Cavs routed by Spurs, fall behind Boston
Westbrook's 37th triple-double leads Thunder past Mavs Knicks top Pistons Raptors thwart Magic
The Eastern Conference lead is gone. And with the inconsistencies the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers are showing and just nine regular-season games remaining, there’s no guarantee they will get it back.
The San Antonio Spurs dominated the Cavs in every phase of the game Monday night in AT&T Center, running away with a 103-74 victory.
It was a virtual replay of Wednesday night’s trouncing at the hands of the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center, a 13-point loss in which coach Tyronn Lue drew his second technical foul of the season. The Cavs’ effort wasn’t much better at home Saturday in a 12-point loss to the Washington Wizards.
Against the Spurs, the Cavs were playing their third game in four nights and their 11th of 12 road games in March, so they had reason to be sluggish. But in the past week, their defense has struggled, their rebounding has been weak, their bench is in disarray and their three-point shooting off the mark.
With the loss, the Boston Celtics, winners of four in a row, moved a half-game ahead of the Cavs in the race for the East’s No. 1 seed. The Wizards are just two games behind the Cavs and have won three in a row.
The Cavs have lost four of their last six and fell to 6-9 in March. J.R. Smith and Kevin Love appear to be pressing, trying to regain their form after missing extended time with a fractured right wrist and arthroscopic knee surgery, respectively. Love didn’t have a rebound in the first quarter and contributed nine points and seven rebounds. Smith shot 1-of-6 from three-point range and scored five points.
The Cavs were led by LeBron James with 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Kyrie Irving scored eight points on 4-of-13 field goals and saw his string of 21 consecutive games with at least 20 points, the longest active streak in the league, snapped.
Two-time All-Star and NBA MVP candidate Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 25 points, six rebounds and six assists, and LaMarcus Aldridge contributed 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
(Akron Beacon Journal/TNS)
Thunder 92, Mavericks 91
Russell Westbrook racked his 37th triple-double of the season with 37 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, and he finished off a 14-0 game-ending run with an 18-foot jumper to lift Oklahoma City past Dallas.
The Thunder trailed by as many as 14 in the fourth, but after the Mavericks went up 91-78, they wouldn’t score again.
Knicks 109, Pistons 95
Kristaps Porzingis came through for New York with 25 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Carmelo Anthony, who missed the previous two games with a sore knee, had 21 points, and Derrick Rose added 27 points.
The Pistons have lost four straight and seven of their last eight. The loss dropped the Pistons 1½ games behind the Heat for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Raptors 131, Magic 112
DeMar DeRozan scored 36 points to lead Toronto to its sixth straight victory.
Cory Joseph added a double-double for the Raptors with 15 points and a careerbest 13 assists.
Elfrid Payton led Orlando with 22 points and nine assists in defeat.
Kings 91, Grizzlies 90
Darren Collison scored 23 points and made two free throws with 5.7 seconds left, and Sacramento edged Memphis for its second win in two days in the final seconds.
Grizzlies guard Mike Conley missed on a drive to the hoop with 14 seconds left, and Collison rebounded, drove the length of the court and drew a foul. His two free throws gave the Kings their first winning streak since February.