaMarcus Aldridge scored 19 points, Kawhi Leonard had 18 points and 14 rebounds and San Antonio beat New York to give Tim Duncan a milestone victory.
Duncan had 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in his NBA-record 954th victory with one team. He passed Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton, who went 953-551 with the Utah Jazz. Duncan, in his 19th season, is 954-381.
Tony Parker also finished with 16 points.
Carmelo Anthony scored 19 points for the Knicks but struggled to just 4-of-17 shooting while often guarded by Defensive Player of the Year Leonard. Anthony was coming off a season-best 37 points on Saturday in a victory at Washington.
Aldridge followed his best game with the Spurs, a 24-point performance in a 95-87 victory in Boston on Sunday, by shooting 8 of 15 and grabbing six rebounds.
BUCKS 103,
NETS 96
NEW YORK — Jerryd Bayless scored 26 points, Greg Monroe had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Milwaukee beat winless Brooklyn for its first victory of the season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 21 points and Khris Middleton had 17 for the Bucks.
Brook Lopez had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Jarrett Jack scored 15 points for the Nets.
Brooklyn led 96-94 after Shane Larkin’s 8-footer with 2:45 left. After Greg Monroe tied it, Michael Carter-Williams stole the ball from Bojan Bogdanovic at the 1:30 mark, leading to Middleton’s 18-foot jumper for a 98-96 Bucks’ lead. Brooklyn’s Joe Johnson missed a 3, and Carter-Williams then attacked the rim and drew a foul on Thomas Robinson. Carter-Williams converted one of two free throws to extend the lead to 99-96.
With 23 seconds remaining, Jack missed a layup and Monroe corralled the rebound. Bayless made two free throws with 19 seconds left.
TRAIL BLAZERS 106,
TIMBERWOLVES 101
MINNEAPOLIS – Damian Lillard had 34 points and seven assists, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat Minnesota 106-101 on Monday night after the Timberwolves honored fallen coach Flip Saunders with an emotional pregame tribute.
Lillard made 14 of 25 shots, C.J. McCollum scored 18 points and Al-Farouq Aminu had 17 points and nine rebounds for Portland, which trailed by 17 points in the first quarter after an inspired start by Minnesota.
Kevin Martin scored 24 points and Ricky Rubio had 12 points, nine assists and nine rebounds for the Timberwolves two days after they attended Saunders’ funeral. They whittled a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to three with 10 seconds to play. But Martin was stripped while trying to shoot a 3 and the Blazers hung on.