Cavaliers start February with big win over Timberwolves

Thomas scores 44 as Celts keep on roll

CLEVELAND — LeBron James scored 27 points, and Kyrie Irving had 14 and a careerhigh 14 assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers, coming off a losing record in January, defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-97 on Wednesday night.

Cleveland, which went 7-8 last month, began February looking like the defending NBA champions. The Cavaliers held a threepoint halftime lead and took control midway through the third quarter. James’ three-point play gave the Cavaliers a 90-70 lead.

Cleveland All-Star forward Kevin Love missed his second straight game because of back spasms, but the Cavaliers had five players in double figures in

scoring.

Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 26 points. CELTICS 109, RAPTORS

104: In Boston, Isaiah Thomas scored 19 of his 44 points in the final quarter to lift Boston over Toronto in a showdown for first place in the Atlantic Division.

It was the fifth straight win for Boston, which moved 1½ games ahead of the Raptors in the division and holds the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed.

Kyle Lowry led Toronto with 32 points.

HEAT 116, HAWKS 93: In Miami, Goran Dragic scored 27 points and Dion Waiters added 20 as Miami pushed the NBA’s longest current winning streak to nine games by easing past Atlanta.

Hassan Whiteside scored 18 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for the Heat, which hadn’t won nine straight since November 2013.

Kent Bazemore scored 14 and Dennis Schroder scored 12 for the Hawks. PISTONS 118, PELICANS 98: In Auburn Hills, Mich., Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored a career-high 38 points, leading Detroit over New Orleans.

Tobias Harris added 19 points and Andre Drummond 17 for the Pistons, who ended an eightgame losing streak to New Orleans.

New Orleans blew a nine-point lead in the third quarter and lost its third straight game.

KNICKS 95, NETS 90: In New York, Kristaps Porzingis had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and he joined a group of mostly substitutes who led New York back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit against Brooklyn.

Carmelo Anthony had 15 points for the Knicks, but he was on the bench for the entire fourth

quarter after shooting 6-for-22 from the field.

BULLS 128, THUNDER 100: In Oklahoma City, Jimmy Butler scored 28 points to help Chicago rout Oklahoma City.

The Thunder’s Russell Westbrook had 28 points and eight assists.

PACERS 98, MAGIC 88: In Orlando, Fla., C.J. Miles scored 16 points and Glenn Robinson III added 14 as Indiana beat Orlando.

The Pacers used their smaller lineup and timely 3-point shooting to keep the Magic from rallying.

JAZZ 104, BUCKS 88: In Salt Lake City, Rudy Gobert scored 26 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, leading Utah to a victory over Milwaukee.

The double-double was Gobert’s 33rd of the season. MAVERICKS 113, 76ERS 95: In Dallas, Seth Curry scored

22 points, and Salah Mejri had 16 points and a career-high 17 rebounds as Dallas beat Philadelphia for its fifth win in six games.

Dallas, the NBA’s worstrebounding team, set a season high for boards and outrebound the Sixers 51-39.

CLIPPERS 124, SUNS 114: In Phoenix, Blake Griffin scored 29 points as Los Angeles bounced back from a humiliating 46-point loss at Golden State to beat Phoenix.

The victory over the team with the worst record in the West left LA 2-4 since Chris Paul went down with a torn left thumb ligament. GRIZZLIES 119, NUGGETS 99: In Denver, Marc Gasol scored 24 points and Mike Conley had 18 as Memphis beat Denver for the Grizzlies’ third win in a row.