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Cleveland Cavaliers 106, Charlotte Hornets 105 CLEVELAND -- LeBron James scored a season-high 44 points and became the first frontcourt player to pass for 7,000 assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers recorded a 116-105 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.
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The milestone pass was vintage James, a skip pass down the lane to a streaking Tristan Thompson that few other players could even see, let alone complete. It was his highest scoring regular-season effort since returning to Cleveland and matched the 44 points he scored in a Game 1 overtime loss against the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the Finals in 2015.
Kemba Walker scored 24 points and Cody Zeller had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Hornets, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. This was the first stop in a five-game road trip for Charlotte.
Memphis Grizzlies 110, Golden State Warriors 89
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Memphis stunned Golden State at FedExForum for its sixth straight win, holding the Warriors to a season low for points.
The Memphis defense dominated from the start and the Grizzlies scored 30 points off 23 Golden State turnovers. It was only the second time this season that the Warriors failed to score 100 points. Their previous low was 97 in a 20-point setback to the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 4.
Playing without starting point guard Mike Conley (lower back), Memphis leaned on center Marc Gasol for 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal. Swingman Tony Allen also had 19 points and forward JaMychal Green had 14 and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Los Angeles Clippers 133, New Orleans Pelicans 105
LOS ANGELES -- Chris Paul scored 20 points and dished out a season-high 20 assists, and Los Angeles extended the woes of New Orleans with a rout at Staples Center.
Both clubs were without their main stars. Clippers forward Blake Griffin missed the contest with a sore right knee, while the Pelicans were without center-forward Anthony Davis (rest) and guard Jrue Holiday (toe injury). Davis will return Sunday when the Pelicans visit the Phoenix Suns.
Paul fell one assist shy of his career high of 21, which he recorded on Nov. 6, 2007, against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Houston Rockets 109, Dallas Mavericks 87
HOUSTON -- Trevor Ariza keyed an offensive awakening with four consecutive 3-pointers and Houston shot its way to a win over Dallas at Toyota Center.
The Rockets extended their winning streak to six games and added to their NBA record of games with at least 10 3-pointers. Houston finished 19 of 37 from behind the arc, with Ariza igniting a third-quarter run to clinch momentum.
Rockets guard James Harden had 18 points, nine rebounds and 16 assists, finishing one rebound shy of a triple-double for a second consecutive game.
Chicago Bulls 105, Miami Heat 100
CHICAGO -- Jimmy Butler scored 31 points, Dwyane Wade finished with 28 and Taj Gibson added 13 as Chicago beat Miami at the United Center.
The Bulls held on for the win after leading by as many as 13 points in the third quarter. But the Heat cut the deficit to 101-100 with less than a minute to play on a Hassan Whiteside basket. But Chicago never relinquished the lead after Butler hit a pair of free throws to again extend Chicago's lead back to three points.
The Heat played for the last shot in trying to set up a game-tying three-point field goal, but turned the ball over. Butler hit capped the win with two free throws with less than a second to play.
San Antonio Spurs 130, Brooklyn Nets 101
SAN ANTONIO -- Kawhi Leonard scored 30 points in 27 minutes and the San Antonio Spurs posted season highs for points in a quarter and in a game and total assists while rolling past hapless Brooklyn at the AT&T Center.
It was the 19th time this season and fifth straight game that Leonard led the Spurs in scoring.
The Spurs, who had won just five of their nine games at home, righted their ship in a major way, thanks mostly to a torrid start, continued hot shooting from the field throughout the game (53.2 percent) and unselfish play.
Indiana Pacers 118, Portland Trail Blazers 111
INDIANAPOLIS -- Paul George scored a season-high 37 points, and Indiana Pacers overcame a 20-point deficit to defeat Portland.
The Pacers outscored Portland 28-13 in the fourth quarter, including 19-6 after the Trail Blazers took a 105-99 lead with 7:14 remaining.
George scored 15 consecutive team points to give the Pacers a 116-109 lead with 27.9 seconds to play. Thaddeus Young added 24 points for Indiana, including 6 of 8 from 3-point range. Myles Turner had 14 points and eight rebounds.
C.J. McCollum led Portland with 34 points, and Damian Lillard added 33, but no other Portland player reached double figures.
Washington Wizards 110, Milwaukee Bucks 105
WASHINGTON -- John Wall had 24 points and 11 assists as Washington outscored Milwaukee 15-5 over the final 4:15 to pull out the win.
Bradley Beal had 20 points for the Wizards, who matched their season high with two straight wins. Kelly Oubre scored a career-high 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for the Bucks one night after Milwaukee blew a 20-point halftime lead in a losing effort against the Atlanta Hawks. Mirza Teletovic scored a season-high 25 points and sank five of Milwaukee's 13 3-pointers.
Denver Nuggets 121, Orlando Magic 113
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Danilo Gallinari scored 21 points and Kenneth Faried had 19 points and 10 rebounds, leading Denver to a victory over Orlando.
The Nuggets snapped a two-game losing streak and handed the Magic their third consecutive loss.
Denver's Will Barton scored nine points in the last two minutes to seal the victory. He finished with 16 points.
Utah Jazz 104, Sacramento Kings 84
SALT LAKE CITY -- Gordon Hayward scored 26 points and Rudy Gobert added 17 points, 14 rebounds and a season-high six blocks to help Utah pull away for a victory over Sacramento.
Trey Lyles added 14 points and five rebounds off the bench for the Jazz. Utah overcame a mountain of turnovers to win for the eighth time in its last 10 games.
Rudy Gay scored 20 points and DeMarcus Cousins added 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead Sacramento. Darren Collison added 17 points and Omri Casspi chipped in 12 for the Kings, who lost for the fifth time in six games.
