Lakers at 8th place in west after beating Cavaliers 116-97
LOS ANGELES — D’Angelo Russell scored 28 points, LeBron James added 24 and the Los Angeles Lakers extended their winning streak to four with a 116-97 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, moving into eighth place in the Western Conference.
Anthony Davis added 22 points and 13 rebounds in the Lakers’ (45-33) ninth win in 10 games.
Darius Garland scored 26 points for Cleveland and Caris LeVert had 21 off the bench. The Cavaliers (46-32) remained in third place in the East but have dropped two straight and three of their last four.
Russell had six 3-pointers, including five in the first half, when his 23 points helped the Lakers take a nine-point lead.
James improved to 18-4 against his former team, where he played for 11 seasons in two different stints. He had a pair of alley-oop dunks against the team he led to its lone NBA title in 2016.
NETS 113, PISTON 103
NEW YORK — Cam Thomas scored 32 points and Brooklyn rallied with a big fourth quarter for a victory over Detroit.
Dennis Schroder added 24 points and Noah Clowney had 17 off the bench for the Nets, who their second straight game. Mikal Bridges chipped in with 13 and Jalen Wilson finished with 10.
Detroit dropped to 13-65 with its fourth straight loss. Chimezie Metu led the Pistons with 20 points. Marcus Sasser finished with 18 and Jaden Ivey added 16.
Troy Brown Jr. had 15 and Jaylen Nowell contributed 12 off the bench for the Pistons, who led by 19 and were still ahead 83-75 after three before the Nets outscored them 38-20 over the final 12 minutes.
Trailing 99-91 after Schroder knocked down a jumper with 6:28 remaining, the Nets used a 22-4 run to clinch the win.
76ERS 116, GRIZZLIES 96
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Joel Embiid had 30 points and 12 rebounds in just 23 minutes, Kelly Oubre Jr. added 17 points and Philadelphia pulled within a half-game of seventh place in the Eastern Conference by beating short-handed Memphis.
Embiid was 9 of 13 from the floor, making both of his 3-point attempts. He checked out with seven minutes left in the third quarter and coach Nick Nurse saw no reason for him to return as Philadelphia maintained a comfortable lead in the second half en route to its fourth consecutive win.
Scotty Pippen Jr. led the Grizzlies with 24 points, while GG Jackson finished with 17. Jordan Goodwin added 15 for Memphis, which had its three-game winning streak snapped. Maozinha Pereira had 13 points and 11 rebounds.