Cavs lose to Pacers, drop fourth straight
Sixers at .500 for first time in four years; Okafor wants out
Thaddeus Young scored 26 points, Darren Collison had 25, and the Indiana Pacers sent the Cleveland Cavaliers to their fourth straight loss, 124-107 on Wednesday night.
LeBron James had 33 points and 11 assists, but it wasn’t enough to keep host Cleveland from losing for the fifth time in six games and falling to 3-5.
The Cavaliers held a lengthy meeting before Tuesday’s practice to discuss their struggles, but the defending Eastern Conference champions have lost by a combined margin of 58 points in their losing streak.
James was upbeat about the meeting, but the Cavaliers still have issues to work out, especially on the defensive end. Cleveland led 69-68 in the third quarter, but Indiana hit four straight 3-pointers and built an eight-point lead. Indiana was 16 of 26 from 3-point range.
Victor Oladipo scored 23 points for the Pacers. 76ERS 119, HAWKS 109 >> Ben Simmons had 19 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, and Joel Embiid had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead host Philadelphia past Atlanta for its third straight victory. Robert Covington scored 22 points to help the Sixers (4-4) reach .500 for the first time in four years. Dennis Schroder had 25 points for Atlanta. OKAFOR WANTS NEW START >> Jahlil Okafor, the No. 3 pick of the 2015 draft, wants out after the Sixers declined to pick up his fourth-year contract option for next season. Buried on the bench, Okafor said he didn’t want the Sixers to pick up his option and is ready for a fresh start. MAGIC 101, GRIZZLIES 99 >> Evan Fournier scored 22 points, Aaron Gordon finished with 19, and Orlando held on to beat Memphis on the road. TIMBERWOLVES 104, PELICANS 98 >> Jimmy Butler hit a go-ahead 20-foot jumper as he was fouled with 34 seconds left to cap off a 23-point performance, and Minnesota beat host New Orleans. Andrew Wiggins scored 18 points for Minnesota, which has won three straight.
JAZZ 112, TRAIL BLAZERS 103 >> Rookie Donovan Mitchell scored a career-high 28 points to lead Utah. Damian Lillard finished with 33 points for the Trail Blazers.
CELTICS 113, KINGS 86 >> Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown each scored 22 points in three quarters, and Boston coasted past skidding Sacramento for its sixth straight victory. It was the Celtics’ 11th consecutive win over the Kings in Boston, dating to their last loss on Jan. 19, 2007. Terry Rozier added 12 points, and Daniel Theis had 10 points with 10 rebounds. Buddy Hield scored 17 points for the Kings, who lost their sixth in a row, the last three by an average of 24 points. SUNS 122, WIZARDS 116 >> T.J. Warren scored 28 of his career-high 40 points in the second half, and visiting Phoenix overcame a 22-point deficit to beat Washington. Warren also had 10 rebounds, and Devin Booker added 22 points to help the Suns improve to 4-1 under interim coach Jay Triano following an 0-3 start that led to Earl Watson’s firing. Bradley Beal scored 40 points for Washington.
ROCKETS 119, KNICKS 97 >> James Harden had 31 points and nine assists, and Houston had its 3-pointers falling at Madison Square Garden. Harden made six 3-pointers, and the Rockets hit 19 to bounce back after two losses.
HORNETS 126, BUCKS 121 >> Kemba Walker had 26 points, rookie Malik Monk had a huge fourth quarter, and Charlotte put the clamps on the NBA scoring leader Giannis Antetokounmpo to beat Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo came in averaging 33.7 points but struggled with foul trouble and finished with a seasonlow 14 points along with 13 rebounds.
PARKER BACK WITH SPURS >> The San Antonio Spurs have recalled Tony Parker from their G-League affiliate. Parker is working his way back from a ruptured left quadriceps tendon that he suffered during last spring’s Western Conference semifinals. It’s unclear if Parker will play Thursday night when defending champion Golden State visits San Antonio. Coach Gregg Popovich said last weekend Parker would not rejoin the team until he was 100 percent.