CLEVELAND — LeBron James bounced back from a sub-par NBA effort and Kyrie Irving returned after a two-game absence Tuesday as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Boston Celtics 110-79. James scored 27 points on 12-of-23 shooting while Australian-born guard Irving added 18 to lead seven double-figure Cavalier scorers in Cleveland's 12th home triumph in a row. Two days earlier, James criticized himself after missing two pivotal free throws in the final seconds of over-time in a two-point loss to Houston, one in which he missed 20 shots from the field and went 3-for-11 from the free throw line. James also moved into 21st place on the career scoring list with 24,506 points. The Cavaliers' star passed Ray Allen with a layup in the third quarter. James entered the game with 24,481. The Cavaliers improved to 38-24, trailing Chicago by only percentage points in the fight for the Central division lead, while Boston slid to 23-35, one game behind Brooklyn and Charlotte for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Kevin Love and J.R. Smith each scored 12 points for the Cavaliers, who made all 14 of their free throws attempts. Hawks 104, Rockets 96: Jeff Teague scored eight of his 25 points in the fourth quarter as the Hawks rallied from a 15-point deficit to beat a Houston team playing without James Harden. Harden, the NBA's leading scorer, was suspended for the game by the NBA for kicking Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James during a scuffle in Sunday's overtime victory at Houston. The Rockets (41-19) were still positioned to win before Atlanta's (48-12) late run. Houston guard Jason Terry and forward Terrence Jones went scoreless in the fourth quarter, though, after scoring 21 and 18 points, respectively. Jazz 93, Grizzlies 82: Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors scored 21 points apiece and second-year forward Rudy Gobert had 15 points and a Jazz franchise-record 24 rebounds to help Utah knock off Memphis. Memphis (42-17), which lost for the third time in its last four games, was without starting forward Zach Randolph (illness) and a pair of reserves in guards Beno Udrih (illness) and Tony Allen. Bulls 97, Wizards 92: Aaron Brooks scored 22 points, Pau Gasol added 20 and 10 rebounds and the injury-laden Chicago Bulls hung on to beat Washington. The Bulls played without ailing starters Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler. John Wall had 21 points and 11 assists for Washington (34-27) who cut a nine-point deficit to 94-91 in the final two minutes before Chicago (38-23) sealed the win at the free-throw line. Kings 124, Knicks 86: Rudy Gay scored 25 points and center DeMarcus Cousins added 22 as the Sacramento Kings opened a season-high eight-game road trip with a wire-to-wire blowout win. Alexey Shved had 15 points for the Knicks (12-47) who suffered the worst loss of their disastrous season. Hornets 104, Lakers 103: Al Jefferson had 21 points and 16 rebounds, and Mo Williams added 20 points and 13 assists as the Charlotte Hornets beat the Los Angeles Lakers. Nuggets 106, Bucks 95: Danilo Gallinari scored a season-high 26 points, guard Ty Lawson had 16 points and 10 assists and the Denver Nuggets beat the Milwaukee Bucks after coach Brian Shaw was fired. The Nuggets responded to Shaw's firing with their first home win since beating Dallas on Jan. 14. — Agencies
