Cavs snap Bulls’ win streak
LeBron James scored 34 points and Kevin Love 27 for the host Cleveland Cavaliers, who won their 12th straight home game, 115-112 over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.
James had 11 points in the fourth quarter and dropped a pair of free throws with 11.1 seconds left as the Cavs won for the 19th time in 21 games and ended Chicago’s seven-game winning streak.
With Cleveland’s Jae Crowder guarding him closely, Chicago’s Denzel Valentine was short with a tying three-pointer in the final second.
Rookie Lauri Markkanen scored 25 points, Valentine had 18 and Nikola Mirotic 15 for the Bulls, who lost for the first time since Dec. 6. Chicago’s win streak followed a 10-game losing skid.
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue missed the game because of an undisclosed illness. Assistant Larry Drew filled in for Lue, who conducted his usual media session about 90 minutes before tip-off and was in the locker room before the team announced he was sick.
That wasn’t the only news during a hectic pregame for the Cavs as starting guard J.R. Smith was a late scratch because of a sore left knee and Isaiah Thomas took the floor dressed in his uniform and participated in pregame warmups for the first time since arriving in Cleveland.
“It just felt like I was a rookie again, like my first game,” Thomas said. “I haven’t been in an arena like that where you’re warming up, you’re with teammates, that’s so new right now. I’ve been down since May so just being out there put a smile on my face.”
Lue did rule Thomas out of Monday’s Christmas Day marquee matchup with Golden State. Michael Beasley scored 28 of his season-high 32 points in the second half to help host New York shake off a dismal return by Kristaps Porzingis, who was 0 for 11 from the field and finished with one point after missing two games because of a sore left knee. Kyrie Irving had 32 points for the Celtics, who lost for the second night. DeMar DeRozan set two career highs by making six three-pointers and scoring 45 points for visiting Toronto, which overcame a 22-point deficit to win for the 11th time in 12 games. The 76ers were without Joel Embiid, who took part in pregame drills but sat out his third straight game because of back troubles.