Simmons, Magic rally to clock bumbling Cavs

Jonathon Simmons scored 22 of his career-high 34 points in the third quarter and the Magic overcame a 21-point deficit last night to beat the reeling Cleveland Cavaliers, 116-98, in Orlando, Fla.

The Cavaliers scored 43 points in the first quarter, but then went almost 61⁄2 minutes without scoring in the fourth and lost for the 14th time in 21 games. They played the second half without coach Tyronn Lue, who went to the locker room in the second quarter with what the team said was an illness.

The Magic made their first 10 shots of the second half and won consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 8-10.

LeBron James had 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Cavaliers, but did not have a rebound or an assist in a foul-plagued second half.

Evan Fournier scored 19 points for the Magic, who broke a nine-game home losing streak against Cleveland.

76ers 115, Wizards 102 — Joel Embiid had 27 points and 12 rebounds, and host Philadelphia led from start to finish in a victory over Washington.

Dario Saric added 20 points and J.J. Redick had 18 for the 76ers, who snapped Washington’s five-game winning streak.

Bradley Beal scored 30 points for the Wizards, who lost their first game since fellow All-Star John Wall had arthroscopic surgery on his troublesome left knee.

Bucks 103, Knicks 89 — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points, jumping over Tim Hardaway Jr. for one high-flying slam, and visiting Milwaukee beat New York in a game that featured a knee injury to Kristaps Porzingis.

Porzingis was injured after crashing to the ground following a successful dunk with 8:46 left in the second quarter. An MRI last night revealed Porzingis had torn the ACL in his left knee.

Eric Bledsoe also had 23 points and Khris Middleton added 20 for the Bucks, who are a season-high seven games over .500.

Hawks 108, Grizzlies 82 — Dennis Schroder scored 22 points and host Atlanta beat turnover-plagued Memphis, which suffered its fourth straight loss.

Mario Chalmers had 13 points for Memphis, which has lost 6-of-7.

The Grizzlies and Hawks held out players who could be dealt before tomorrow’s trade deadline.

Tyreke Evans, said to be a target of the Celtics, was not with the Grizzlies and missed his fourth straight game.

Rockets 123, Nets 113 — James Harden scored 36 points, surpassing 15,000 for his career, and Houston beat Brooklyn in New York for its fifth straight victory.

Chris Paul added 25 points for the Rockets, who kept right on rolling in their first game since their nationally televised romp in Cleveland on Saturday.

DeMarre Carroll scored 21 points for the Nets and Spencer Dinwiddie added 18 points and nine assists. Brooklyn has lost seven of its last eight.

Lakers 112, Suns 93 — Brandon Ingram scored 26 points, Julius Randle added 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and host Los Angeles beat Phoenix.

The Lakers pulled away in the last eight minutes of the fourth quarter, using a 15-3 run after leading 97-90.

Also, the Lakers have been fined $50,000 for violating the NBA’s tampering rule again.

League officials made the announcement in response to an interview team president Magic Johnson did with ESPN.

Johnson was discussing the skills of Milwaukee’s Antetokounmpo and said the Greek native would put the Bucks “on the map” and bring them an NBA title.

It’s the third time in less than 12 months the Lakers have been disciplined for tampering.

Thunder 125, Warriors 105 — In Oakland, Calif., Russell Westbrook had 34 points, nine rebounds and nine as- sists to get the better of old buddy and teammate Kevin Durant, Paul George scored 38 points, and Oklahoma City embarrassed Golden State to snap a four-game losing streak.

Durant scored 33 points but didn’t get as much help from the cold-shooting Splash Brothers of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, who added 21 and 12 points, respectively. They com- bined to go 11-of-27 from the floor and 4-for-15 on 3-pointers as the Warriors lost for the third time in four games. They lost their tempers, too — as in five technicals total.

Elsewhere in the NBA — Detroit Pistons center Willie Reed has been suspended for six games by the NBA after the league investigated the circumstances surrounding his arrest on a domestic violence charge.

Reed was arrested last August on a misdemeanor battery charge involving his wife. He entered a pretrial diversion program in October to resolve the charge against him.