James’ 60th triple-double leads Cavs to win over Jazz
CLEVELAND — LeBron James had 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his 60th career triple-double and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the short-handed Utah Jazz 109-100 on Saturday night
James had his fifth triple-double of the season and third in his last four games. He had 10 points in the fourth quarter, was
9 of 15 from the field and 10 of 10 at the foul line.
Cleveland has won 17 of 18 overall and 11 straight at Quicken Loans Arena.
Center Rudy Gobert (sprained ligament and bone bruise in left knee) and forward Derrick Favors (left eye laceration) were out for Utah. Both were injured during Friday night in a win in Boston.
Rookie Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz with 26 points, making 10 of 15 from the field. Utah made 17 of 34 3-point attempts.
Kevin Love added 15 points for the Cavaliers.
James scored six straight points after Utah cut the lead to 102-97 with four minutes left.
James scored or assisted on each of Cleveland’s first 13 points. A left-handed dunk off a lob pass from Jeff Green on a fast break late in the first quarter brought the crowd to its feet.
TRAIL BLAZERS 93, HORNETS 91: CJ McCollum had 25 points, Damian Lillard flirted with a triple-double and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Charlotte Hornets for their third straight road victory. Lillard had 18 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.
Nic Batum had a seasonhigh 23 points for the Hornets, They have dropped 10 of their last 12 games, including five straight at home. KNICKS 111, THUNDER 96: Carmelo Anthony got the cheers but New York got the win, shutting out its former All-Star in the second half and beating Oklahoma City for its fourth straight victory. Michael Beasley tied his season high with 30 points in place of injured Kristaps Porzingis, and Doug McDermott, one of the players acquired for Anthony, added 11 of his 13 after halftime to help the Knicks break open the game. Anthony scored all 12 of his points in the first half. Russell Westbrook had 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Thunder. They were trying to sweep a three-game trip that began with Paul George’s winning return to Indiana on Wednesday.
ROCKETS 115, BUCKS 111: James Harden scored 31 points and Chris Paul had 25 in the Houston Rockets’ victory over the Milwaukee Bucks for their 13th straight victory.
The winning streak is the Rockets’ longest streak since a franchise-best 22 straight in 2007-08. Harden hit a step-back 3-pointer over Malcolm Brogdon and was fouled, giving Houston an 11-point lead with less than six minutes remaining. In the last two minutes, Paul hit back-to-back mid-range jumpers on consecutive possessions to put the game out of reach. CALDWELL-POPE MISSED GAME BECAUSE OF TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS: Los Angeles Lakers guard Kentavious CaldwellPope missed the team’s loss Thursday night in Cleveland because of travel restrictions from his drunken driving arrest last season while with the Detroit Pistons. The Los Angeles Times, citing people familiar with the situation who weren’t authorized to speak publicly, reported that Caldwell-Pope missed the game in Cleveland because he had to return to California to begin an intensive 25-day probation program that includes travel restrictions.