Cavaliers defeat the Bucks, 124-119
CLEVELAND—Kevin Love scored a season-high 32 points, LeBron James added 30 and the Cleveland Cavaliers withstood a 40-point performance by Giannis Antetokounmpo to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 124-119 on Tuesday night.
The Cavs have been one of the NBA’s biggest surprises this season—for all the wrong reasons. But after losing five of six, they did enough to hand the Bucks their fourth straight loss and keep Cleveland fans from panicking.
Love, who was briefly hospitalized after scoring just four points in a surprising loss to Atlanta on Sunday, also had 16 rebounds. J.R. Smith found his shooting stroke and added a season-high 20 points for the Cavs.
Still a few weeks shy of his 23rd birthday, the multi-talented Antetokounmpo finished 16 of 21 from the floor. He also had nine rebounds and eight turnovers before fouling out with 18 seconds left. Malcolm Brogdon added 22 points and Khris Middleton finished with 20 for Milwaukee.
Before the game, the Bucks got some scoring help by acquiring guard Eric Bledsoe from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for forward/center Greg Monroe and two draft picks.
Cleveland’s start to the season has been puzzling on so many levels. Loaded with as much talent as any team in the league, the Eastern Conference champions have been beating good teams and losing to squads they should be handling.
And the issues have led to the usual scrutiny of James, who caused a stir on social media Monday night. Moments after former teammate Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics beat the Hawks for their ninth straight win, James posted a meme on his Instagram account of the kids’ cartoon character Arthur clenching fist with the caption “mood.”
Knicks 118, Hornets 113
NEW YORK—Kristaps Porzingis scored 28 points, including a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:48 remaining, and the New York Knicks beat the Charlotte Hornets 118-113 on Tuesday night for their third straight victory.
The Eastern Conference player of the week was held below 30 for only the third time in 10 games this season, but he delivered when it mattered, scoring seven points in the final 2:32.
Doug McDermott added a season20 points off the bench and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 19 for the Knicks, who have won six of seven after an 0-3 start. New York shot 60 percent from the field to catch up and eventually pass Charlotte.
Kemba Walker, Dwight Howard and rookie Malik Monk each had 21 points in the Hornets’ third straight loss.
The Knicks, who erased a 19-point deficit against Indiana in their last game, were down 15 in this one before mounting a charge in the fourth quarter with Porzingis on the bench. They cut it to four with about 7 minutes left, but Howard converted a follow shot and Walker banked in a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 109-100 with 5:34 to play.
New York answered with four 3-pointers in a 14-2 run, with Porzingis’ clutch shot from straightaway making it 114-111. His drive to the basket with 11 seconds remaining made it 116-113, and Monk missed a 3-pointer before Walker lost the ball out of bounds on the sideline.
The Hornets were 7 of 9 from 3-point range in the first quarter and led 41-32. They increased the lead to 69-58 at halftime even with the Knicks hitting 61 percent of their shots in the first 24 minutes.
Raptors 119, Bulls 114
TORONTO—DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors beat Chicago 119-114 on Tuesday night for their first three-game winning streak over the Bulls since 2009.
Kyle Lowry scored 17 points and Serge Ibaka had 16 for the Raptors, who had lost 11 straight meetings with the Bulls before the current streak began with an overtime victory on March 21. Toronto beat Chicago 117-100 on Oct. 19, the opening game of the season for both teams.
Chicago’s Bobby Portis had 21 points and 13 rebounds in his first game of the season, Robin Lopez scored 20 and Justin Holiday had 15 as Chicago lost for the fourth time in five games.
Portis returned to the lineup after being suspended for the first eight games of the season. The Bulls suspended Portis after he punched teammates Nikola Mirotic during a preseason practice. Mirotic, who suffered facial fractures and a concussion, is expected to miss four to six weeks.
Before the game, Portis said Mirotic did not reply to his phone and text messages following the incident, and that the two have not yet spoken.
Toronto led by as many as 23 but Chicago cut the deficit to 115-112 following a hook shot by Portis with 41 seconds left. DeRozan answered with a turnaround jump shot with 20 seconds left, leading to a Bulls timeout.
Ibaka was called for goaltending on Valentine’s driving layup, but DeRozan made a pair of free throws to restore Toronto’s five-point cushion.
Pelicans 117, Pacers 112
INDIANAPOLIS—Anthony Davis had 37 points and 14 rebounds, Demarcus Cousins added 32 points and 13 boards and the New Orleans Pelicans rallied to beat the Indiana Pacers 117-112 on Tuesday night.
Davis was 14 for 18 from the field in New Orleans’ third straight win. Darius Miller scored 12 points, and Jameer Nelson had 10.
Myles Turner had 21 points and 12 rebounds for Indiana, which has dropped three in a row. Victor Oladipo had 15 points.
Indiana led 75-61 at halftime, but the Pelicans outscored the Pacers 35-19 in the third quarter.