Wizards tame depleted Cavs
WASHINGTON—Taking advantage of a rare day off for LeBron James, the Washington Wizards got a much-needed victory in their bid to move into playoff position, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers, 113-99, on Sunday behind John Wall’s 21 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds.
Attacking from the start, Wall made 8 of 11 shots and came out on top in his matchup against opposing point guard Kyrie Irving, who wound up with 28 points and six assists on 9of-20 shooting.
Late in the third quarter, Wall had the same number of assists as the entire Cavs team, 12, and he sat out the fourth quarter.
It was the second straight loss for Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland, which is playing three games in four days.
In New York, Dwyane Wade scored 26 points, Joe Johnson made a triple on his first shot in a Heat uniform during a big opening run, and Miami beat New York, 98-81.
Johnson, a seven-time All-Star who had been waived by Brooklyn, was in the starting lineup a day after signing with the Heat and contributed to their 13-2 burst to start the game, a lead they never relinquished.
In Atlanta, Kent Bazemore scored 14 points and Al Horford had 13 points and tied a season high with 16 rebounds to help Atlanta beat Charlotte, 87-76.
In Dallas, Chandler Parsons scored 29 points and Dallas started fast in its first game since getting booed by the home crowd during a bad opening half, beating Minnesota, 128-101.
In Indianapolis, Damian Lillard had 33 points and five rebounds to lead Portland to a 111-102 victory over Indiana.
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Andre Drummond had 15 points and 18 rebounds, and Detroit Pistons took advantage of Kyle Lowry’s absence to beat Toronto, 114-101.
In Orlando, rookie Mario Hezonja dunked four seconds into his first NBA start, finishing with 13 points, and Orlando led all the way in a 130-116 win over Philadelphia.