Nuggets stifle James, run past Cavaliers

Wilson Chandler scored 18 points in his return from a four-game absence with a pulled groin and provided stellar defense on LeBron James in host Denver’s 126-113 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

The Nuggets bounced back from consecutive heartbreaking last-second losses to Houston with a signature win that increased their lead to 1½ games over idle Portland in the race for the final playoff spot in the West.

Will Barton scored 20 points, Kenneth Faried added 17 and Jamal Murray had 15 off the bench for Denver, which also got 21 points from Gary Harris and 16 from Nikola Jokic.

Kyrie Irving led the Cavaliers with 33 points but James had just 18 and the two stars sat out much of the fourth quarter with Cleveland trailing by double digits.

Other games

Thunder 122, 76ers 97: Russell Westbrook recorded his 35th triple-double of the season with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists and host Oklahoma City cruised over Philadelphia. The Thunder have won 16 in a row against Philadelphia, a run that stretches to the 2008-09 season, the franchise’s first in Oklahoma City. Nik Stauskas led the 76ers with 20 points, reaching the 20-point mark in consecutive games.

Celtics 109, Pacers 100: Isaiah Thomas scored 25 points, Avery Bradley had 18 with eight rebounds and host Boston beat Indiana for its fifth win in six games. Boston won for the 12th time in 13 home games.

Hornets 109, Magic 102: Kemba Walker scored 22 points and Marco Belinelli came off the bench to add 20 as visiting Charlotte pulled off a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat Orlando. Charlotte won its third consecutive game and kept its Eastern Conference playoff hopes alive.

Bulls 117, Pistons 95: Nikola Mirotic scored a season-high 28 points, and host Chicago beat Detroit in a matchup between struggling teams fighting for a playoff spot.

Wizards 104, Hawks 100: Bradley Beal scored 28 points and John Wall added 22 to help host Washington to a victory over Atlanta.