Irving makes his comeback
Kyrie Irving scores 12 in first game since breaking knee in NBA finals
CLEVELAND— Kyrie Irving scored 12 points and played 17 minutes in his season debut and LeBron James had 23, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 108-86 victory Sunday over the Philadelphia 76ers, who lost their 10th straight and fell to 1-28.
Irving was on the floor for the first time since breaking his left kneecap in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against Golden State. The Cavs managed without him, going 17-7 to start the season. But Cleveland is more complete with the AllStar point guard healthy and back.
Matthew Dellavedova made four 3-pointers and added 20 points for the Cavs, who improved to 12-1 at home and are eyeing a Christmas Day game against the Warriors. James didn’t play in the fourth quarter, logging a season-low 26 minutes.
Nerlens Noel had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the brutal Sixers, now 0-17 on the road and on their second double-digit losing streak.
Heat 116, Trail Blazers 109
In Miami, Chris Bosh scored 29 points, Hassan Whiteside shook off a slow first half to finish with 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Miami beat Portland.
Dwyane Wade had 18 points and added seven assists for the Heat. They trailed by 12 at one point and were down 10 at the half.
The Heat shot 57 percent and played the final 13:37 without Goran Dragic. He was ejected for the first time in his career after arguing two foul calls.
Damian Lillard had 32 points and nine assists for Portland.
Timberwolves 100, Nets 85
In New York, KarlAnthony Towns had 24 points and 10 rebounds in the building where he was taken with the No. 1 pick in the June draft, and Minnesota beat Brooklyn.
Gorgui Dieng added 20 points and 10 boards to lead a strong bench unit that blew the game open in the fourth quarter. Andrew Wiggins scored 16 points, and Ricky Rubio had 15 assists.
Brook Lopez had 20 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for the Nets.
Hawks 103, Magic 100
In Orlando, Kyle Korver scored 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and Atlanta rallied to beat Orlando.
Korver had four 3-pointers in the final period and six overall. Mike Scott added 15 points, and Al Horford and Jeff Teague scored 14 apiece in Atlanta’s third straight victory.
The Magic had the ball and a chance to tie with 7.3 seconds remaining, but the Hawks smothered an inbounds pass to Evan Fournier. The ball eventually found its way to Nik Vucevic, but he failed to get off a shot. Vucevic led Orlando with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Kings 104, Raptors 94
In Toronto, Rajon Rondo had 19 points and 13 assists, Rudy Gay scored 19 points against his for- mer team and Sacramento beat Toronto to end a fourgame road losing streak.
Omri Casspi added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings.
DeMar DeRozan had 28 points for the Raptors. Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry was ejected for consecutive technical fouls after arguing with referee Scott Wall with 7:22 left in the third quarter. (AP)