LeBron, Cavs punish Celtics
Newcomers look good for Cleveland
BOSTON — LeBron James led the new-look Cavaliers to a blowout in Boston with an individual performance reminiscent of the rivalry’s heyday.
And this time, Paul Pierce was sitting courtside in street clothes, unable to do anything about it.
With the former Celtics great waiting to see his No. 34 raised to the Boston Garden rafters, James shook off a first-quarter leg injury to score 24 points with 10 assists and eight rebounds to give Cleveland a 121-99 victory on Sunday.
In their first appearances since being acquired at the trade deadline, Jordan Clarkson scored 17 points, Rodney Hood had 15, George Hill had 12 and Larry Nance Jr. scored five. The foursome practiced with the Cavs for the first time on Saturday.
“I know the guys that are here are very excited about this opportunity,” James said. “It’s my job to as the leader of this team to make sure that I accli-
mate the new four guys to be around a culture that’s built around winning.”
James scored 13 in the second quarter — eight of them during a 13-2 run that turned a one-point deficit into a double-digit lead. The Celtics made it 64-55 on the first basket of the third quarter but never got within 10 again.
As the Cavaliers opened a 27-point lead midway through the fourth, the crowd began chanting “We want Paul Pierce!” But he remained in his baseline seat, awaiting the postgame ceremony that would raise his No. 34 to the TD Garden rafters — the 23rd person in the history of the NBA’s most-decorated franchise to be so honored.
“It definitely gave me chills, especially with LeBron out there,” Pierce told reporters afterward. “I wanted to be out there.”
ROCKETS 104, MAVERICKS 97: In Houston, James Harden scored 27 points, Chris Paul added 25 and the Rockets easily handled Dallas for their eighth straight win and 12th in the last 13.
Paul had nine assists and eight rebounds and Harden had five assists and six rebounds.
Yogi Ferrell scored 20 points for the Mavs, who have lost eight of 10. Dwight Powell had 18 points and 12 rebounds.
JAZZ 115, TRAIL BLAZERS 96: In Portland, Ore., Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points and newcomer Jae Crowder had 15 in his Utah debut to help the Jazz win their 10th straight game.
Joe Ingles added 24 points for the Jazz, who were playing without Ricky Rubio because of a sore hip. It is Utah’s longest winning streak since stringing together nine in 2010. RAPTORS 123, HORNETS 103: In Charlotte, N.C., C.J. Miles scored 24 points off the bench and starter DeMar DeRozan had 25 points and eight assists as Toronto routed the Hornets.
Six players scored in double figures for the Raptors, who won their fifth straight game and improved to 39-16. Raptors coach Dwane Casey earned his 300th victory as head coach of the team.
HAWKS 118, PISTONS
115: In Atlanta, Dewayne Dedmon gave the Hawks the lead with a three-point play and then padded the margin with a 3-pointer, lifting Atlanta past Detroit.
Dedmon matched his career high with 20 points and had 13 rebounds in his matchup with Andre Drummond, who had 25 points and 15 rebounds for Detroit.
PACERS 121, KNICKS
113: In Indianapolis, Victor Oladipo had 30 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and Indiana beat New York.
Bojan Bogdanovic made four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points and Thaddeus Young added 18 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for the Pacers, who have won six of eight.
Enes Kanter and Tim Hardaway, Jr. each scored 17 points, and Michael Beasley had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, whose losing streak reached six games.
TIMBERWOLVES 111,
KINGS 106: In Minneapolis, Karl-Anthony Towns scored 29 points, Jeff Teague added 12 points and 10 assists and Minnesota overcame an uncharacteristic sloppy performance at home to beat Sacramento.
Jimmy Butler scored 18 points, 15 in the second half, for the Timberwolves in their 13th straight home win.
THUNDER 110, GRIZZLIES 92: In Oklahoma City, Paul George scored 33 points to help the Thunder beat Memphis without fellow stars Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony.
The All-Star forward carried more of the load than usual with Westbrook and Anthony sidelined. Westbrook missed the game with a sprained left ankle and Carmelo Anthony sat out with a sprained right ankle.