Home is where the heart is: Cleveland overpowers Suns
Kyrie Irving scored 26 points, All-Star teammate LeBron James had 21 points and 15 assists, and the Cleveland Cavaliers looked more like themselves at home in a 118-103 win over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night. The Cavs were back in Quicken Loans Arena following a six-game road trip (their longest of the season) that concluded with an embarrassing 35-point loss at Golden State. But on their home floor, they had better offensive balance and ball movement while improving to 30-11 - the same record Cleveland had at the halfway point of its 2016 NBA championship season. Channing Frye scored 18, Iman Shumpert 17 and James Jones 14 while filling in for star forward Kevin Love, still bothered by back spasms. Tyson Chandler had 22 points and 16 rebounds, but the Suns lost for the fourth time in five games.
WIZARDS 113, KNICKS 110
John Wall had 29 points and 13 assists, scoring Washington’s final four points in the last 32 seconds as the surging Wizards beat New York. Otto Porter Jr made six 3pointers for the second straight night and added 23 points, but the Wizards needed big plays from Wall down the stretch to win their fourth in a row. He made two free throws to put Washington back on top after New York had rallied to take a 110-109 lead, then rebounded Carmelo Anthony’s miss and left all the Knicks in his dust as he raced down the floor for a dunk with 13.7 seconds to play. Anthony finished with 34 points but Wall stole the ball from Brandon Jennings to prevent the Knicks from attempting a 3-pointer that could have tied it.
HEAT 99, MAVERICKS 95
Goran Dragic had 32 points, Tyler Johnson scored 10 of his 23 in the fourth quarter and Miami topped Dallas. Dragic shot 11 for 15 from the field and 4 of 4 from 3-point range. He also got a big offensive rebound in the final minute to extend a possession, and Johnson made a pair of free throws with 29.9 seconds left to give Miami an eight-point lead. Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 points for Dallas, which had its seasonbest three-game winning streak snapped. The Mavericks went 1 for 8 from the field during a late stretch of the fourth quarter and never got the lead again.
SPURS 118, NUGGETS 104
Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points, rookie Dejounte Murray added a season-high 24 and short-handed San Antonio overcame a pregame injury to Pau Gasol. Denver’s three-game winning streak was snapped despite a career-high 35 points from Nikola Jokic. Leonard had his fifth straight 30-point performance, right after learning he will start for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game for the second consecutive season. The Spurs were unexpectedly without Gasol, Tony Parker and then coach Gregg Popovich. Gasol and Parker were both late scratches due to injury, and Popovich was ejected for the first time this season. Gasol broke the ring finger on his left (non-shooting) hand when he jammed it against Kyle Anderson’s shoulder during pregame warmups while attempting a running hook. The veteran center immediately clutched his hand and left the court. X-rays revealed the break, and the Spurs said there is no timeline for Gasol’s return. Murray started in place of Parker, who sat out with a sprained left foot.
TIMBERWOLVES 104, CLIPPERS 101
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 37 points, including the goahead jumper with 45 seconds left, and Minnesota beat injury-depleted Los Angeles to stop its seven-game winning streak. Andrew Wiggins added 27 points, including two free throws with five seconds left that helped Minnesota snap its six-game road losing streak. DeAndre Jordan had 29 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Clippers, but was unable to make enough free throws down the stretch to keep his team in front. Austin Rivers added 20 points for Los Angeles, which dropped to 7-1 in 2017. The Clippers played without two injured stars, point guard Chris Paul and forward Blake Griffin. Paul is expected to miss six to eight weeks, but Griffin could be back in a week or two.