Lavine helps Bulls ruin Butler’s Chicago return
CHICAGO — Zach Lavine scored 35 points against his former team, and the Bulls spoiled Jimmy Butler’s return to Chicago with a 114-113 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.
Butler scored 38 to finish one shy of his season high. But the Bulls rallied from 17 down to snap a seven-game slide. Lavine came up big down the stretch, scoring eight in the final 1:11. He nailed three free throws after getting fouled by Butler to put Chicago ahead with 18.4 seconds left.
Karl-anthony Towns and Butler missed 3-pointers in the closing seconds, giving Minnesota another tight loss.
Butler and Taj Gibson got standing ovations prior to their first game against the team that drafted them. There were more loud cheers following a video tribute in the first quarter, with both players standing and waving as fans rose to their feet.
At Atlanta, Lebron James had 22 points, 17 assists and 12 rebounds, and
Kyle Korver scored a season-high 30 points for Cleveland, which had only nine available players after unloading six players in three trades Thursday.
At Miami, Tyler Johnson had 19 points and Hassan Whiteside 12 points and 16 rebounds for Miami, which ended a five-game skid and dealt Milwaukee its second loss in nine games under interim coach Joe Prunty.
At Sacramento, Calif., Damian Lillard scored 22 of his season-high 50 points in the third quarter and sat out the fourth, making 8 of 13 3-point attempts and all 10 of his free throws for Portland.
Cavaliers 123, Hawks 107 — Heat 91, Bucks 85 — Trail Blazers 118, Kings 100 — Clippers 108, Pistons 95 —
At Detroit, Lou Williams scored 26 points for Los Angeles, which dealt ex-teammate Blake Griffin his first loss with Detroit. Griffin scored 19 for the Pistons, who had won five in a row.
At Houston, James Harden had 29 points and 11 assists and Clint Capela 23 points and a career-high 25 rebounds for Houston, which never trailed in its seventh straight win.
At
Salt Lake City, Donovan Mitchell previewed his Slam Dunk Contest appearance with two tomahawk jams and totaled 25 points for Utah, which won its eighth in a row.
At Philadelphia, Joel Embiid, a gametime decision with a sore ankle, hit his first six shots and finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds for Philadelphia.
At Boston, Victor Oladipo scored 35 points for Indiana, which recovered after blowing a 26-point lead to hand Boston its second loss in seven games.
Rockets 130, Nuggets 104 — Jazz 106, Hornets 94 — 76ers 100, Pelicans 82 — Pacers 97, Celtics 91 —