New-look Cavs take down Thunder
Cleveland reverses bad January result
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OKLAHOMA CITY — Lebron James scored 37 points, and the new-look Cleveland Cavaliers got a much different result this time against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 120-112 victory on Tuesday.
It was Cleveland’s second straight win since adding George Hill, Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. in trades, and their fourth straight victory overall.
J.R. Smith added 18 points for the Cavaliers, who lost to the Thunder 148-124 on Jan. 20 with a very different roster.
Paul George scored 25 points and Carmelo Anthony 24 for the Thunder. Steven Adams added 22 points and 17 rebounds, and Russell Westbrook scored 21 points. Westbrook and Anthony had missed the past two games with sprained ankles.
James scored 14 points in the first five minutes of the third quarter, including two 3-pointers, to give Cleveland a 78-68 lead. He was 6 for 6 from the field during that stretch. The Thunder responded with an 8-0 run to get back into the game. Cleveland took a 91-87 edge into the fourth quarter.
The Cavaliers took control in the fourth, and a layup by James after driving on George pushed the Cavaliers ahead 115-106 with 49 seconds to play.
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The Thunder trimmed their deficit to five in the final minute and could have come closer, but Alex Abrines missed a 3-pointer, and Nance got free for a dunk to seal the win for Cleveland.
The Cavaliers led 62-57 at halftime. James had 16 points, four rebounds and five assists, and Smith had 15 points on five 3-pointers. Adams scored 15 points before the break for Oklahoma City.
At Minneapolis, James Harden had 34 points, 12 assists and six rebounds, and Houston won its ninth straight. Minnesota lost its 13-game home winning streak.
At Milwaukee, Khris Middleton had 21 points to lead a balanced attack for Milwaukee, and All-
Rockets 126, Timberwolves 108 — Bucks 97, Hawks 92 —
Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo hit two key buckets in the final three-plus minutes to spark a win over Atlanta. At Toronto, Demar Derozan scored 27 points, Kyle Lowry had 22 and Toronto earned its sixth straight win. The Raptors improved their Nba-best home record to 24-4.
At Dallas, Zach Randolph scored 22 points, and Sacramento won four of five in Dallas after losing 22 in a row here from 2003 to 2016. Seven Kings scored in double figures. At Denver, Nikola Jokic had 23 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists and Denver won for the fifth time in six games. Will Barton added 20 points for the Nuggets.
Raptors 115, Heat 112 — Kings 114, Mavericks 109 — Nuggets 117, Spurs 109 —