Thunder hold LeBron shy of 30,000 points
CLEVELAND — LeBron James couldn’t get to 30,000 career points, and he and his Cleveland teammates couldn’t stop Paul George, Russell Westbrook or Carmelo Anthony as the Oklahoma City Thunder thumped the Cavaliers 148-124 on Saturday for their fourth straight win.
Oklahoma City tied the record for the most points scored against Cleveland in a regulation game. Philly scored 148 in 1972.
George scored 36, Westbrook had 23 and 20 assists, and Anthony scored a season-high 29 as the Thunder embarrassed the Eastern Conference champions, whose defensive issues aren’t improving. Cleveland has lost 10 of 14.
James finished with 18 points and is seven shy of becoming the seventh player in NBA history to reach the 30,000-point plateau.
76ERS 116, BUCKS 94
Joel Embiid had 29 points and nine rebounds as host Philadelphia pulled away from undermanned Milwaukee for its seventh win in eight games.
Milwaukee was without top scorer Giannis Antetokounmpo, who sat out the first of two games to rest a sore right knee.
PELICANS 111, GRIZZLIES 104
Jrue Holiday scored 13 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, DeMarcus Cousins had 24 points, and New Orleans topped visiting Memphis.
HEAT 106, HORNETS 105
Kelly Olynyk scored 14 of his 16 points in the final quarter to help Miami erase a five-point deficit in the closing 34 seconds and stun host Charlotte.
T-WOLVES 115, RAPTORS 109
Andrew Wiggins scored 29 points as host Minnesota rallied from an 11-point first-half deficit.
BLAZERS 117, MAVS 108
In Portland, Ore., Damian Lillard had 31 points and nine assists to lead a win over Dallas.
BULLS 113, HAWKS 97
Robin Lopez scored 20 points, and Chicago easily won at Atlanta for its fourth victory in of five games. JAZZ 125, CLIPPERS 113
Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points to help Utah close out a win over visiting Los Angeles.