|
 James helped stake the Cavaliers to an 18-point lead by hitting all
four of his 3-pointers less than four minutes into the third
quarter.
The Wizards countered with their own barrage from beyond the arc,
eventually tying the game 95-95 with 10:53 remaining. Irving
dominated from there, scoring the game's next 10 points. His third
dazzling layup in that stretch gave Cleveland a 105-95 lead with
7:35 remaining.
J.R. Smith added 25 points for the Cavaliers, who evened the season
series after losing 97-85 in Cleveland on Dec. 1.
Spurs 123, Jazz 98
SAN ANTONIO -- Tim Duncan had a season-high 18 points and led eight
San Antonio players who scored in double figures as the Spurs took
charge early and ran away with a win over Utah to remain unbeaten at
home.
San Antonio shot 68 percent from the floor in the first quarter and
never looked back, winning for the sixth straight time. The Spurs'
123 points tied their most in a game this season, equaling Monday's
total in a win over Milwaukee by the same score.
The victory was the 21st straight at home this season for San
Antonio, allowing the Spurs to expand their best home start ever and
extend their win streak at AT&T Center to 30 games dating to the
final nine home games of 2014-15.
Pacers 95, Magic 86
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Paul George scored 20 points and grabbed seven
rebounds to lead Indiana to a victory over Orlando at the Amway
Center.
George Hill had 16 points, including nine in the final period. Monta
Ellis had 19 points and seven assists, and Ian Mahinmi finished with
eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds for Indiana.
The Magic lost their fourth consecutive game as their offense
continued to struggle.
Knicks 98, Heat 90
MIAMI -- New York broke a streak of eight straight losses in this
once-bitter rivalry, defeating Miami.
The Knicks shot 55.7 percent from the floor. Miami shot just 44.4
percent overall and 0.63 percent on 3-pointers (1 of 16).
New York won its third straight game and exceeded the win total it
had all of last season.
Raptors 91, Nets 74
NEW YORK -- Jonas Valanciunas collected a season-high 22 points and
grabbed 11 rebounds as Toronto pulled away in the second half en
route to a victory over Brooklyn.
Valanciunas had his best game since returning from missing 17 games
with a broken left hand. He made his first six shots, finished
8-for-13 and recorded his seventh double-double while playing 30
minutes.
Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry came up short in a bid for his fourth
consecutive double-double, finishing with 17 points, eight rebounds
and six assists. Lowry missed all seven of his 3-point attempts but
was 7-for-7 from inside the arc.
Pistons 99, Celtics 94
BOSTON -- Detroit snoozed through 2 1/2 quarters but then rallied
from 13 points down and pulled out a victory over Boston.
Reggie Jackson, who played his college ball at nearby Boston
College, scored nine of his game-high 24 points in the final 6:01 as
the Pistons won for the third time in four games.
The Pistons, winning despite a season-low five rebounds by
foul-ridden center Andre Drummond, trailed 73-60 with 3:18 left in
the third quarter. Jackson scored with 6:01 remaining in the game to
give his team its first lead and start a 7-0 run that put Detroit up
by six.
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Mavericks 98, Pelicans 89
NEW ORLEANS -- Raymond Felton scored a team-high 22 points and
Chandler Parsons scored 19 of his 21 points in the first half to
lift short-handed Dallas to a victory over New Orleans at the
Smoothie King Center.
Playing the night after a double-overtime victory over Sacramento,
the Mavericks rested four starters -- Dirk Nowitzki, Zaza Pachulia,
Wesley Matthews and Deron Williams -- but held the Pelicans to 36
percent shooting to pull out the victory.
The quartet of rested players normally account for 55 percent of
Dallas' scoring, but their absence did not matter.
Nuggets 78, Timberwolves 74
MINNEAPOLIS -- Danilo Gallinari scored a game-high 20 points,
leading Denver to a win over Minnesota at Target Center.
Trailing by two, Minnesota had a chance to tie the game late, but
Andrew Wiggins missed a pair of shots, and Karl-Anthony Towns had
his put-back attempt blocked.
Denver forward Will Barton sank both of his free throws to make it a
two-possession game.
Suns 111, Hornets 102
PHOENIX -- Mirza Teletovic scored 19 points including five of
Phoenix's season-high 19 3-pointers and the Suns needed them all to
snap a nine-game losing streak with a win over Charlotte.
Brandon Knight added 18 points for the Suns, who hit 19 of 33
3-pointers (57.6 percent) and won for the first time since beating
the New Orleans Pelicans here on Dec. 18. It was also the 100th NBA
coaching win for Phoenix's Jeff Hornacek.
Teletovic and Knight were two of five Phoenix players with at least
three 3-pointers in the game and the Suns had 25 assists.
Thunder 112, Grizzlies 94
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Kevin Durant racked up 26 points and a game-high 17
rebounds to lead Oklahoma City to a victory over Memphis at the
Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Durant shot only 9-for-18 from the field in a below average shooting
performance by his standards. But in his first game back from a
strained big toe, he used his activity on the backboards to find a
way to make an impression on the game. He finished one rebound away
from tying his career high.
Russell Westbrook scored 20 points to go along with seven assists
and seven rebounds. Dion Waiters added 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting
as the Thunder improved to 25-11.
Clippers 109, Trail Blazers 98
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Chris Paul scored 21 points and dished out a
season-high 19 assists to guide Los Angeles past Portland.
J.J. Redick scored 20 points, Paul Pierce added 17 and DeAndre
Jordan contributed 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Clippers, who
won their seventh straight game, the NBA's longest active streak.
Damian Lillard collected 20 points, seven rebounds and nine assists
while Mason Plumlee had 19 points and nine boards for the Trail
Blazers.
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