LeBron James poured in 32 points and became the youngest player to score 28,000 in a career as the Cleveland Cavaliers knocked off the New York Knicks 111-104 on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. File Photo by Brian Kersey/UPI |
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Cleveland Cavaliers 111, New York Knicks 104
NEW YORK -- LeBron James poured in 32 points and became the youngest player to score 28,000 in a career as the Cleveland Cavaliers knocked off the New York Knicks 111-104 on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
The 32-year-old James has scored 28,020 points, good for eighth place on the NBA list. He also had 10 assists. James is two assists from passing Lenny Wilkens (7,211) for 13th place on the NBA's career list.
Kyrie Irving was out for the Cavaliers (34-15) with right quad soreness. He was replaced with DeAndre Liggins, who scored five points without an assist. Kevin Love returned to the Cavaliers after missing the past two games with lower back spasms. He had 23 points and 15 rebounds.
The Knicks (22-30), who haven't won two straight games since Dec. 20-22 (23 games), were led by Brandon Jennings' 23 points and 10 assists. Carmelo Anthony scored 17 points but was just 6 of 21 from the floor.
Sacramento Kings 109, Golden State Warriors 106 (OT)
SACRAMENTO -- A spirited effort by Sacramento put Golden State on the ropes, and then the Kings knocked out the NBA's best team in overtime.
DeMarcus Cousins had 32 points -- six in overtime -- 12 rebounds and nine assists, and Matt Barnes had a double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds as the Kings handed Golden State just its eighth loss of the season and snapped a 13-game losing streak to their Northern California counterparts.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors (43-8) with 35 points on eight 3-pointers and added nine assists. He had a pair of contested layup attempts that would've given Golden State the lead inside the final eight seconds of overtime, but neither would go down.
Washington Wizards 105, New Orleans Pelicans 91
WASHINGTON -- John Wall had 24 points and 13 assists as Washington extended its NBA-high home winning streak to 17 games with a victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night.
The Wizards (30-20) closed the game with a 15-0 run, holding the Pelicans without a point for the final 5:51. All five starters scored in double figures for the Wizards as they used a balanced attack to win their seventh in a row overall and fend off the Pelicans for the second time this week.
The victory improved Washington to 22-6 at home, matching last season's win total. They put both winning streaks on the line Monday against the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers. Anthony Davis had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Pelicans, who have lost four in a row and finished their road trip 0-3.
Miami Heat 125, Philadelphia 76ers 102
MIAMI -- Hassan Whiteside produced 30 points, 20 rebounds and three blocks to lead Miami over Philadelphia for its 10th straight victory.
Miami also got strong games from its guards as Dion Waiters recorded 21 points and seven assists, Goran Dragic registered 16 points and eight assists, and Tyler Johnson had 16 points and six assists.
Miami also has the longest active win streak in the NBA and is tied for the second-longest run in the league this season. Philadelphia was led by Ersan Ilyasova's 19 points.
San Antonio Spurs 121, Denver Nuggets 97
SAN ANTONIO -- Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker scored 18 points apiece and combining to make 13 of 14 shots from the floor as San Antonio waltzed past Denver on a record-setting night for coach Gregg Popovich.
Popovich, in his 21st season leading the Spurs, moved to the top of the standings for coaching wins with one franchise in league history with the victory. Popovich has compiled a 1,128-496 record since replacing Bob Hill as San Antonio's coach on Dec. 10, 1996 (after the 18th game of the 1996-97 season) and passed former Utah coach Jerry Sloan. Legendary Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach is third on the list with 795 wins.
Indiana Pacers 105, Detroit Pistons 84
INDIANAPOLIS -- Paul George led six players in double figures with 21 points and Indiana pulled away from Detroit.
The victory extended Indiana's season-long winning streak to six. Detroit had a two-game winning streak snapped. Lavoy Allen, on his 28th birthday, added a season-high 18 points and 10 rebounds for Indiana. CJ Miles, Al Jefferson and Myles Turner each scored 13 points and Jeff Teague had 11.
Marcus Morris led Detroit with 19 points, Jon Leurer had 14 and Andre Drummond finished with 13. The Pistons made only nine second-half field goals.
Atlanta Hawks 113, Orlando Magic 86
ATLANTA -- Atlanta, which overcame a 20-point deficit in the final eight minutes at Houston in its previous game, didn't have to worry about staging a comeback this time.
The Hawks led by 26 points at halftime and coasted to their 15th victory in the past 20 games, defeating Orlando. Tim Hardaway Jr., who sparked the Atlanta comeback against Houston with 23 of his career-best 33 points in the fourth quarter, scored 21 against the Magic.
Aaron Gordon scored 16 points for the Magic, who couldn't follow up a home victory over Toronto on Friday. Orlando made just 7 of 27 3-point attempts and shot 35.1 percent overall, compared to 52.6 percent for Atlanta.
Utah Jazz 105, Charlotte Hornets 98
SALT LAKE CITY -- Gordon Hayward scored a season-high 33 points and George Hill added 25 points to help Utah rally late to beat Charlotte.
Joe Johnson chipped in 18 points off the bench to help Utah win its second straight at home. The Jazz shot 10 for 18 from the field in the fourth quarter while holding Charlotte to six points over the final 8 1/2 minutes.
Kemba Walker scored 18 points and dished out six assists and Marvin Williams added 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Hornets. Charlotte (23-28) lost its seventh straight game. Walker (7,448 points) passed Gerald Wallace for second place on the Hornets' all-time scoring list.
Milwaukee Bucks 137, Phoenix Suns 112
PHOENIX -- Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 18 of his 30 points in the first quarter and Milwaukee weathered a 27-point second quarter by Phoenix guard Devin Booker and steamrolled the Suns.
Mirza Teletovic had 19 points and Jabari Parker added 18 for the Bucks, who ended a five game losing streak. Six Bucks finished in double figures and Milwaukee set a season high for points.
Booker finished with a game-high 31 points for the Suns, who have lost six of the last seven overall and five straight at home. Marquese Chriss added a career-high 27 points for Phoenix, which fell behind 25 points in the second quarter and couldn't recover even with Booker's flurry.
Memphis Grizzlies 107, Minnesota Timberwolves 99
MINNEAPOLIS -- JaMychal Green scored a career-high 29 points and Mike Conley added 20 points and eight assists as short-handed Memphis managed a gritty win against Minnesota.
James Ennis added 13 points for Memphis. Zach Randolph had nine points and 10 rebounds before fouling out with five minutes left for the Grizzlies, who were without three starters. Playing its sixth game in nine days, Memphis rested All-Star center Marc Gasol, forward Chandler Parsons and guard Tony Allen.
Karl-Anthony Towns had his 10th straight double-double with 27 points and 16 rebounds for Minnesota, which was playing its first game since guard Zach LaVine tore his ACL. Andrew Wiggins added 23 points and Ricky Rubio scored 14, but the Timberwolves lost their third straight game.