LeBron leads way as Cavs beat Bucks
USA TODAY LEBRON James had 24 points and eight assists, Kyle Korver hit three straight 3s in a big thirdquarter run and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 116-97 yesterday.
Kevin Love added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavs. Their 15-5 spurt over the final 4:25 of the third quarter, sparked by Korver’s long-range shooting, opened a 13-point lead. Cleveland led by double digits most of the rest of the way to spoil the Bucks’ home opener.
The defending Eastern Conference champions started the season with a second straight victory over an East contender after beating the Boston Celtics in their home opener.
Korver finished with 17 points and was 5 of 6 from 3-point territory.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetopounmpo had 34 points on 15-of-22 shooting, along with eight rebounds and eight assists. Malcolm Brogdon had 16 points.
Meanwhile, Kyrie Irving scored 21 points, Al Horford had 15 and Boston won for the first time since losing Gordon Hayward, topping Philadelphia.
The Celtics lost their first two games after Hayward went down in the opener with a mangled ankle that may cost him the season. Jayson Tatum scored 15 points and had Terry Rozier III had 14 to keep the Celtics afloat with a makeshift lineup.
Joel Embiid knows the feeling of missing an entire season. The Sixers center missed his first two NBA seasons with foot injuries and was limited to 31 games last year. Healthy and ready to play, Embiid had one of his worst games as a pro, with 11 points on 4-for-11 shooting. He missed all six 3s in 28 minutes. J.J. Redick led the Sixers with 19 points.
Elsewhere, Jamal Crawford scored all 17 of his points in the fourth quarter and hit a 3-pointer with 27.5 seconds to go that helped Minnesota hold off Utah in its home opener.
Andrew Wiggins had 21 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves in their first victory of the season. The Wolves led by 10 with five minutes to go before former point guard Ricky Rubio rallied the Jazz. But Crawford buried a 3 from the corner, his third in the period from beyond the arc, to clinch the win.
Rubio had 19 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in his first game back in Minnesota. Rodney Hood scored 20 points before leaving with a left ankle injury. - AP