Thomas stellar in return; Cavaliers beat Blazers
CLEVELAND — Isaiah Thomas showed flashes of what made him an All-Star in his longawaited Cleveland debut as the Cavaliers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 127-110 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night.
Thomas scored 17 points and played 19 minutes in his first game in seven months, an impressive return to action for the dynamic point guard. Thomas added three 3-pointers and three assists before leaving with 8:10 left and the Cavs up by 12.
LeBron James scored 24 points, Kevin Love had 19 and Jae Crowder added 15 for the Cavs, who were coming off losses at Golden State, Sacramento and Utah.
SPURS 100, KNICKS 91
In New York, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 29 points, Kawhi Leonard had a season-high 25 and San Antonio beat New York to give Gregg Popovich sole possession of fifth place on the NBA’s coaching wins list.
Manu Ginobili finished with 12 points — three of them coming on what appeared to be a pass that went into the basket without everyone noticing.
Popovich has 1,176 victories, all with the Spurs. The five-time champion broke a tie with his friend George Karl.
SUNS 104, HAWKS 103
In Phoenix, Devin Booker sank three free throws to put Phoenix ahead with 12.3 seconds to play, Marquese Chriss blocked Taurean Prince’s shot at the rim with 7 seconds to go and the Suns rallied from down 10 in the final 2½ minutes to beat Atlanta.
Booker scored eight of his 34 points in the final 37 seconds as the Suns finished with a 15-4 run. T.J. Warren scored 31 and Chriss had 17 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks for Phoenix.
HORNETS 131, KINGS 111
In Sacramento, Calif., Dwight Howard had 20 points and eight rebounds, Kemba Walker added 12 points and 10 assists and Charlotte built a big early lead and beat Sacramento.
Nicolas Batum scored 21 points, Jeremy Lamb added 16, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marvin Williams had 10 points apiece to help the Hornets to their third consecutive win in Sacramento.
Charlotte came in as one of the NBA’s worst 3-point shooting teams but repeatedly got open looks from beyond the arc, especially in the first half when the Hornets made 10 of their seasonhigh-tying 15 3s.