Pistons subdue Cavaliers to snap skid
In need of a victory, the Detroit Pistons caught a break as Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue resting the game’s biggest star, LeBron James, got the night off as the Pistons snapped a fivegame losing streak by downing the Cavaliers 106-90 on Monday night at The Palace.
James, who played 40 minutes in Cleveland’s 109-108 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day, sat in street clothes and watched his team’s offense disintegrate. The Cavs shot 38 percent and committed a season-high 22 turnovers.
James was rested in two other games this season after playing a home game the previous night. Cleveland is 23-4 when he is in uniform and 0-3 without him.
“He’s probably the best player in the world,” Pistons forward Jon Leuer said. “When he’s not in there, it’s a different feel, for sure. They still have some talented guys with Kyrie [Irving] and Kevin [Love], their shooters and how they space the floor. It still makes it difficult, but LeBron kind of facilitates everything.”
Pistons forward Tobias Harris scored 21 points while coming off the bench for the second straight game after starting the previous 31. That performance followed up a season-high, 26-point outing against the Warriors.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 18 points, Marcus Morris supplied 15 and Leuer and Reggie Jackson chipped in 13 apiece for the Pistons. Andre Drummond added 11 points and a game-high 17 rebounds on a night when the last-place Pistons never trailed.
Irving led the Cavaliers, who had their five-game winning streak snapped, with 18 points and eight assists. Love contributed 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Nets 120, Hornets 118
Randy Foye hit three at the buzzer as Brooklyn snapped a fivegame skid by edging Charlotte.
The Nets won when Foye took the inbounds pass from Bojan Bogdanovic and with Kemba Walker draped all over him quickly released the shot from the top of the key just before the buzzer.
The Nets needed Foye’s drama because of what unfolded on the previous possession. Tyler Zeller converted a putback with 2.3 seconds left after Walker’s drive was blocked by Trevor Booker.
Rockets 131, Suns 115
James Harden posted his 24th double-double and Houston turned a breakout first quarter into a win over Phoenix.
The Rockets posted their second victory over the Suns in less than a week by establishing an early lead and not squandering it like they did last week in Phoenix, when Houston didn’t pull away for good until the fourth quarter.
Timberwolves 104, Hawks 90
Zach LaVine, Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins each scored more than 20 points and Minnesota tied a season high with 15 three-pointers.
LaVine had 21 points and connected for six threes. Towns had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Wiggins scored 21 as Minnesota came back strong a day after playing on Christmas for the first time in team history.
Bulls 90, Pacers 85
Dwyane Wade had 21 points and five assists and Chicago held on against Indiana.
Nikola Mirotic added a season-high 20 points for the Bulls, while Jimmy Butler contributed 16 points as Chicago snapped a three-game losing streak.
Raptors 95, Trail Blazers 91
Kyle Lowry scored 27 points to lead Toronto past Portland.
DeMar DeRozan contributed 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Raptors earned their fourth win in a row and their 14th in 16 outings.
C.J. McCollum scored 29 points and handed out seven assists for the Trail Blazers, who lost for the sixth time in a row and the 10th time in 11 contests.
Pelicans 111, Mavericks 104
Anthony Davis scored 28 points, including nine in the final six minutes, to lift New Orleans over Dallas.
Davis also grabbed 16 rebounds, and Langst on Gallo way (17points) made all five of his three-pointers for the Pelicans, who won for the third time in four games.
Kings 102, 76ers 100
DeMarcus Cousins finished with 30 points, and his 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 20.9 seconds left lifted Sacramento to its fourth consecutive win.
Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with 25 points, but his threepoint attempt from the top of the arc fell short as time expired.
Rudy Gay finished with 17 points, while Israel’s Omri Casspi returned after a five-game absence for illness and chipped in with two points and five rebounds in 13 minutes for the Kings, who overcame an eight-point deficit in the final period. (Reuters)