James leads way with triple-double
CLEVELAND 100 CHARLOTTE 99
LeBron James had 27 points, 16 rebounds and 13 assists, J.R. Smith made the tiebreaking free throw with 48 seconds left, and the Cleveland Cavaliers extended their winning streak to seven with a 100-99 victory over the visiting Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.
James had season highs in rebounds and assists in his 57th career triple-double. He’s 41-6 in the regular season against Charlotte.
at Golden State 143, Chicago 94:
Stephen Curry outscored the Bulls by himself in the second quarter 26-21 on the way to 33 points as the Warriors blew it open. Klay Thompson added 29 points.
Detroit 99, at Oklahoma City 98:
Andre Drummond had 17 points and 14 rebounds, and the Pistons overcame a 15-point deficit and Russell Westbrook’s sixth tripledouble of the season. Westbrook had 27 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds, but he missed a threepoint attempt on the last possession to go one of 10 from beyond the arc and 10 of 29 from the field.
at Boston 118, Orlando 103:
Kyrie Irving scored 17 of his 30 points in a blistering first half and the Celtics rebounded after their 16-game winning streak ended. The Celtics scored 40 points in the first quarter and 73 by halftime — both season highs — to send the Magic to their seventh straight loss.
Portland 127, at Brooklyn 125:
Damian Lillard scored 34 points, Jusuf Nurkic added 29 and the Trail Blazers rallied from a sixpoint deficit with 2:20 left in the fourth quarter.
at Atlanta 116, New York 104:
Dennis Schroder scored 26 points and the Hawks rallied to end a threegame losing streak.
at Indiana 107, Toronto 104:
Victor Oladipo scored 21 points, Bojan Bogdonavic added 19 and the Pacers won their fifth in a row.
Miami 109, at Minnesota 97:
Wayne Ellington scored 21 points and made six three-pointers off the bench for the Heat.
at Denver 104, Memphis 92:
The Nuggets improved to 8-2 at home as Nikola Jokic had 28 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
New Orleans 115, at Phoenix 91:
Anthony Davis had 23 points and nine rebounds, and DeMarcus Cousins added 19 points and 10 boards in the Pelicans’ romp.