NEW YORK — LeBron James and Kyrie Irving each scored 18 points while Kevin Love added 16 points and 16 rebounds Sunday as the Cleveland Cavaliers ripped the NBA-worst New York Knicks 101-83. J.R. Smith contributed 17 points for Cleveland while James and reserve Iman Shumpert each made a game-high six assists as the Cavaliers improved to 35-22 with the afternoon victory at Madison Square Garden. The performance by James, on 7-of-17 shooting from the floor, boosted him to 24,383 career points, moving James ahead of former Philadelphia 76ers star Allen Iverson (24,368) into 22nd place on the all-time NBA scoring list. James also needs only five more assists to have the most by any forward in an NBA career. Smith and Shumpert were playing their first game against the Knicks since New York traded the pair to Cleveland last month in a three-team deal. With 16 triumphs in their past 18 games, the Cavaliers are only one loss behind Central division leader Chicago. Pacers 104, Warriors 98: Rodney Stuckey, playing on a sprained left ankle, scored a season-best-tying 30 points to lead the Indiana Pacers to a victory over the Golden State Warriors. Golden State got 39 points from Klay Thompson but played without its leading scorer, All-Star guard Stephen Curry, who has a sprained right ankle. A clutch three-pointer from guard C.J. Miles with 26.5 seconds left gave the Pacers a 101-97 lead and two Stuckey free throws with 4.8 seconds to go sealed it. Thunder 119, Nuggets 94: Russell Westbrook scored 21 points and dished out a career-high 17 assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a victory over the Denver Nuggets. The Thunder were without Kevin Durant for the second game after he had surgery on his right foot, but newly acquired center Enes Kanter stepped up with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Mavericks 92, Hornets 81: Amar'e Stoudemire made his Dallas debut and scored 14 points off the bench in a victory over the slumping Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets (22-32) are still in the Eastern Conference playoff race in ninth place despite losing their fifth successive game. Hawks 97, Bucks 86: Paul Millsap scored 23 points and shooting guard Kyle Krover got nine of his 12 in the final quarter for the Atlanta Hawks. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton scored 19 points each for the Bucks, who tied the game 64-64 late in the third quarter but were outplayed by Atlanta in the fourth. Pistons 106, Wizards 89: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope poured in 26 points, including 13 during the third quarter as the Detroit Pistons pulled away to a victory over the Washington Wizards. Magic 103, 76ers 98: Nikola Vucevic scored 31 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic to a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Elsewhere it was: Grizzlies 98, Trail Blazers 92; and Lakers 118, Celtics 111 (OT). — Agencies
