Cavaliers blow 22-point lead at Indiana
Cleveland loses 8th in last 11 • Warriors beat Bucks • T’Wolves topple slumping Knicks • Rockets roll over Suns
Darren Collison scored 22 points and Victor Oladipo added 19 as the Indiana Pacers held off the Cavaliers 97-95 on Friday in Indianapolis, Cleveland’s third consecutive loss and eighth in its last 11 games.
The Cavaliers, who fell 133-99 at Toronto on Thursday, led by 22 after the first quarter Friday yet still slipped to 0-3 against the Pacers this season.
LeBron James led the Cavaliers with 27 points and 11 assists. He missed a threepoint attempt for the win at the buzzer and stepped out of bounds while driving to the basket with just over five seconds remaining. Kevin Love added 21 points and 10 rebounds for Cleveland.
Warriors 108, Bucks 94
Kevin Durant scored 26 points, and Draymond Green contributed 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to lead visiting Golden State over Milwaukee.
Klay Thompson added 12 points for Golden State, which recorded its 11th consecutive road victory. The Warriors, who played without point guard Stephen Curry (ankle) for the second straight game, have won six of their past seven games overall.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points and Eric Bledsoe added 21 points and four steals for the Bucks. Malcolm Brogdon tallied 17 points for Milwaukee, which scored just 12 points on 5-of-20 shooting in the final quarter and shot 42.9 percent overall.
Timberwolves 118, Knicks 108
Nemanja Bjelica ignited a fourth-quarter burst with a three-pointer as Minnesota broke open a tight game en route to a victory over New York in Minneapolis.
Karl-Anthony Towns recorded game highs with 23 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, helping the Timberwolves win a fourth straight game to begin a five-game home-stand.
The Knicks took their 10th loss in 13 games. Seven New York players scored in double figures, led by Jarrett Jack with 18 points.
Rockets 112, Suns 95
Chris Paul had 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and six Houston players scored in double figures in an easy victory over host Phoenix.
Ryan Anderson and Trevor Ariza scored 18 points apiece for Houston. Clint Capela had 17 points and 16 rebounds for his 21st season double-double for the Rockets, who improved to 5-2 without NBA leading scorer James Harden (hamstring).
Devin Booker had 27 points and nine assists and T.J. Warren added 21 points for the Suns, who had won four of seven since Booker returned from injury.
Pelicans 119, Trail Blazers 113
Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins had monster games in leading New Orleans past visiting Portland.
Davis poured in 36 points to go with nine rebounds, and Cousins collected 24 points, 19 rebounds and eight assists. Jrue Holiday chipped in 25 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals for the Pelicans, who shot 53.4 percent from the field.
Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum each scored 23 points for Portland. Al-Farouq Aminu contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Blazers, who also got 19 points from Jusuf Nurkic and 17 from Shabazz Napier.
Nets 110, Hawks 105
Spencer Dinwiddie hit the go-ahead layup with 11 seconds remaining and scored seven of his 20 points in the final 21/2 minutes of the fourth quarter as Brooklyn beat host Atlanta.
Dinwiddie nearly recorded his first career triple-double, totaling 10 assists and matching a career best with nine rebounds. He posted his first career game with 20 points and 10 assists, helping the Nets break a three-game losing streak.
Atlanta’s Dennis Schroder led all scorers with a career-high 34 points on 14-of26 shooting. He scored 11 of his points in the fourth quarter and added seven assists.
Nuggets 87, Grizzlies 78
Locked in a tight game early in the fourth quarter, Denver used a 12-2 run to break it open and went on to beat visiting Memphis.
Will Barton led the way for the Nuggets with 17 points, while Trey Lyles came off the bench to net 16. Nikola Jokic added 14 points and Jamal Murry was good for 11 as Denver, which lost at home Wednesday night to the lowly Atlanta Hawks, avoided another defeat to one of the NBA’s worst teams.
Marc Gasol scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Memphis, but he didn’t get a lot of help. Only two other teammates managed to join him in double figures, as Tyreke Evans and James Ennis each tallied 12.
Hornets 99, Jazz 88
Marvin Williams scored seven fourth-quarter points, and six Hornets finished in double figures as host Charlotte defeated Utah despite a big outing from Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell.
Kemba Walker posted 15 of his 22 points in the first half, finishing 5-for-14 from the field for the Hornets. Frank Kaminsky scored 16, and Williams had 15 points.
Mitchell finished with 35 points, including 22 points in the first half. He finished 10-for-20 from the field but he missed his final three shots.
Wizards 125, Magic 119
John Wall and Bradley Beal scored 30 points apiece as Washington snapped a two-game skid with a victory over visiting Orlando.
Beal has scored at least 20 points in nine consecutive games. Ian Mahinmi scored 17 points off the bench for the Wizards. Wall also had nine assists and three key blocks. Washington’s Marcin Gortat was dominant inside, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Elfrid Payton finished with 27 points and Jonathon Simmons added 23 for the Magic, who have lost seven games in a row and 27 of 31 since November 10. Bismack Biyombo had a career-high 21 points and added 13 rebounds for Orlando.