Cavaliers’ heartache continues
Lance Stephenson had 16 points and 11 rebounds, Darren Collison scored 22 points and the Indiana Pacers rallied from a 22-point, first-half deficit to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 97-95, last night in Indianapolis.
The Pacers have won three of their last four game and improved to 3-0 against the three-time defending Eastern Conference champs.
LeBron James did everything he could to prevent the Cavs from losing a third straight game. He finished with 27 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, while Kevin Love had 21 points and 10 rebounds.
But James had two chances in the final two seconds to win it and missed both opportunities — after Victor Oladipo gave Indiana the lead for good on a 3-pointer with 2:09 to play.
Cleveland, which lost its previous two games by a com- bined 62 points, was outscored 84-61 over the final three quarters.
Wizards 125, Magic 119 — Bradley Beal and John Wall each scored 30 points and host Washington topped Orlando.
Ian Mahinmi finished with a season-high 17 points in the defense-optional game. Washington shot 56.8 percent from the field and scored a season-high 74 points in the paint.
Orlando has lost seven in a row, 16-of-17 and 27 of its last 31. That stretch included a 130-103 rout by Washington on Dec. 23.
Elfrid Payton scored 27 points and Jonathon Simmons had 23 as all five Orlando starters reached double figures.
Warriors 108, Bucks 94 — Kevin Durant scored 26 points, Draymond Green added 21 and visiting Golden State used a 13-4 run in the fourth quarter to beat Milwaukee.
With sharpshooting star Stephen Curry still sidelined by a right ankle injury, the Warriors clamped down on defense and did most of their damage on the other end in the lane.
Timberwolves 118, Knicks 108 — In Minneapolis, Karl-Anthony Towns fell one assist shy of his second career tripledouble, scoring 23 points and grabbing 15 rebounds in Min- nesota’s victory over New York.
Taj Gibson added 17 points and Andrew Wiggins had 16 for Minnesota.
Hornets 99, Jazz 88 — Kemba Walker scored 22 points and Frank Kaminsky added 16 to lead Charlotte past visiting Utah.
Before the game, Jazz guard Rodney Hood was fined $35,000 by the league for slapping a phone out of a fan’s hand.
Nuggets 87, Grizzlies 78 — Will Barton scored 17 points, Trey Lyles had 16 and host Denver overcame a slow start to beat Memphis to snap a season-long three-game losing streak.
Nikola Jokic added 14 points and nine rebounds for Denver, which played without guard Gary Harris, who was excused for personal reasons. Marc Gasol had 22 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis.
Pelicans 119, Trail Blazers 113 — Anthony Davis scored 36 points in his return from a right ankle sprain, and host New Orleans beat Portland.
Nets 110, Hawks 105 — Spencer Dinwiddie had 20 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, Jahlil Okafor added 17 points in a reserve role and visiting Brooklyn topped Atlanta.
Elsewhere in the NBA — Dion Waiters of the Miami Heat has decided to have surgery to repair his troublesome left ankle that has bothered him for about nine months.