James goes off, Lakers stay perfect on road
All-Star Game could be moving to Atlanta; no announcement yet
CLEVELAND — On his old home court, LeBron James kept the Lakers perfect on the road.
James went on a scoring tear in the fourth quarter, getting 21 of his 46 points with a variety of dazzling shots and plays only he seems to make, leading Los Angeles to a 115-108 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night.
The defending NBA champions improved to 10-0 away from home.
James made 9 of 10 shots in the fourth, posing to hold his form after draining a 34-foot 3-pointer just before the 24-second clock expired to put the Lakers ahead 103-98.
WARRIORS 130, TIMBERWOLVES 108: In San Francisco, Stephen Curry scored 36 points with seven 3-pointers, Andrew Wiggins took it to his old Timberwolves team for 23 points, and Golden State beat Minnesota.
Curry shot 11 for 21 overall and 7 of 12 from deep as the Warriors avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season.
NUGGETS 117, MAVERICKS 113: In Dallas, Michael Porter Jr. tied his season high with 30 points and Denver overcame Jamal Murray’s ejection for a shot to the groin of Dallas guard Tim Hardaway Jr. to beat the Mavs.
Porter was 6 of 10 from 3-point range, including a go-ahead shot to start a decisive 7-0 run late in the fourth quarter.
For Dallas, Luka Doncic had 35 points, 11 rebounds and a season-high 16 assists for his league-leading sixth triple-double.
PISTONS 119, 76ERS 104: In Detroit, Delon Wright scored a career-high 28 points and Wayne Ellington had another impressive shooting night for Detroit, which never trailed as it beat Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia.
Jerami Grant scored 25 points for the Pistons (4-13), who still have the NBA’s worst record but took advantage of Joel Embiid’s absence. The Philadelphia star was out with back tightness.
THUNDER 125, TRAIL BLAZERS 122: In Portland, Ore., Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points, Mike Muscala added 23, and Oklahoma City snapped a threegame losing streak.
Damian Lillard had 26 points and 10 assists for the Blazers. Anfernee Simons had 26 points off the bench and Enes Kanter added 13 points and 22 rebounds.
NETS 98, HEAT 85: In New York, James Harden and Kevin Durant each scored 20 points despite three relatively quiet quarters, and Brooklyn broke away with a big run in the fourth quarter.
Kyrie Irving added 16 points for the Nets, who pulled away with an 18-2 spurt that turned a tie game into a 96-80 lead.
CELTICS 119, BULLS 103: In Chicago, Jaylen Brown scored 26 points, Jayson Tatum added 24 after missing five games because of COVID-19 protocols and Boston beat Chicago.
Tatum made three 3-pointers and had five assists over 31 minutes in his first appearance since Jan. 8.
Marcus Smart added 13 while tying a career high with 11 assists for Boston.
MAGIC 117, HORNETS 108: In Orlando, Fla., Nikola Vucevic scored 28 points and rookie point guard Cole Anthony added a career-high 21 points as Orlando defeated Charlotte.
Orlando made a seasonbest 19 3-pointers, including seven in the third quarter. Evan Fournier hit 5 3s.
PACERS 129, RAPTORS 114: In Indianapolis, Malcolm Brogdon scored a career-high 36 points and Myles Turner scored 11 of his 21 in the final 8½ minutes to help Indiana pull away.
Brogdon also had nine assists and seven rebounds, a day after his poorest game of the season. Toronto was led by Fred VanVleet’s 25 points and six rebounds.
ALL-STAR GAME TO ATLANTA?: There are multiple cities being discussed as potential hosts, Atlanta among them, but no details have been publicly announced. The current focus of the conversation is for an All-Star Game only, not the Rising Stars game or the typical All-Star Saturday events such as the skills competition, 3-point contest and dunk contest, the person said.
This year’s All-Star weekend was scheduled to be held in Indianapolis before the pandemic forced changes.
SPURS-PELICANS POSTPONED: San Antonio’s game in New Orleans was called off Monday night in the latest virus-related postponement for the NBA, one that came when the league determined that neither team would have enough players available.
San Antonio became the 24th team to have at least one game postponed so far this season because of the virus. Of the 22 postponements this season, 21 have been made since Jan. 10.