Thunder thump Cavs, keep LeBron shy of 30K 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. Philadelphia scored 148 back in 1972.
ROCKETS 116, WARRIORS 108
In Houston, Chris Paul scored 33 points and 11 rebounds, James Harden had 22 points and Houston held off Golden State to snap its 14-game road winning streak.
Harden stepped back from Stephen Curry for a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to make it 114-108 with 1:10 left. Harden then blocked Curry’s 3-point attempt after a timeout, and Paul made two free throws with 28 seconds left.
76ERS 116, BUCKS 94
In Philadelphia, Joel Embiid had 29 points and nine rebounds and Philadelphia pulled away from undermanned Milwaukee for its seventh win in eight games.
Ben Simmons added 16 points and nine assists, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot added 16 points in a rare start as the Sixers (22-20) moved past Milwaukee (23-22) for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
TIMBERWOLVES 115, RAPTORS 109
In Minneapolis, Andrew Wiggins scored 29 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had all 22 of his points in the second half as Minnesota rallied from an 11-point first-half deficit to beat Toronto.
Playing without leading scorer Jimmy Butler, the Wolves managed to overcome Towns’ early foul trouble and hot perimeter shooting by the Raptors to snap a twogame skid.
JAZZ 125, CLIPPERS 113
In Salt Lake City, Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points and Utah close out Los Angeles.
Despite missing starting guard Rodney Hood because of a leg injury, Utah set season bests for points in the first quarter (39) and first half (76). It never trailed while ending the Clippers’ six-game winning streak.
PELICANS 111, GRIZZLIES 104
In New Orleans, Jrue Holiday scored 13 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, DeMarcus Cousins had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and New Orleans beat Memphis.
Anthony Davis had 21 points and 12 rebounds but did not score his first points of the second half until he dunked with 1:15 to go in the game, giving the Pelicans a 108-102 lead.
BULLS 113, HAWKS 97
In Atlanta, Robin Lopez scored 20 points, Lauri Markkanen added 19 and Chicago easily beat Atlanta.
The Bulls, coming off a seven-point home loss to defending NBA champion Golden State three days ago, have won four of five. They never trailed, taking an 11-pont lead midway through the first quarter on Lopez’s dunk and going up 17 on Markkanen’s dunk in the closing seconds of the first half.
HEAT 106, HORNETS 105
In Charlotte, N.C., Kelly Olynyk scored 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, including a free throw with 0.2 seconds left, to help Miami erase a five-point deficit in the final 34 seconds and stun Charlotte.
Wayne Ellington had 26 points on six 3-pointers, Joe Johnson had 22 points and Olynyk was brilliant down the stretch.