Bulls top Cavaliers, James moves to 7th on NBA scoring list
CHICAGO >> Nikola Mirotic tied season highs with 28 points and six 3-pointers, Jimmy Butler scored 25, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-93 on a night when LeBron James moved into seventh place on the NBA’s career scoring list.
James moved past Shaquille O’Neal, finishing with 26 points and giving him 28,599 for his career — three more than O’Neal. But the big night by the four-time MVP couldn’t prevent the Cavaliers from matching a season high with their third straight loss.
That dropped them a halfgame behind Boston for the Eastern Conference lead and left them with a 6-10 record in March.
For Mirotic, it was his second straight game with 28 points and six 3s. He also had 10 rebounds, finishing a strong March. Rajon Rondo added 15 assists, Robin Lopez had 10 points and 11 rebounds, and the ninth-place Bulls moved within a game of Miami and Indiana in the Eastern Conference standings.
They also finished 4-0 against Cleveland to complete their first sweep of the Cavaliers since they took all three games during the 2011-12 season.
Kyrie Irving scored 20 for the Cavaliers, while Tristan Thompson added 15 points and nine rebounds.
James entered needing 23 points to tie O’Neal, and matched him when he scored on a layup with 7:23 left in the game. He took sole possession of seventh place when he hit one of three free throws to make it 9083 with 4:28 remaining.
But it was not an easy for the Cavaliers. night TIMBERWOLVES 119, LAKERS 104 >> Ricky Rubio had a career-high 33 points, 10 assists and five rebounds and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 32 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves past the Los Angeles Lakers.
Rubio shot 4 of 5 on 3-pointers and Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points for the Timberwolves (30-44), who have now won more games than they did last season.
Minnesota had 30 assists and only 11 turnovers.
Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points and D’Angelo Russell had 14 points and seven assists for the Lakers (21-54), who have lost 17 of their last 19 games. Brandon Ingram missed his third straight game with patellar tendinitis in his right knee. PISTONS 90, NETS 89 >> Marcus Morris had 28 points and 13 rebounds, and Ish Smith hit the go-ahead 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, helping the Detroit Pistons beat the Brooklyn Nets.