Beal, Wizards rout Cavs
Bradley Beal scored 20 points, Otto Porter added 15 and the Washington Wizards beat the undermanned Cleveland Cavaliers 119-95 on Wednesday night in Washington for their third straight victory.
Rookie Collin Sexton had a career-high 24 points for Cleveland, and David Nwaba added 11 points. Playing the second of back-to-backs after topping Charlotte on Tuesday night, the Cavaliers are an NBAworst 2-12.
In addition to forward Kevin Love (foot surgery), the Cavaliers were without starting point guard George Hill (hamstring), forward Sam Dekker (ankle) and forward Kyle Korver (sore right foot).
The Wizards got 12 points from Austin Rivers and 11 from Markieff Morris.
Washington pulled away with a 15-0 run early in the second quarter, and Kelly Oubre’s dunk made it 56-32. They led 73-52 at halftime. Cleveland had a 13-2 run to get to 82-69 in the third, but Morris hit a 3-pointer and the Wizards scored seven straight points.
The Wizards made 13 of 40 3-point attempts, while Cleveland was 4 of 21 and missed 10 free throws. Cleveland’s 95 points tied a seasonlow for a Washington opponent.
MAGIC 111, 76ERS 106: Jimmy Butler had 14 points in his Philadelphia debut, but the 76ers collapsed late and lost to Orlando after Jonathon Simmons hit a 3-pointer with 8.7 seconds left that helped the Magic finish off a big comeback. Orlando scored 21 straight points in the fourth quarter, then held the 76ers without a field goal over the final 3 ½ minutes. Nikola Vucevic had 30 points for the Magic, including two free throws with 5.8 seconds remaining. Joel Embiid finished with a tripledouble of 19 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for the 76ers. J.J. Redick led Philadelphia with 22 points but committed two turnovers in the final 31 seconds. Butler played 33 minutes and shot 6 for 12 from the field. CELTICS 111, BULLS 82: Kyrie Irving had 17 points and seven assists as Boston routed Chicago. Jaylen Brown scored 18 points and Jayson Tatum added 14 for the Celtics. Gordon Hayward scored 11 and Al Horford had 10 points and eight rebounds as all five Boston starters reached double figures. The Celtics capitalized on 22 turnovers by the Bulls. Shaquille Harrison led Chicago with 16 points. PISTONS 106, RAPTORS 104: Reggie Bullock made the winning shot as time expired and Detroit rallied from a 19-point deficit to beat Toronto, giving coach Dwane Casey a victory over his former team. Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds. Kawhi Leonard had 26 points WARRIORS CURRY TO MISS 3-GAME STRETCH: Stephen Curry won’t play during Golden State’s three-game Texas road trip as he recovers from a left groin strain, though he is traveling with the Warriors. Curry was injured during a Nov. 8 game against the Milwaukee Bucks and has been sidelined the past three games. He is scheduled to be re-evaluated in 10 days.