CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James scored 24 points to move into 12th place on the NBA's career scoring list as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Brooklyn Nets 107-87 on Thursday night.
James passed Dominique Wilkins with a three-point play in the first quarter. The four-time MVP, who didn't play in the fourth quarter, has 26,689 career points.
Kevin Love added 19 points for Cleveland (53-22), which leads Toronto by 2 1/2 games for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Thaddeus Young led Brooklyn with 18 points.
James, who also had 11 assists, sparked a 25-6 run to end the second quarter. After returning with 7:27 remaining, he scored eight points as Cleveland built a five-point margin into a 63-39 lead at halftime.
BULLS 103, ROCKETS 100
HOUSTON (AP) — Nikola Mirotic scored 28 points and Jimmy Butler added 21 to lead the Chicago Bulls past the Houston Rockets.
In a pivotal game for two teams fighting for the final playoff spots in their conferences, the Bulls were fueled by a strong fourth quarter in which they outscored the Rockets 32-20. Chicago entered the fourth facing a nine-point deficit but was able to overcome thanks to hot shooting from Mirotic.
Trevor Ariza attempted a tying 3 at the buzzer, but it rimmed out and Chicago held on.
The Bulls won their second consecutive game following a four-game skid and trail Indiana by one game for the final playoff spot in the East.
James Harden had 24 points and eight assists for Houston, which dropped a half-game behind Utah and Dallas, who are tied for the seventh and eighth seeds in the West.
MAGIC 114, PACERS 94
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Evan Fournier scored 25 points and Nikola Vucevic added 24 to lead the Orlando Magic past the Indiana Pacers.
The Magic have won three straight since snapping a six-game losing streak, including their first win at Indiana since February 4, 2012.
Paul George scored 27 points and had eight rebounds while Lavoy Allen finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn't nearly enough for the Pacers.
Indiana tied the score at 62 early in the third, but Orlando answered with a 14-5 run and steadily pulled away.
No comments:
Post a Comment