James helps Cavs stop Raptors’ winning streak
CLEVELAND — LeBron James scored 35 points and added 17 assists, his last setting up a late a 3-pointer by Kevin Love, and the undermanned Cleveland Cavaliers ended Toronto’s nine-game road winning streak with a 132-129 victory over the Eastern Conference-leading Raptors on Wednesday night.
The Cavs were missing five rotational players and coach Tyronn Lue, who missed his second straight game because of health reasons.
But they had James, who earlier in the day said, “I’ll be available, so we got a chance.”
James didn’t have a turnover in 40 minutes and he made three free throws in the final 7.8 seconds. He missed one with 3.9 seconds left, giving Toronto a final shot, but DeMar DeRozan’s 3-pointer — contested by James — was wide left. DeRozan and Toronto coaches complained the All-Star was fouled to no avail.
Love, playing his second game after missing 21 games with a broken left hand, finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds and George Hill had 22 on 10-of-11 shooting for the Cavs, who were blown out by 34 points against Toronto in January. But that was before Cleveland shook up its roster with four trades designed to get back to the NBA Finals. The Cavs are third in the East and would need a collapse by secondplace Boston to improve on that position with 11 games remaining.
CLIPPERS 127, BUCKS 120: DeAndre Jordan had 25 points and 22 rebounds to lead the Lost Angeles Clippers past the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks lost All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo to a right ankle sprain late in the first half. Antetokounmpo appeared to get hurt when he tripped over teammate Shabazz Muhammad under Milwaukee’s basket. He LeBron James drives past Toronto’s Pascal Siakam during the second half of Wednesday’s game in Cleveland.
stayed in the game for a brief period, but hobbled around the court while grimacing. He went to the locker room with about four minutes remaining in the second quarter and did not return. HORNETS 111, NETS 105: Dwight Howard had 32 points and 30 rebounds, becoming the first player with a 30-30 game against the Nets since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1978, and the Charlotte Hornets stormed back to beat
Brooklyn. Kemba Walker scored 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter for the Hornets, who trailed by as many 23 points in the second half to win in front of an announced crowd of 10,231 at Barclays Center while a heavy snowfall outside blanketed the New York City area. Trailing 105-102 with 2:14 left in regulation, the Hornets went on a 9-0 run to pull off the impressive comeback.