Cavs 0-4 for first time in 15 years

CLEVELAND—D’Angelo Russell scored 18 points, Joe Harris added 16 and the Brooklyn Nets beat Cleveland 102-86 on Wednesday night, keeping the Cavaliers winless this season.

Brooklyn outscored Cleveland 38-17 in the third quarter, forcing Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue to use four timeouts in the period. The Nets placed six players in double figures.

Cleveland is off to a rocky start as it tries to move on without LeBron James. The Cavaliers lost their first two games on the road to Toronto and Minnesota. Cleveland was coming off a 133-111 loss in its home opener to Atlanta on Sunday.

The Cavaliers are 0-4 for the first time since losing their first five games in 2003-04 when James was a rookie.

The first half had 11 lead changes and the teams were tied at 45 going to halftime before the Nets took over. Brooklyn hit 16 of 22 from the field in the third quarter to pull away.

Cleveland will face a difficult task today with a road game against Detroit and Blake Griffin, who scored 50 points in an overtime win over Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Nets forward Rondae HollisJefferson and guard Shabazz Napier made their season debuts. Jefferson, out with a hip injury and the birth of his first child, scored seven points in 17 minutes. Napier, sidelined with a strained right hamstring, scored eight points in 11 minutes.

The Nets broke a 10-game losing streak in Cleveland and won for the first time at Quicken Loans Arena since April 3, 2013.

Raptors 112, Timberwolves 105

TORONTO—Kawhi Leonard scored a season-high 35 points, Kyle Lowry had 13 points and 10 assists, and the Toronto Raptors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-105 on Wednesday night to improve to 5-0 and match the best start in franchise history.

Jonas Valanciunas scored 16 points, Serge Ibaka had 15 and Norman Powell added a season-high 10 for the Raptors, who also won five straight to start the 2015-16 season.

Toronto won its 15th straight home game against Minnesota, extending its franchise record for consecutive home victories over a single opponent. The last time the Raptors lost at home to the Timberwolves was Jan. 21, 2004.

Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, Derrick Rose had 16 and Taj Gibson 13 for Minnesota, which has yet to win back-to-back games this season.

Karl-Anthony Towns shot 5 for 17 and scored 14 points.

Minnesota guard Andrew Wiggins was inactive for only the second time in his career, sitting out because of a bruised right quadriceps. Wiggins, who is from suburban Toronto, left in the first quarter of Monday’s win over Indiana and did not return.

Rookie Josh Okogie started in place of Wiggins and finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Toronto was up by 17 points in the fourth but Towns scored to cut it to 106-101 with 1:16 remaining. Following a timeout, Leonard drove for a jumpshot over Rose, pushing the lead to seven.

Minnesota called timeout and gave the ball to Jeff Teague, but his missed shot was rebounded by Ibaka. Leonard was fouled and made both, putting the Raptors up by nine points with 38 seconds to go.

Heat 110, Knicks 87

MIAMI—Hassan Whiteside scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Josh Richardson added 21 points and the Miami Heat rolled past the New York Knicks 110-87 on Wednesday night.

Rodney McGruder added 19 points on only eight shot attempts and Goran Dragic scored 13 points for the Heat, who outscored New York 76-38 in the middle two quarters.

Miami scored 45 of those points in the third quarter, tying the third-highest scoring period in franchise history. The Heat made 8 of 10 shots from 3-point range in that quarter, actually doing better there than they did from 2-point range in those 12 minutes—going 7 for 10.

Damyean Dotson scored 20 for New York, which got 14 from Tim Hardaway Jr. and 13 from Mario Hezonja. The Knicks were outscored 24-0 from 3-point range in that pivotal third quarter, missing all eight of their tries from beyond the arc.

There was no sense of the HeatKnicks rivalry from years gone past. After the final horn, Knicks coach David Fizdale—a former Miami assistant—lingered on the court and hugged several Heat coaches and players, with Dwyane Wade getting his last embrace. Wade presented Fizdale with one of his jerseys, leading to yet another hug.

The 22-point margin of victory matched Miami’s fifth-largest ever against New York.