James’s wizardry helps Cavs beat Washington

Mahendra Persaud (The Sports Xchange) - LeBron James had the second-highest scoring performance of his career with 57 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 130-122 win over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

James sank 23 of 34 shots, including two 3-pointers, made all nine of his freethrow attempts and had 11 rebounds with seven assists in a dominant performance befitting a four-time league Most Valuable Player. He finished within four of his career-high set March 3, 2014, against Charlotte.

Derrick Rose added 20 points for the Cavaliers, whose slide included three double-digit losses.

Bradley Beal scored 36 points for the Wizards, who have lost four of five. John Wall had 13 points and 15 assists. Rockets 119, Hawks 104 James Harden had 29 points and 11 assists before sitting the fourth quarter as Houston bombed away early and often from behind the 3-point arc to beat Atlanta.

Harden was 6 of 11 from on 3-point shots, and the Rockets took 47 of their 89 shots from behind the 3-point arc, making 16.

The Rockets had lost seven straight games overall to the Hawks and hadn’t won in Atlanta since a 109-102 victory on Nov. 2, 2012.

Kent Bazemore scored 18 for the Hawks, who dropped their eighth straight. Bulls 105, Magic 83 Justin Holiday scored 19 points and David Nwaba added 16 points to lead Chicago to a surprisingly easy victory over Orlando, which had been 3-0 at home.

The Bulls never trailed after grabbing Lennox Braithwaite the lead early in the second half, coasting past the Magic, who had won five of their previous six games.

Evan Fournier led the Magic with 21 points.

76ers 121, Pacers 110

J.J. Redick scored a season-high 31 points, including three 3-pointers in the final 2:06, and rookie Ben Simmons had his second triple-double as Philadelphia won its fourth straight game.

Redick, signed as a free agent in the offseason after four seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, nailed 11 of 19 of shots, including 8 of 12 3-point attempts. His 3pointer with 2:06 left snapped a tie and triggered a game-ending 11-0 rush.

Simmons finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. He also added three steals and three blocks.

Victor Oladipo had 31 points to lead Indiana, which saw a three-game winning streak end.

Pistons 105, Bucks 96

Andre Drummond had 24 points and 15 rebounds, leading Detroit past Milwaukee.

Drummond made a career-high 14 free throws on 16 attempts for the Pistons, who won four of their last five games.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, the NBA’s leading scorer, paced the Bucks with 29 points. Knicks 120, Suns 107 Kristaps Porzingis had 37 points to lead six players in double figures as New York got back to .500 with a win over Phoenix.

The Knicks used a 15-2 run to take control midway through the first quarter as Phoenix missed 15 straight shots.