Cavs set record with 25 3s in win over Hawks
ATLANTA — Kyrie Irving scored 43 points, LeBron James had 38 and the Cleveland Cavaliers set the NBA regular-season record with 25 3-pointers as they turned back Atlanta’s late rally to beat the Hawks 135-130 on Friday night.
After Paul Millsap’s baseline jumper over James cut Cleveland’s lead to 124-123, Kyle Korver — who was traded from Atlanta to the Cavaliers on Jan. 7 — hit the recordbreaking 3-pointer to pad the lead.
Cleveland made 25 of 46 3s to break a record that stood less than three months. Houston made 24 treys in a 122-100 win over New Orleans on Dec. 16.
Tim Hardaway Jr. made five of nine 3-pointers and led the Hawks with a careerhigh 36 points. Millsap had 27 points.
The Cavaliers set the high-scoring pace by scoring 39 points in the first period. The Hawks also shot well, making 55.6 percent of their shots in the first half, but still trailed 77-60 at the break.
It was an impressive showing by Cleveland, which signed freeagent center Andrew Bogut on Thursday. Bogut has not yet joined the team.
Hardaway’s breakaway jam cut the Cleveland lead to six points at 121-115, but James answered with a 3-pointer.
Hardaway had too little scoring help for the Hawks to keep pace with the Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers made 14 of 23 3-pointers in the first half. Cleveland finished four points shy of their season high before halftime. It had 81 points in the first half of a 137-125 win over Portland on Nov. 23.
DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points, including a key 3-pointer late, and grabbed 13 rebounds in Toronto’s victory over Washington. Norman Powell added a season-high 21 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, to help the Raptors pulled back into a tie with the Wizards for third place in the Eastern Conference. Toronto also secured a 2-1 victory in the season series, a potential tiebreaker for playoff seeding, two days after losing to Washington 105-96 in the first game of a home-andhome set. John Wall scored 30 points, and Bradley Beal added 27 for Wizards. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points and eight assists, and Milwaukee squandered an early 23-point lead before finishing strong to hold off turnover-prone Los Angeles. Greg Monroe also had 24 points for the Bucks. They watched their early edge dwindle to 77-74 late in the third quarter following four 3s in the period by Chris Paul. The Bucks reasserted control with a 15-2 run for a 92-76 lead with about 9 minutes left. Paul and Blake Griffin each had 21 points for the Clippers. They had a season-high 23 turnovers. Justin Anderson made the go-ahead basket with 24.3 seconds left and matched his career high with 19 points in Philadelphia’ victory over New York. Acquired from Dallas last week in the deal that sent Nerlens Noel to the Mavericks, Anderson hit his first seven shots and forced Knicks star Carmelo Anthony into 5-for-18 shooting.