James hits at OT horn for Cavs win
Cleveland star makes jumper over Timberwolves’ Butler
CLEVELAND — Lebron
James hit a jumper over Jimmy Butler at the buzzer in overtime, giving the Cleveland Cavaliers a 140-138 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.
Moments after James blocked Butler’s potential game-winning shot with 1.3 seconds left, he caught a long pass from Jeff Green, created some space from Butler near the foul line and sank his fade-away shot to end Cleveland’s eight-game losing streak on national television.
The crowd erupted and James was mobbed by his teammates as the Cavs got a much-needed win to ease tensions during a prolonged slump. Cleveland has won just seven of its last 20.
James finished with 37 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in 48 minutes. He also passed Zydrunas Ilgauskas (5,904) on Cleveland’s all-time rebounds list.
Butler scored 35, and Karl-anthony Towns 30 for the Timberwolves, who were in position to win in OT before James came to Cleveland’s rescue.
Butler drove the left side and had a step on rookie Cedi Osman before getting off a short shot. However, James, who had missed a 3-pointer that would have won it in regulation, came from the weak side to reject it and set up the dramatic finish.
The Cavs had lost their eight previous network broadcast appearances this season, prompting James to say last week following a lopsided loss to Houston that he and his teammates should be dropped from any more telecasts.
Finally, they were primed for prime time.
J.R. Smith added 20 points and Isaiah Thomas had 13 points and seven assists in one of his best games in weeks.
Towns made all six of his 3-point attempts and Minnesota drained a season-high 19 3-pointers.
With the NBA trade deadline set for 3 p.m. Thursday, the Cavs are looking for a deal to salvage a season quickly slipping away. The team has been hesitant to part with the first-round pick it acquired during the summer in the Kyrie Irving trade, but Cleveland may have no choice in order to add a quality player capable of pushing the team back into title contention.
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue was back on the sideline after leaving Tuesday’s loss in Orlando in the first half with an unspecified illness. Lue said “I’m fine” when asked about his health, but did not provide any details. At Detroit, Andre Drummond had 17 points and 27 rebounds, and Detroit extended its winning streak to five. Blake Griffin scored 11 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter for the Pistons. At Miami, James Harden scored 41 points and Houston won its sixth straight and 10th in 11 games. Chris Paul added 24 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds for the Rockets.
At Memphis, Tenn., Ricky Rubio had 29 points and eight rebounds, Rodney Hood scored 18 and Utah won its seventh straight. Memphis lost its fifth consecutive game.
At Phoenix, Lamarcus Aldrige had 23 points and 13 rebounds and San Antonio rode a 38-point halftime lead to a blowout win. Patty Mills added 18 points for the Spurs.
The game between the Indiana Pacers and New Orleans Pelicans was postponed after nearly a twohour delay because of a roof leak that briefly allowed rain water to puddle near one of the foul lines.
Pistons 115, Nets 106 — Rockets 109, Heat 101 — Jazz 92, Grizzlies 88 — Spurs 129, Suns 81 — Pelicans/pacers: