Lakers roll past Cavaliers in L.A.
LOS ANGELES — Julius Randle had a career-high 36 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers auditioned for LeBron James’ favor in free agency with a 127-113 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night.
Isaiah Thomas had 20 points, nine assists and five rebounds against his former teammates as the Lakers roared away from James and the defending Eastern Conference champions in the second half. With its sixth win in eight games overall, Los Angeles (30-36) emphatically snapped a seven-game losing streak against Cleveland.
James had 24 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Cavs, who have lost four of six after getting swept at Staples Center by the Clippers and Lakers.
RAPTORS 132, KNICKS 106: In New York, Jonas Valanciunas scored 17 points, Kyle Lowry had 16 and Toronto kept right on rolling after a big win two nights earlier, beating the New York Knicks for their season-high eighth straight victory. PACERS 99, CELTICS 97: In Boston, Victor Oladipo scored 27 points, then committed a dead-ball offensive foul with 1.5 seconds left that gave Boston a shot to win the game at the buzzer, but Indiana held on to beat the depleted Celtics. TIMBERWOLVES 109, WARRIORS
103: In Minneapolis, Karl-Anthony Towns helped Minnesota stop a season-longest three-game losing streak with 31 points and 16 rebounds, and the Timberwolves powered their way past Golden State down the stretch to hand the Warriors their second straight defeat without Stephen Curry. ROCKETS 105, MAVERICKS 82: In Dallas, Eric Gordon scored 26 points and Chris Paul had 24 points and 12 assists as Houston, playing without James Harden, beat the Dallas Mavericks.
NUGGETS 130, KINGS 104: In Denver, Nikola Jokic had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh triple-double of the season, Gary Harris added 21 points and Denver cruised past Sacramento.
BULLS 129, HAWKS 122: In Atlanta, Zach LaVine scored 21 points, including four free throws in the final 17 seconds to stop Atlanta’s comeback, and the Chicago beat the injury-depleted Hawks.
JAZZ 116, PELICANS 99: In New Orleans, Ricky Rubio had 30 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and Utah overcame Anthony Davis’ first career triple-double for a victory over New Orleans that extended the Jazz’s winning streak to six. SIXERS 120, NETS 97: In New York, Joel Embiid scored 21 points, Robert Covington added 19, and Philadelphia routed Brooklyn, which has lost 13 of its last 15 games.