James dominates, Cavs beat Celtics in East showdown
BOSTON >> LeBron James had 36 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and the Cleveland Cavaliers ran past the Boston Celtics 11491 on Wednesday night to move back into first place in the Eastern Conference.
The teams had identical records entering their final regular-season matchup, but Cleveland (51-27) now has a one-game lead over Boston (50-28) with only four games to play. Cleveland also holds the tiebreaker with the Celtics for the top seed, if needed.
Kyrie Irving added 19 points and five assists.
The Cavaliers played without starting center Tristan Thompson, who was out with a sprained right thumb. But they made due without him, surging at the start of the second quarter and taking as much as a 29-point lead in the third quarter. They also outrebounded Boston 51-38.
James’ output has increased noticeably over the last week as the regular season winds down. He entered Wednesday coming off back-to-back triple doubles in Sunday’s double-overtime win against Indiana and a blowout win over Orlando Tuesday, while logging 89 minutes over those two games. THUNDER 103, GRIZZLIES 100 >> Russell Westbrook fell a rebound short of an historic triple-double, but he scored 45 points, including a late 3-pointer that helped seal Oklahoma City’s victory over Memphis.
Westbrook’s 3-pointer — his eighth in the game — with 14 seconds left and two free throws in the final second gave the Thunder their second win in a row. Oklahoma City solidified its hold on the Western Conference’s sixth seed, holding a 3½-game lead over the Grizzlies.
Westbrook had 10 assists and nine rebounds, leaving him tied with Oscar Robertson’s 55-yearold record for triple-doubles in a season with 41. HEAT 112, HORNETS 99 >> Goran Dragic scored 33 points, and Miami made 21 3-pointers to beat Charlotte and pull back into a tie for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
James Johnson shot 6 of 7 from 3-point range and had 26 points, while Hassan Whiteside had a strong second half and finished with 13 points and 20 rebounds as the Heat dealt a near-fatal blow to Charlotte’s playoff hopes. The loss drops the 10th place Hornets 2 ½ games behind the Heat and Indiana Pacers with three games remaining.
Miami holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Indiana for the final spot in the East. RAPTORS 105, PISTONS 102 >> Kyle Lowry had 27 points and 10 assists in his return from a wrist injury and Toronto rallied to beat Detroit.
Back in the lineup after missing 18 games, Lowry helped the Raptors overcame a 20-point first-half deficit. Toronto moved a half-game ahead of the Washington Wizards for third place in the East. ROCKETS 110, NUGGETS 104 >> James Harden scored 31 points and Houston squandered a big early lead, but held on to outlast Denver for a win that secured the third seed in the Western Conference.
The Nuggets cut the lead to two points on a layup by Nikola Jokic with 1:20 remaining. A 3-pointer by Harden a few seconds later pushed the lead to 106101 and brought the crowd, which included rapper Travis Scott, to its feet. LAKERS 102, SPURS 95 >> Tyler Ennis had 19 points in place of injured starter D’Angelo Russell and Los Angeles never trailed in a victory over San Antonio.