James reaches new milestone
CLEVELAND— LeBron James scored 17 of his seasonhigh 44 points in the fourth quarter and reached another career milestone as the Cleveland Cavaliers won their fourth straight, 116-105 over the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA on Saturday.
James did it all, adding 10 assists and nine rebounds in 43 minutes. He took over in the fourth, scoring 13 straight during one stretch to help the Cavs hold on.
James, who moved into ninth place on the career scoring list Friday, recorded his 7,000th assist in the first half, becoming the first frontcourt player in NBA history to reach the plateau. James is the only player with 27,000 points and 7,000 assists.
Cleveland shot a seasonbest 58 percent from the field and beat Charlotte for the sixth straight time at home.
Kemba Walker scored 24 to pace the Hornets, playing the first of five consecutive road games.
Grizzlies 110, Warriors 89
In Memphis, Marc Gasol and Tony Allen scored 19 points each, and Memphis rolled over Golden State for its sixth straight win.
The Grizzlies led by as many as 30 points in the second half — the biggest advantage for any Warriors opponent this season. Seven Memphis players finished in double figures.
Kevin Durant led Golden State with 21 points, and Stephen Curry added 17. Curry and backcourt mate Klay Thompson (eight points) were a combined 8 of 28 from the field, including 3 of 14 outside the arc.
Golden State’s four-game winning streak ended. The Warriors had won 16 of 17, the lone loss in that stretch coming in double overtime to Houston on Dec. 1.
Bulls 105, Heat 100
In Chicago, Jimmy Butler scored 31 points, Dwyane Wade added 28 against his former team and Chicago held off struggling Miami.
Butler scored Chicago’s final 10 points to help the Bulls come out on top after Miami pulled within one.
Wade keyed a big thirdquarter run in his second game against the Heat, and the Bulls hung on after handing San Antonio its first road loss two nights earlier.
Clippers 133, Pelicans 105
In Los Angeles, Chris Paul had 20 points and a seasonhigh 20 assists, and Los Angeles beat New Orleans with its highest offensive output of the season.
It was the first 20-20 game of Paul’s career, and he became the first player since at least 1977-78 — when turnovers were first recorded for individual players — to have 20 points, 20 assists and no turnovers, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The Clippers shot a seasonbest 57.4 percent and made a season-high 17 3-pointers on 36 attempts to end a twogame skid.
Jamal Crawford scored 22 points and DeAndre Jordan had 19 points and nine rebounds for Los Angeles, which won for the third time in eight games after opening 14-2.
The Pelicans, playing without a resting Anthony Davis, lost their fifth straight. New Orleans gave up its season high in points and fell to 2-9 away from home.
Rockets 109, Mavericks 87
In Houston, James Harden had 18 points, 16 assists and nine rebounds as Houston beat Dallas for its sixth straight victory.
Eric Gordon added 18 points and Trevor Ariza scored 17 to give the Rockets their first six-game winning streak since Oct. 28 to Nov. 6, 2014. Patrick Beverley scored all 15 of his points in the fourth quarter.
Wesley Matthews had 26 points to lead the Mavericks.
SPURS 130, NETS 101
In San Antonio, Kawhi Leonard had 30 points in three quarters and San Antonio rebounded from its first road loss of the season with a home romp over Brooklyn.
Five other San Antonio players scored in double figures, led by 16 points from Patty Mills.
The Spurs set season highs for points, points in a quarter, points in a half, assists and 3-pointers in winning their 14th straight at home over the Nets. (AP)