Clutch finish leads unbeaten Cavs past Bucks again

It wasn’t a buzzer-beater, but it was the same opponent and same fantastic finish for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Darius Garland sank a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left and set up Jarrett Allen for a layup with 12.2 seconds remaining for the clincher as the Cleveland Cavaliers downed the visiting Milwaukee Bucks 116-114 on Monday.

Garland finished with a game-high 39 points.

The Cavaliers equaled a franchise record set in 1976-77 with their eighth straight win to start the season. Cleveland beat the Bucks 114-113 on Saturday when Donovan Mitchell sank a shot with 0.3 seconds left.

Milwaukee, which played without star Giannis Antetokounmpo (adductor), lost its sixth game in a row since a season-opening win. Damian Lillard scored 36 points and AJ Green had 21 off the bench for the Bucks. Green made a 52-footer at the final buzzer, his seventh 3-pointer of the game.

For the better part of the first three quarters, it looked like a Cleveland rout, but Milwaukee got hot at the end of the third, rallying from 73-60 down at halftime. A Brook Lopez 3-pointer tied the score at 86 with 3:43 left in the third period, and then the teams traded treys before going almost three minutes without another basket.

Milwaukee went up 106-98 on a 3-pointer by Green with 6:06 left in the fourth but didn’t score again for four minutes as the Cavaliers went on a 10-0 run highlighted by seven points from Garland — a trey and two baskets in the lane.

Cleveland appeared to take control in the first quarter, racing out to a 22-10 advantage after Garland converted a pair of free throws with 5:14 remaining. Milwaukee came back, taking a 31-30 edge on a 3-pointer by Andre Jackson Jr. with 31.3 seconds left. Garland answered with a trey and Cleveland owned a 35-31 lead after one. Garland had 13 points in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Cleveland took a 69-50 lead on three by Garland with 2:30 left. That was the Cavaliers’ biggest lead of the contest.

Curry returns, helps Warriors defeat Wizards

Stephen Curry returned from a three-game absence to score 24 points, new sidekick Buddy Hield provided 20 points and the Golden State Warriors remained unbeaten on the road with a 125-112 victory over the Washington Wizards on Monday night.

Curry, who sprained his left ankle on Oct. 27 against the Los Angeles Clippers, hit 4 of 9 on 3-point attempts, and Hield went 3-for-8 from deep, helping the Warriors improve to 4-0 on the road.

Washington’s Jordan Poole also scored 24 points and Kyshawn George added 20 but the Wizards lost their second straight.

The Warriors, who have won four in a row overall scored the game’s first seven points and never trailed. It took Curry, the NBA’s reigning 3-point champion, all of 39 seconds to get back into the act, burying a 27-footer that opened the scoring.

Down by as many as 17 late in the third quarter, the Wizards got as close at 101-96 on Carlton Carrington’s three-point play with 8:28 remaining. But Jonathan Kuminga countered immediately with a short jumper and Lindy Waters III drained a 3-pointer, re-establishing a double-digit lead.

Curry also added six assists for the Warriors, who have prevailed in their last three visits to the nation’s capital.

Draymond Green added 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Golden State, while Kuminga finished with 15 points, Trayce Jackson-Davis 12 and Moses Moody 10. Kevon Looney was Golden State’s leading rebounder with 10.

Poole shot just 2-for-10 on 3-pointers, while George was 6-for-17 as the Wizards went 10-for-43 (23.3 percent) from beyond the arc. The Warriors were 12-for-37 (32.4 percent) from deep.

Rookie Alexandre Sarr grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds to go with 10 points, while Jonas Valanciunas posted 16 points, 12 rebounds with and seven assists.

Carrington added 16 points for the Wizards, who were coming off a loss Saturday in Mexico City against the Miami Heat.

Jaden Ivey scores 26 as Pistons surprise Lakers

Jaden Ivey had 26 points and the host Detroit Pistons surprised the Los Angeles Lakers, 115-103, on Monday night.

Cade Cunningham notched a triple-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

Tim Hardaway Jr. supplied 19 points for Detroit, which had lost its last seven meetings with the Lakers. The Pistons’ last victory in the series came on Jan. 28, 2021.

Tobias Harris had 15 points and seven rebounds, Ron Holland added 12 points and Jalen Duren chipped in 11 with 14 rebounds.

Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 37 points and nine rebounds. LeBron James had 20 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists. Austin Reaves added 17 points.

The Pistons finished the first quarter on a 12-2 run to gain a 33-22 lead.

Detroit’s advantage never dropped below nine points in the second quarter.

The Pistons’ lead grew to 17, 58-41, with 4:32 left in the half when Duren had a putback dunk on a missed Cunningham free throw.

Hardaway’s midrange shot with 2:57 remaining gave Detroit a 20-point advantage, 62-42. James scored eight points in the last two minutes of the half to pull the Lakers within 14 at 67-53.

Duren scored the first points of the second half on an alley-oop dunk off a Cunningham feed. Cunningham then set up Hardaway for a 3-pointer.

Cunningham’s layup with 5:22 left in the quarter made it 81-63. The Lakers then mounted their comeback, outscoring the Pistons 14-2 the remainder of the quarter. Davis had four points and two assists during that stretch.

Detroit nudged the lead to 10 on dunks by Ivey and Harris to open the fourth quarter. Davis’ three-point play with 9:22 left cut Detroit’s lead to 91-83.