NBA BOX SCORES
CLEVELAND — For the first time since LeBron James left them a second time, the Cavaliers are a playoff team again.
Jarrett Allen scored 24 points and had 14 rebounds, Donovan Mitchell added 22 points and the Cavs clinched a postseason spot for the first time since 2018, beating the Houston Rockets 108-91 on Sunday night.
After James left five years ago, the Cavs went through a massive rebuild while enduring coaching changes, a pair of 19-win seasons and just missing the postseason last year before finally getting back.
“It was a winding road to get here,” said Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
Along with ending the fiveyear drought, Cleveland has also returned to the playoffs without James on its roster for the first time since 1998.
“That’s crazy that that’s the stat or whatever,” said center Evan Mobley, who was born in 2001. “I’m just here trying to win the most I can, and I guess that’s a big deal for a lot of people.”
The Cavs, who made it to four straight Finals with James from 2015-18, are closing in on locking up the No. 4 spot — and home-court advantage in the first round — in the Eastern Conference. They’ve won 9 of 11.
Mobley added 19 points and Darius Garland 17 for Cleveland, which after making the play-in tournament last season, signaled it was ready to compete for a championship when it traded for Mitchell in September.
Following the game, the All-Star guard Mitchell told his teammates to celebrate but not to be satisfied.
“I told the guys in there, this is what you should just come to expect,” said Mitchell, who has qualified for the playoffs in each of his six NBA seasons. “You made your first one. Appreciate and enjoy it. Celebrate it for the city, for the organization, for you individual guys who have made it.
“We should come to a point now where that’s expected of us making the playoffs and continuously being here and continuously pushing forward. “
Jalen Green scored 30 to pace the Rockets, who have lost five straight.
Houston trailed by 20 in the third quarter but rallied and closed within five early in the fourth when Allen single-handedly put the Cavs back in control.
First, Cleveland’s center hustled back on defense and blocked an attempted dunk by Tari Eason. Allen then made four free throws before his dunk pushed the Cavs’ lead to 11. Caris LeVert knocked down a 3-pointer and made a steal and dunk to give Cleveland a 102-86 lead.
LOS ANGELES — LeBron James scored 19 points off the bench in his return from a monthlong injury absence, but Zach LaVine scored 32 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 118-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
DeMar DeRozan added 17 points for the Bulls, who easily overcame James’ return for their seventh win in nine games. LaVine hit 11 of his first 14 shots to lead an offensive effort that snapped the Lakers’ threegame winning streak despite the return of the NBA’s career scoring leader.
James sat out 13 games with right foot soreness, missing four weeks during the Lakers’ run at a playoff berth. The team provided few updates on his recovery, and his return came with little advance warning.
“I felt confident in the workouts that I had this week,” James said. “And
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic picked up his 16th technical foul of the season on Sunday and now faces a one-game suspension.
Unless the NBA office rescinds the technical, Doncic will be forced to sit out the team’s game tonight against
SATURDAY’S RESULTS HAWKS 143, PACERS 130
INDIANA (130)
Mathurin 2-4 0-0 4, Nesmith 5-10 0-0 11, Jackson 7-10 0-0 14, Haliburton 7-13 3-3 19, Nembhard 5-8 0-0 12, Nwora 12-17 5-5 33, Smith 4-9 2-2 11, Duarte 0-2 0-0 0, Hield 5-16 2-2 16, McConnell 5-7 0-0 10. Totals 52-96 12-12 130.
ATLANTA (143)
Bogdanovic 4-8 0-0 9, Collins 9-12 1-2 21, Capela 5-5 7-8 17, Murray 8-20 4-4 20, Young 6-11 2-2 14, Bey 7-16 1-1 18, Griffin 4-9 0-0 11, Hunter 0-0 0-0 0, Okongwu 3-5 6-6 12, Holiday 2-4 1-2 7, Mathews 5-6 0-0 14. Totals 53-96 22-25 143.
Indiana 35 39
Atlanta 39 33 24 32—130 33 38—143
NETS 129, HEAT 100
BROOKLYN (129)
Finney-Smith 5-12 0-0 12, Johnson 9-13 0-0 23, Claxton 6-7 2-2 14, Bridges 7-19 1011 27, Dinwiddie 4-11 5-6 15, O’Neale 3-8 0-0 8, Harris 2-5 0-0 6, Watanabe 1-3 0-0 3, Sharpe 3-4 3-3 9, Duke Jr. 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Sumner 4-7 3-3 12. Totals 44-89 23-25 129.
MIAMI (100)
Butler 6-13 5-7 18, Love 2-4 0-0 5, Adebayo 8-14 0-0 16, Herro 9-16 2-2 23, Vincent 1-6 2-2 5, D.Robinson 0-1 0-0 0, Highsmith 0-1 0-0 0, Martin 1-7 2-2 4, Strus 9-14 0-0 23, Yurtseven 1-1 1-1 3, Lowry 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 38-80 12-14 100.
Brooklyn 28
Miami 36 37 33 39 25—129 18 13—100
NUGGETS 129, BUCKS 106
MILWAUKEE (106)
G.Antetokounmpo 13-22 5-7 31, Middleton 6-14 0-0 13, Lopez 5-9 2-2 13, Allen 3-7 4-4 13, Holiday 3-11 2-2 9, Beauchamp 2-2 0-0 5, Portis 4-11 2-2 11, T.Antetokounmpo 1-1 0-0 2, Ingles 0-1 2-2 2, Carter 0-4 0-0 0, Connaughton 2-5 0-0 5, Matthews 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 39-88 19-21 106.
DENVER (129)
Gordon 4-9 0-0 9, Porter Jr. 7-12 2-3 19, Jokic 10-20 10-11 31, Caldwell-Pope 4-8 3-5 11, Murray 9-19 3-4 26, Cancar 0-0 0-0 0, J.Green 3-5 0-0 7, Bryant 1-1 0-0 2, Nnaji 2-3 1-2 5, Brown 4-6 1-3 11, Braun 0-2 0-0 0, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Watson 3-4 0-0 8. Totals 47-89 20-28 129.
Milwaukee
Denver 38 37 28 26 19 21—106 34 32—129
KINGS 121, JAZZ 113
UTAH (113)
Fontecchio 2-10 0-0 5, Olynyk 7-12 3-3 17, Kessler 14-16 3-6 31, Agbaji 8-15 1-2 20, Horton-Tucker 3-10 2-2 9, Brantley 5-8 0-0 13, Toscano-Anderson 1-2 0-0 2, Azubuike 1-2 0-0 2, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Dunn 5-11 1-3 12, Juzang 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 47-91 10-16 113. SACRAMENTO (121)
Barnes 6-12 4-4 18, Murray 8-15 0-2 22, Sabonis 7-14 1-2 16, Huerter 10-21 5-6 27, the day after the workouts, when I woke up, stepped out down off the bed, I could possibly play today. And after my workout early before the game today, I knew I could play.”
For only the second time in his 20-year, 1,958-game NBA career, James wasn’t a starter. He came in as a reserve midway through the first quarter, got a field goal the Indiana Pacers.
Doncic had been chirping at officials for most of Sunday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets and finally got slapped with a technical midway through the third quarter of a tightly contested game.
Crew Chief Kevin Scott
Mitchell 5-11 1-1 11, Edwards 1-2 2-2 4, Holmes 0-3 0-0 0, Lyles 2-5 4-4 10, Metu 0-2 0-0 0, Dellavedova 2-5 0-0 5, Monk 3-5 0-0 8. Totals 44-95 17-21 121.
Utah 26 35
Sacramento 32 23 17 35—113 35 31—121
SUNS 125, 76ERS 105
PHILADELPHIA (105)
Harris 4-12 2-2 13, Tucker 2-2 0-0 5, Embiid 8-19 11-13 28, Maxey 14-19 2-3 37, Melton 2-6 0-0 5, Niang 1-4 2-2 4, Reed 0-0 2-2 2, McDaniels 0-3 0-0 0, Korkmaz 1-1 2-2 4, Milton 2-9 3-3 7, Dedmon 0-1 0-0 0, Springer 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 34-78 24-27 105.
PHOENIX (125)
Craig 2-5 0-0 6, Okogie 2-9 1-2 7, Biyombo 8-12 1-2 17, Booker 9-18 9-9 29, Paul 4-7 3-3 13, Bazley 0-0 0-0 0, Wainright 2-3 2-2 6, Warren 7-12 0-0 16, Ross 6-12 0-0 15, Landale 1-2 0-1 2, Payne 6-9 0-0 14, Shamet 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 47-93 16-19 128.
Philadelphia 24 29 30 22—105 Phoenix 26 32 31 36—125
PELICANS 131, CLIPPERS 110
NEW ORLEANS (131)
Ingram 12-22 5-5 32, Murphy III 11-14 0-0 32, Valanciunas 8-18 0-0 17, Jones 2-2 0-0 4, McCollum 8-15 2-2 21, Marshall 3-7 1-2 8, Hernangomez 1-2 0-0 2, Nance Jr. 1-4 0-0 2, Temple 0-0 0-0 0, Daniels 0-2 0-0 0, Richardson 5-10 0-0 13. Totals 51-96 8-9 131.
L.A. CLIPPERS (110)
Leonard 4-16 4-6 12, Morris Sr. 1-3 0-0 2, Zubac 6-7 1-2 13, Gordon 5-5 2-2 15, Westbrook 4-12 5-5 14, Covington 4-5 0-0 11, Diabate 1-2 0-0 2, Plumlee 2-2 1-2 5, Batum 4-6 1-1 13, Coffey 0-1 0-0 0, Mann 1-2 2-2 5, Hyland 7-12 1-1 18, Moon 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 39-75 17-21 110.
New Orleans
L.A. Clippers 37 26 31 30 31 32—131 29 25—110
SUNDAY’S RESULTS HORNETS 110, MAVERICKS 104
DALLAS (104)
Bullock 1-5 0-0 3, Green 1-2 0-0 2, Powell 0-1 0-0 0, Doncic 12-29 9-10 40, Irving 5-15 6-6 18, Kleber 4-9 2-2 14, Wood 3-4 2-2 9, Hardaway Jr. 5-14 2-2 15, Holiday 0-2 0-0 0, Hardy 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 32-84 21-22 104.
CHARLOTTE (110)
Hayward 8-14 5-5 22, Washington 9-22 0-0 21, Williams 5-9 5-7 15, Mykhailiuk 1-7 4-4 7, Smith Jr. 5-11 3-4 14, Thor 3-4 0-0 9, Jones 1-1 0-0 2, Bouknight 2-5 0-0 5, Maledon 2-7 2-2 6, McGowens 3-8 1-2 9. Totals 39-88 20-24 110.
Dallas
Charlotte 16 30 32 25 24 32—104 26 29—110
BULLS 118, LAKERS 108
CHICAGO (118)
Caruso 2-5 2-2 7, DeRozan 7-13 1-2 17, Vucevic 2-5 0-0 4, Beverley 4-7 1-2 10, LaVine 13-19 4-4 32, Jones Jr. 3-4 0-0 8, Williams 3-6 0-0 7, Drummond 5-6 2-3 12, Dosunmu 3-5 0-0 8, White 5-17 0-0 13. Totals in every quarter and finished with eight rebounds, three assists and five turnovers in 30 minutes.
“You could see him getting his rhythm, his timing, his finishes, all of that,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “He’s a savvy veteran, one of the greatest ever to do it, so it’s not going to take all that much.”
Chicago largely controlled said in a pool report after the game that Doncic used “a profanity directed at the officials in protest to a no-call that was correctly judged in postgame video review.”
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said he didn’t think the technical was warranted and that it should be rescinded.
47-87 10-13 118.
L.A. LAKERS (108)
Brown Jr. 7-13 0-0 18, Vanderbilt 2-5 0-0 4, Davis 6-8 3-6 15, Reaves 6-10 0-1 13, Schroder 4-10 7-8 17, Gabriel 0-1 2-4 2, James 6-11 7-8 19, Walker IV 1-3 0-0 2, Beasley 6-14 0-1 18. Totals 38-75 19-28 108.
Chicago 29 34 28 27—118 L.A. Lakers 26 29 23 30—108
CELTICS 137, SPURS 93
SAN ANTONIO (93)
Bates-Diop 1-6 0-0 2, Vassell 4-12 0-0 9, Collins 8-18 3-5 21, Branham 7-13 0-0 15, Jones 4-9 2-3 11, Barlow 0-0 0-0 0, Champagnie 1-2 0-0 2, McDermott 2-10 2-2 7, Mamukelashvili 5-10 2-3 13, Langford 3-6 1-2 8, Dieng 0-4 0-0 0, Graham 0-5 2-2 2, Wesley 1-2 1-1 3. Totals 36-97 13-18 93.
BOSTON (137)
Brown 18-29 3-5 41, Hauser 2-6 0-0 6, Horford 2-6 0-0 6, Smart 4-10 3-4 13, White 7-11 1-2 19, Griffin 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 1-2 0-0 3, Kornet 2-2 0-0 4, Williams III 5-7 1-2 11, Muscala 3-4 0-0 9, Brogdon 6-12 7-8 20, Davison 2-2 0-0 5. Totals 52-91 15-21 137.
San Antonio 32 26 19 16— 93 Boston 30 38 28 41—137
CAVALIERS 108, ROCKETS 91
HOUSTON (91)
Martin Jr. 6-8 0-0 13, Smith Jr. 4-13 4-4 12, Sengun 6-12 2-4 14, J.Green 10-17 5-6 30, Porter Jr. 3-12 0-0 6, Eason 4-9 2-2 10, Garuba 0-2 2-2 2, Kaminsky 0-0 0-0 0, Christopher 1-2 0-0 2, Nix 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 35-80 15-18 91.
CLEVELAND (108)
E.Mobley 8-12 3-6 19, Okoro 1-1 2-2 4, Allen 8-11 8-8 24, Garland 6-16 4-4 17, Mitchell 8-16 2-2 22, Diakite 1-1 0-0 3, I.Mobley 0-0 0-0 0, Osman 2-10 0-0 5, Stevens 1-3 0-0 2, Windler 0-0 0-0 0, LeVert 4-8 0-0 10, Merrill 0-1 0-0 0, Rubio 0-4 2-2 2. Totals 39-83 21-24 108.
Houston
Cleveland 22 33 21 27 37 11— 91 25 23—108
MAGIC 119, NETS 106
BROOKLYN (106)
Finney-Smith 1-7 0-0 2, Johnson 4-10 1-1 10, Claxton 4-7 1-3 9, Bridges 13-22 12-12 44, Dinwiddie 0-11 2-2 2, J.Harris 1-3 0-0 3, Watanabe 1-3 0-2 2, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Sharpe 3-4 2-2 8, Duke Jr. 1-2 2-2 4, Mills 2-5 0-0 4, Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Thomas 7-16 4-4 18. Totals 37-91 24-28 106.
ORLANDO (119)
Banchero 4-13 2-4 11, F.Wagner 6-11 7-9 19, Carter Jr. 7-9 3-4 18, Fultz 5-13 0-0 10, G.Harris 4-5 0-0 10, Okeke 0-1 0-0 0, Schofield 0-0 0-0 0, Bitadze 1-1 0-0 2, M.Wagner 4-5 4-5 12, Anthony 8-13 4-4 21, Houstan 0-5 0-0 0, Suggs 6-9 2-2 16. Totals 45-85 22-28 119.
Brooklyn
Orlando 25 24 26 36 23 32—106 32 27—119
GRIZZLIES 123, HAWKS 119
MEMPHIS (123)
Brooks 2-4 0-0 6, Jackson Jr. 6-10 2-2 play despite James’ return, streaking to a 20-point lead in the second quarter. Los Angeles briefly got the lead down to single digits down the stretch, but got no closer.
“There are going to be swings, and that was the encouraging part,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “I’m seeing a response back competitively.”
Troy Brown Jr. and Malik Beasley scored 18 points apiece, but Anthony Davis managed just 15 points and nine rebounds as the Lakers (37-38) failed to get above .500 for the first time since Jan. 9, 2022.
Patrick Beverley had 10 points and five assists in his first game against the Lakers since they traded him last month. Beverley has been outspoken about his desire to hurt the Lakers’ playoff hopes during this homeand-home series between the teams, but Davis and the other Lakers just smiled at his provocative talk.
Doncic was not made available for interviews after the game.
The suspension could prove costly for Dallas, which dropped into 11th place — one spot out of the play-in tournament — after losing to the Hornets on Sunday. 15, Tillman 7-10 1-2 15, Bane 11-18 0-0 25, Morant 9-17 9-11 27, Roddy 2-6 1-2 6, Aldama 0-3 0-0 0, Jones 5-8 1-2 13, Kennard 5-10 0-0 14, Konchar 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 48-89 14-19 123.
ATLANTA (119)
Collins 4-11 1-2 9, Hunter 8-20 0-0 17, Capela 8-11 2-2 18, Murray 3-11 6-8 13, Young 7-14 11-12 28, Bey 4-11 1-1 9, Griffin 1-5 0-0 2, Okongwu 6-6 1-1 13, Bogdanovic 4-9 0-0 10, Holiday 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 45-98 22-26 119.
Memphis
Atlanta 34 27 27 29 35 27—123 33 30—119
RAPTORS 114, WIZARDS 104
WASHINGTON (104)
Avdija 6-13 2-4 15, Porzingis 9-17 4-5 26, Gafford 3-9 4-6 10, Kispert 7-16 0-0 19, Wright 2-9 0-0 5, Cooks 0-0 0-0 0, Gill 1-2 0-1 2, Davis 5-8 2-4 15, Goodwin 4-9 0-0 9, Nunn 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 38-86 12-20 104.
TORONTO (114)
Anunoby 11-21 3-4 29, Siakam 7-17 4-4 19, Poeltl 6-9 0-0 12, Barnes 5-14 3-3 13, VanVleet 10-21 3-3 28, Achiuwa 1-2 0-2 2, Harper Jr. 0-1 0-0 0, Boucher 3-5 0-0 6, Koloko 0-2 0-0 0, Barton 1-1 0-0 2, Dowtin Jr. 1-2 0-0 3, Flynn 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 45-98 13-16 114.
Washington
Toronto 21 37 25 26 38 20—104 24 27—114
THUNDER 118 TRAIL BLAZERS 112
OKLAHOMA CITY (118)
Dort 2-14 2-2 6, Jal.Williams 9-14 3-3 23, Jay.Williams 3-8 1-2 7, Giddey 7-12 0-1 17, Gilgeous-Alexander 9-17 13-15 31, Dieng 2-5 0-0 4, Robinson-Earl 2-4 0-0 5, Joe 5-12 5-5 20, Mann 2-6 0-0 5, Wiggins 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 41-94 24-28 118.
PORTLAND (112)
Thybulle 3-8 0-0 8, Watford 3-4 0-1 6, Eubanks 3-6 1-2 7, Arcidiacono 1-6 0-0 3, Sharpe 9-13 8-11 29, Knox II 4-9 0-0 11, Walker 0-2 2-2 2, Little 11-21 3-3 28, Reddish 1-4 2-2 4, Johnson 4-9 4-6 14. Totals 39-82 20-27 112.
Oklahoma City
Portland 25 37 43 25 28 22—118 32 18—112
TIMBERWOLVES 99 WARRIORS 96
MINNESOTA (99)
McDaniels 0-2 1-4 1, Towns 5-16 0-0 14, Gobert 1-3 8-12 10, Conley 4-11 0-2 12, Edwards 5-14 1-2 13, Prince 1-2 3-3 5, Reid 10-17 0-0 23, Anderson 5-10 1-2 12, Alexander-Walker 2-3 0-0 6, McLaughlin 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 34-80 14-25 99.
GOLDEN STATE (96)
D.Green 5-9 1-2 12, DiVincenzo 1-1 0-0 2, Looney 1-4 1-2 3, Curry 8-23 0-0 20, Thompson 5-17 0-0 15, Kuminga 2-4 1-2 5, Lamb 1-3 0-0 3, J.Green 0-1 0-0 0, Payton II 3-4 2-2 9, Poole 8-16 8-9 27. Totals 34-82 13-17 96.
Minnesota
Golden State 29 29 24 26 24 18 22—99 23—96