NBA: James wills his Cavs to win with 57-point outburst in Washington.
WASHINGTON — LeBron James scored 57 points — the secondhighest total of his career and an NBA-best this season — and the Cleveland Cavaliers stopped a fourgame slide with a 130-122 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.
James hadn’t scored this much since getting a career-high 61 for the Miami Heat on March 3, 2014, against the Charlotte Hornets.
And the four-time league MVP did it efficiently Friday, making 23 of 34 field-goal tries and all nine free throws, while adding 11 rebounds and seven assists. James did it with style, too. He hurdled over a seated Bradley Beal while dribbling, swatted a shot by John Wall off the backboard, and looked for a camera to wag both index fingers in the midst of a threepoint play.
Beal had 36 points for Washington, and Wall finished with 13 points and 15 assists. But Wall was 4 for 13 from the field and 5 for 12 at the line.
76ERS 121, PACERS 110
In Philadelphia, J.J. Redick scored 31 points, Ben Simmons had a tripledouble and Philadelphia moved above .500 for the first time in nearly four years.
Redick was 8 of 12 from 3-point range, including the go-ahead shot with 2:06 left, another 3 to barely beat the shot clock with 1:08 remaining and a third from the left corner to make it 119-110 with 46 seconds left.
Simmons had 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his second tripledouble in a rookie season delayed a year because of injury. The Sixers (5-4) hadn’t had a winning record since they were also 5-4 on Nov. 13, 2013, but their painful rebuild appears near an end as they won their fourth straight game.
Victor Oladipo had 31 points for Indiana, which had won three in a row.
KNICKS 120, SUNS 107
In New York, Kristaps Porzingis scored 37 points, and Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek got his first victory over his former team.
Devin Booker scored 34 points for the Suns, who had won four of five. Phoenix lost forward T.J. Warren to a head injury in the first half, a game after he scored a career-best 40 points.
ROCKETS 119, HAWKS 104
In Atlanta, James Harden scored 21 of his 29 points in Houston’s high-scoring first half, and the Rockets handed the Hawks their eighth straight loss.
PISTONS 105, BUCKS 96
In Detroit, Andre Drummond scored 14 of his 24 points in the third quarter, powering the Pistons to the win.
BULLS 105, MAGIC 83
In Orlando, Fla., Justin Holiday scored 19 points, Robin Lopez had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and the Bulls earned their first road win of the season.
Chicago had seven players score in double figures. Rookie Lauri Markkanen made three 3-pointers on his way to 13 points.
CELTICS 101, THUNDER 94
In Oklahoma City, Kyrie Irving scored 22 of his 25 points in the second half, and the Celtics rallied from 18 down for their seventh straight victory.
Paul George had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Russell Westbrook added 19 points and 11 assists for the Thunder. Carmelo Anthony had 10 points and 14 rebounds but shot just 3 of 17.