Wolves sail past James and Cavs
MINNEAPOLIS — Andrew Wiggins had 25 points in three quarters, Jimmy Butler pitched in 21 points and tight defense on LeBron James, and the Minnesota Timberwolves cruised to a 127-99 victory over Cleveland on Monday night that stopped a 12-game home losing streak to the Cavaliers.
Karl-Anthony Towns (19 points, 12 rebounds) and Taj Gibson (16 points, 13 rebounds) were tenacious around the basket for the Timberwolves, who outrebounded the Cavs 56-37 and had a 60-42 advantage in points in the paint.
WARRIORS 124, NUGGETS 114:
In Oakland, Calif., Stephen Curry scored 32 points and dished out nine assists in another superb performance during his sensational recent stretch, and the Warriors beat the Nuggets to avenge an ugly home loss to Denver in late December.
Nikola Jokic had his first triple-double of the season with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists as four players scored 20 points or more for the Nuggets, who were coming off a 106-98 loss at Sacramento on Saturday.
SPURS 107, KINGS 100:
In Sacramento, Calif., LaMarcus Aldridge had 31 points and 12 rebounds, and San Antonio came back from 13 down in the second half to beat Sacramento.
Davis Bertans scored a career-high 28 points on 11-of15 shooting with six 3-pointers. Patty Mills added 14 points and five assists, and Bryn Forbes scored 12 to help the Spurs to their 12th consecutive win over the Kings.
ROCKETS 116, BULLS 107:
In Chicago, Eric Gordon and Chris Paul each had 24 points and nine assists, Gerald Green scored 22 and Houston beat Chicago.
Trevor Ariza hit six 3-pointers and scored 18 to go with nine rebounds. Clint Capela added 15 points and 16 rebounds, and the Rockets won for the third time in 10 games despite blowing a 21-point lead.
RAPTORS 114, NETS 113 (OT):
In New York, DeMar DeRozan scored 35 points, including a goahead three-point play with 26.1 seconds left in overtime, and Toronto shook off a late injury to Kyle Lowry to beat Brooklyn.
The Raptors lost a 10-point lead in the final 4½ minutes of regulation and then lost Lowry after a hard fall in OT, but at least won the game, just as they always do against the Nets.
PACERS 109, BUCKS 96:
In Indianapolis, Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 10 rebounds Monday night and three of his teammates each scored 15 to lead Indiana to a victory over Milwaukee.
Indiana has won two straight since a five-game losing streak. Victor Oladipo, Thaddeus Young and Myles Turner all scored 15 points.
PELICANS 112, PISTONS 109:
In New Orleans, DeMarcus Cousins scored 16 of his 20 points after Anthony Davis left with an ankle injury in the third quarter, and New Orleans held off the Detroit.
Rajon Rondo capped a 12-point, 15-assist performance with two transition layups in the last 1:21 to help secure a victory the Pelicans needed to restore morale.