James on fire as Cavaliers storm to 11th straight win
cleveland — LeBron James scored 34 points, including seven in the final 1:22, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 116-111 on Saturday night for their 11th straight victory.
Memphis has lost 11 in a row, including three since David Fizdale was fired Monday and replaced by interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
James, the reigning NBA Player of the Month, also had 12 assists. Kevin Love added 20 points and 11 rebounds for Cleveland.
The Grizzlies trailed 91-72 late in the third quarter, but rallied all the way to a tie at 109 on Dillon Brooks’ 3-pointer with 2:10 remaining. James’ basket in the lane gave Cleveland the lead.
After Tyreke Evans missed a 3-pointer, James drove the lane, scored and converted the threepoint Milwaukee 109, Cleveland 116, Philadelphia 108, Portland 116, Denver 115, Brooklyn 102, Dallas 108, Boston 116, Sacramento Memphis Detroit New Orleans LA Lakers Atlanta LA Clippers Phoenix 104 111 103 123 100 114 82 111 play after being fouled by Brooks with 34 seconds left.
Brooks made two free throws, but James dribbled for several seconds on Cleveland’s next possession and hit a jumper from the top of the key for a five-point lead with 5 seconds to go.
Kyrie Irving had a key 3-pointer and a driving basket in the closing two minutes, helping Boston beat Phoenix. Irving finished with 19 points, leading a balanced attack for Boston. Jaylen Brown and Marcus Morris each scored 17 points, Jayson Tatum had 15 and Al Horford added 14 points and 11 assists.
Devin Booker scored a season-high 38 points for Phoenix in his first game at TD Garden since he put up 70 against the Celtics on March 24. T.J. Warren had 19 points, and Tyson Chandler added 14 points and 18 rebounds.
Phoenix cut a 17-point deficit to 105-103 on Chandler’s dunk late in the game. But Irving responded with a 3 from the right wing on the next possession, and his spinning shot off the backboard made it 112-106 with 29 seconds left.
Joel Embiid had 25 points and 10 rebounds and got the better of Andre Drummond down the stretch in a matchup of trash-talking big men to help Philadelphia beat Detroit. —