Cavaliers win to stay 1-up in East
LeBron James had 32 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and the Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back from their worst defensive outing of the season with a 112-105 win over the Hornets last night in Charlotte, N.C.
Kyrie Irving added 26 points and Kevin Love had 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Cavaliers remained atop the Eastern Conference standings by one game over the Celtics.
Charlotte was led by Kemba Walker, who had 28 points on five 3-pointers. Cody Zeller added 15 points and 11 rebounds.
After allowing 73 first-half points — and 70 in the paint — in a 126-113 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night, the Cavaliers held the Hornets to 42 percent shooting from the field. It was a welcome change for Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue, whose team had allowed its previous four opponents to shoot better than 50 percent from the field.
James got hit in the eye by Jeremy Lamb on a driving layup in the closing seconds of the third quarter. He remained down on the court for more than the minute. When he lined up to complete the three-point play, he threw the ball back to the ref because he was unable to focus. The Cavs took a timeout and James returned to the floor to make the free throw.
Wizards 129, Nets 108 — John Wall scored 22 points despite dealing with migraine headache symptoms earlier in the day, Bradley Beal added 19 points and host Washington cruised past Brooklyn. The Wizards moved a game ahead of idle Toronto for the No. 3 position in the East.
Warriors 114, Kings 100 — Stephen Curry had 27 points, seven rebounds and a season-high 12 assists, and Golden State beat Sacramento in Oakland, Calif.
Draymond Green added a season-best 23 points with eight assists, while Ian Clark scored 10 points to help the Warriors improve to an NBA-best 58-14. Golden State has won six straight since its season-high three-game losing streak.
Magic 115, Pistons 87 — Elfrid Payton had 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in his fourth triple-double of the season, Terrence Ross scored 18 points and host Orlando routed slumping Detroit.
It was another costly defeat for the Pistons, who entered the night just one game out of eighth place in the East and lost for the third straight time.
Nuggets 125, Pacers 117 — Nikola Jokic had 31 points, 17 rebounds and a big 3-pointer to turn back a late Indiana rally, and Denver prevailed in Indianapolis.
Wilson Chandler scored 12 of his 24 points in the opening quarter for the Nuggets.
76ers 117, Bulls 107 — Rookies Dario Saric and Shawn Long had career highs in scoring, leading visiting Philadelphia to a win against desperate Chicago.
Saric scored 32 points, extending his double-digit points streak to 22 games, the longest by a rookie this season. He added 10 rebounds. Long had 18 points.
Rockets 117, Pelicans 107 — James Harden scored 38 points, including eight down the stretch, and tied a career high with 17 assists to help host Houston pull away for a victory over New Orleans.
Bucks 100, Hawks 97 — Giannis Antetokounmpo picked up his second straight double-double with 34 points and 13 rebounds, and Milwaukee held on to beat visiting Atlanta.