James runs point, Cavs beat Bulls
CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers’ lineups are changing daily. Their defense is a mess, their slow starts are puzzling and the starting point guard is hurt.
Cleveland’s got some problems.
LeBron James minimizes them all.
Making a rare start at point guard, James scored 34 points as the Cavs, using another early season lineup, awakened after a sluggish first half and beat the Chicago Bulls 119-112 on Tuesday night.
Although he often handles the ball and runs Cleveland’s offense, James had not officially been listed as a guard since 2012 with Miami. The superstar added 13 assists, including a nolook, behind-the-back dish to Jae Crowder for a 3-pointer during Cleveland’s 15-3 spurt in the third quarter.
The Bulls did all they could. James just did more.
“You’re playing against the best player on the planet,” Chicago coach Fred Hoiberg said.
Kevin Love had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Dwyane Wade, who asked Cavs coach Tyronn Lue to take him out of the starting lineup, came off the bench and added 11 points.
Justin Holiday scored 25 and rookie Lauri Markkanen 19 for Chicago, which made a seasonhigh 17 3-pointers. The 7-foot Markkanen became the first player in NBA history to make 10 3-pointers in his first three career games.
Cleveland trailed 92-91 entering the fourth before Love dropped a 3 and Kyle Korver made a pair of 3s in 33 seconds. Chicago closed within six in the final two minutes, but the Cavs came up with two offensive rebounds to reset the shot clock before James drove past Markkanen for a left-handed layup to make it 118-110.
Lue has been experimenting with lineups and combinations because of new players and injuries. He trotted out another new starting five — his third in three games — against the Bulls, moving James to the point, and starting Tristan Thompson at center so Love wouldn’t have to guard 7-foot-1 Robin Lopez the entire game. Jaylen Brown scored 23 points, Jayson Tatum added 22 and Boston beat New York in Boston. Kyrie Irving added 20 points and seven assists. Al Horford finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Enes Kanter led New York with 16 points and 19 rebounds. Boston played without guard Marcus Smart, who sat out his second straight game with a sprained left ankle.
Victor Oladipo scored 28 points and Cory Joseph added 21 to lead Indiana past Minnesota in Minneapolis. Darren Collison had 15 points and 16 assists, Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points and Domantas Sabonis had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who shot 67 percent from the floor. Karl-Anthony Towns had 28 points and seven rebounds for the Timberwolves.
Utah Jazz swingman Joe Ingles was fined $15,000 for hitting Oklahoma City’s Steven Adams in the groin. Ingles appeared to strike the center from the side with his left hand while Adams was guarding Rudy Gobert in the third quarter. The NBA fined Phoenix Suns rookie Josh Jackson $35,000 for “making a menacing gesture” on the playing court and “directing inappropriate language at a fan.” The incident occurred in the Suns’ 130-88 loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles Saturday night. Video appeared to show Jackson forming his fingers as a pretend gun and pointing it at the fan, but Jackson disputed that characterization.