MILWAUKEE — LeBron James scored 28 points, pulled down 10 rebounds, passed out six assists and made five steals Sunday to spark the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 108-90 NBA victory at Milwaukee.
J.R. Smith added 23 points and Kyrie Irving contributed 20 points and seven assists for the Cavaliers, who won their third game in a row and seventh in eight starts to stand 46-26 on the season, second in the Eastern Conference.
Michael Carter-Williams scored a team-high 19 points for Milwaukee, but the Bucks slid to 34-36 with their sixth loss in a row.
Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo each had 15 points for the Bucks. Down 53-44 at half-time, the Cavaliers made a 14-6 run sparked by Irving to pull close. James scored six points in a row late in the quarter and Iman Shumpert's jumper put Cleveland ahead 75-73 entering the fourth quarter. James scored seven points in a run of 10 in a row by the Cavs to seize an 87-76 edge to seal Milwaukee's fate.
Spurs 114, Hawks 95: Center Tiago Splitter scored a season-high 23 points and added eight rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Atlanta Hawks 114-95.
San Antonio (44-25) jumped on Atlanta right away, racing to a 20-point lead in the first quarter and sending the Hawks (53-17) to their first three-game skid of the season.
Clippers 107, Pelicans 100: The Los Angeles Clippers extended their winning streak to four games with a 107-100 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. The return after a two-game absence of forward Anthony Davis, who scored a game-high 26 points, could not prevent the Pelicans from slipping three games behind Oklahoma City in the race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Thunder 93, Heat 75: The Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away early in the fourth quarter and beat the Miami Heat 93-75.
Center Enes Kanter scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Thunder, while guard Russell Westbrook had 17 assists, matching his career high, and notched his 10th triple double of the season.
Suns 98, Mavericks 92: Guard Eric Bledsoe scored 20 points and forward Markieff Morris added 19 as the Phoenix Suns moved within 2-1/2 games of eighth place in the Western Conference with a 98-92 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
Bledsoe made four free throws in the final 20.5 seconds as the Suns (38-33) won their fourth straight.
Pistons 105, Celtics 97 (OT): The Detroit Pistons scored the first seven points in overtime to beat Boston 105-97 and dent the Celtics' playoff hopes.
It was the third successive loss for the Celtics, who slipped to ninth in the Eastern Conference.
Hornets 109, Timberwolves 98: Guard Mo Williams led the way with 24 points against his former team as Charlotte ended a three-game losing streak by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-98, a result that lifted the Hornets into the final playoff spot in the East.
Kings 109, Wizards 86: Forward Rudy Gay scored 26 points, and center DeMarcus Cousins added 20 as the Sacramento Kings posted consecutive wins for the first time in four months, a 109-86 shellacking of the Washington Wizards, who never led after the first quarter.
Raptors 106, Knicks 89: Guard DeMar DeRozan had a team-high 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists as the Toronto Raptors beat the New York Knicks 106-89.
Nuggets 119, Magic 100: Danilo Gallinari scored 40 points and five teammates reached double figures as the Denver Nuggets routed the Orlando Magic 119-100 and halted a three-game skid.
Lakers 101, 76ers 87: Guard Jeremy Lin came off the bench to score a game-high 29 points and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 101-87. — Agencies
