Irving (57) steals one from Spurs
CLEVELAND 128 SAN ANTONIO 125 (OT)
Kyrie Irving had a career-high 57 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied for a 128-125 overtime victory over the San Antonio Spurs in a physical and emotional game Thursday night at San Antonio.
Irving had the most points in the NBA this season, topping his 55-point game against Cleveland on Jan. 28. He scored nine points in the final minute of regulation to force overtime.
Irving made a three-pointer in the face of heavy defense from Danny Green to pull Cleveland to 110-107 with 31 seconds remaining in regulation. After the Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard missed two free throws with 4.3 seconds left, Irving made another three-pointer — this time over Leonard — to tie it at 110.
Irving made all seven of his three-point attempts, was 20 for 32 from the field overall, and made 10 free throws without a miss.
LeBron James added 31 points in his first game at AT&T Center since being blown out in five games by San Antonio in the NBA Finals in his last games with the Miami Heat. Tony Parker had 31 points for the Spurs.
at Indiana 109, Milwaukee 103
(OT): Rodney Stuckey scored 25 points and Luis Scola had 17 points and 15 rebounds to help the Pacers stay hot. Since the All-Star break, they are an NBA-best 9-1 and have pulled within 3 1 ⁄ games of Milwaukee
2 for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. Down by two points in overtime, the Pacers used a 9-0 run to take a 105-98 lead. George Hill sealed the victory with two free throws with 16 seconds left, stretching the lead to six. Hill and C.J. Miles each finished with 17 points. Michael Carter-Williams led the Bucks with 28 points.
at Washington 107, Memphis 87: Facing a watered-down version of the second-best team in the Western Conference, John Wall finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Memphis sat three starters: Mike Conley, because of an injured right ankle; Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, resting on the second night of a back-to-back. Memphis also held out key reserve Tony Allen. The Wizards were without one starter, Nene, for personal reasons.
at Utah 109, Houston 91: Rudy Gobert had 19 points, 22 rebounds and four blocks and the Jazz won for the ninth time in 11 games. The Rockets didn’t have an answer for the 7-foot-1 Frenchman on either end of the floor. Utah’s Gordon Hayward finished with 29 points, seven assists and four rebounds.
New York 101, at Lakers 94