Mitchell gets 41, Cavs deal Spurs 13th loss in row
Donovan Mitchell scored 41 points and led the host Cleveland Cavaliers to their seventh straight win, 117109 on Monday night over the nose-diving San Antonio Spurs, who matched a team record with their 13th consecutive loss.
Mitchell made five 3-pointers and scored 23 in the first half, helping the Cavs build an 18-point lead.
San Antonio's slide equals the longest in club history. The Spurs also lost 13 straight during the 198889 season. Coincidentally, that streak also reached 13 with a loss at Cleveland on March 2, 1989.
Jarrett Allen added 17 points and had 11 rebounds as Cleveland improved to 25-6 at home.
Keldon Johnson scored 25 and rookie Malaki Branham 18 to pace the Spurs, who are just 2-20 in 2023.
The Spurs, who haven't won since Jan. 17, stunned the Cavs at home in December, beating Cleveland 112111.
76ERS 123, ROCKETS 104 >> James Harden had 29 points and 10 assists against his former team while Tyrese Maxey scored 26 off the bench for host Philadelphia. Joel Embiid scored 23 points in 31 minutes for the Sixers, who have won three in a row and improved to 22-8 at home. Jalen Green scored 29 points for Houston, which has lost six straight to fall to a league-worst 1344. KJ Martin added 15 for Houston.
JAZZ 123, PACERS 117 >> Jordan Clarkson and Lauri Markkanen each scored 29 points for visiting Utah. Clarkson hit a 3-pointer for a 115-110 lead with 2:03 remaining, and added a 13foot baseline jumper to extend the lead to 117-113 in the final minute. The Pacers have lost five in a row. Tyrese Haliburton finished with 29 points and 12 assists for Indiana and Bennedict Mathurin scored 21 for the Pacers.
HORNETS 144, HAWKS 138 >> LaMelo Ball had 30 points and 15 assists, Terry Rozier added 29 points and host Charlotte snapped a sevengame losing streak. Gordon Hayward scored 26 points and P.J. Washington added 22 as the Hornets shot 63% from the field. Ball had six 3-pointers and Rozier hit five as Charlotte tied a season high with 20 made 3s. Trae Young finished with 25 points and 14 assists for Atlanta and Clint Capela added 22 points. NUGGETS 112, HEAT 108 >> Nikola Jokic finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists and visiting Denver snapped Miami's eight-game home winning streak. Jokic made 12 of 14 shots, and Denver shot 58%. Michael Porter Jr. scored 17 and Bruce Brown added 16 for the Nuggets. Jimmy Butler had 24 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for Miami. Max Strus scored 23, Bam Adebayo had 19 and Gabe Vincent added 15 for the Heat.
KNICKS 124, NETS 106 >> Jalen Brunson scored 40 points, Josh Hart added a seasonhigh 27 in his second game with his new team and host New York snapped a ninegame losing streak against Brooklyn. Julius Randle had 18 points for the Knicks, who beat the Nets for the first time in three years. Brooklyn never lost to the Knicks when Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving played, but they're both gone now. Spencer Dinwiddie scored 28 points for the Nets,
NOTE >> Mikal Bridges' consecutive games played streak lives on, even after he was forced to miss a game last week for the first time in his NBA career. Bridges was acquired by the Brooklyn Nets from Phoenix last Thursday in the trade for Kevin Durant. The deal was approved by the league too late for Bridges to play that night in the Nets' game against Chicago, so he had to watch from the bench and was listed as “inactive — trade pending” in the official box score.
But the league determined that since Bridges wasn't eligible to play, it shouldn't count as a missed game. So his streak, the longest active one in the league, reached 367 games when the Nets visited the New York Knicks on Monday. Bridges played and scored seven points.