ATLANTA — LeBron James had a triple-double and Kyle Korver scored a season-high 30 points, including four straight 3-pointers to close the third period, as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Atlanta Hawks 123-107 on Friday night for a successful start to their reboot.
One day after unloading six players, including guards Isaiah Thomas and Dwyane Wade, in three trades, the Cavaliers were in a state of transition. They had only nine available players against the Hawks, but Korver more than made up for a short bench.
Korver, the former Hawks fan favorite, made 7 of 13 from 3-point range and finished two points from matching his career high of 32.
James had 22 points, 17 assists and 12 rebounds. Jeff Green, also coming off the bench, had 24 points.
Newcomers George Hill, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr. and Rodney Hood joined the Cavs, but remained in the locker room during the game. They are expected to make their debuts with Cleveland on Sunday in Boston.
HEAT 91, BUCKS 85
MIAMI — Dwyane Wade returned with a quiet game, but his mere presence got a rise out of Heat fans, and teammates Hassan Whiteside and Tyler Johnson led the way as Miami snapped a five-game losing streak and capped a celebratory night.
Wade came off the bench to score three points on 1-of-6 shooting with two assists, one rebound, a key late block, and four turnovers in 22 minutes in his first game since being acquired in a trade from Cleveland on Thursday. Wade played 13 seasons and won three NBA championships with the Heat before leaving as a free agent for Chicago in 2016.
Johnson scored 19 points and Whiteside scored 12 points and had 16 rebounds. Bam Adebayo added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Josh Richardson chipped in 16 points for Miami.
All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a game-high 23 points to lead the Bucks, who lost for just the second time in nine games under interim head coach Joe Prunty.
CLIPPERS 108, PISTONS 95
DETROIT — Lou Williams scored 26 points, and Los Angeles handed former teammate Blake Griffin his first loss with Detroit.
It was a bit of an off night for Griffin, who scored 19 points but shot 7 of 19 from the field. The whole Detroit team faded down the stretch. The Pistons led 80-77 after three quarters but scored only 15 points in the fourth.
Detroit had won five in a row, with Griffin playing in four of those games.
Tobias Harris scored 12 points and Avery Bradley had 10. They were the key players the Clippers acquired in last week’s deal that sent Griffin to Detroit.
Austin Rivers scored 16 points for Los Angeles in his first game back from a right ankle injury.
ROCKETS 130, NUGGETS 104
HOUSTON — James Harden scored 28 points, Clint Capela added 23 points with a career-high 25 rebounds and Houston never trailed in a lopsided win over Denver.
Harden had 11 assists and seven rebounds as Houston won its seventh straight and 11th of 12.
The Rockets had a double-digit lead for most of the game and held an advantage of 20 points or more throughout most of the second half. Harden didn’t play in the third quarter, and Capela and the rest of the starters sat down for good with about nine minutes left and the game out of hand.
Trey Lyles scored 24 points off the bench to lead the Nuggets, who had a three-game winning streak snapped.
PACERS 97, CELTICS 91
BOSTON — Victor Oladipo scored 35 points and helped Indiana recover after blowing a 26-point lead to beat Boston.
Miles Turner scored 19 and the Pacers got 13 points each from Bojan Bogdanovic and Thaddeus Young while ending a five-game losing streak against the Celtics, who could not sustain a furious comeback in the second half.
Kyrie Irving led Boston with 21 points. Jaylen Brown added 16 points and Al Horford scored all 10 of his points in the second half and pulled down eight rebounds for the Celtics.
Boston had won five of six, but struggled from outside most of the night and finished 7 for 27 from 3-point range.
76ERS 100, PELICANS 82
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid scored 24 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, and Dario Saric had 24 points and four 3s as Philadelphia rolled over New Orleans.
Embiid, a game-time decision with a sore ankle, hit his first six shots from the floor and scored 16 points in the first quarter, two more than the Pelicans.
Embiid recorded his 27th double-double of the season by halftime, with 20 points on 9-for-11 shooting and 10 rebounds. He now has a double-double in seven straight games, matching his season high.
Anthony Davis led New Orleans with 14 points on 6-for-19 shooting.
