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NBA: Cavaliers destroy wilting Washington

Devin Brown of the Cleveland Cavaliers, left, puts up a running shot against the Washington Wizards as Nick Young of the Wizards, center, and Dwayne Jones of the Cavaliers watch during the fourth quarter of their NBA game in Cleveland, Ohio, on Wednesday. PHOTO: AP

The Cleveland Cavaliers posted their most lopsided win in 14 years by destroying the Washington Wizards 121-85 on Wednesday to post their season-high fifth straight NBA victory.

LeBron James scored 23 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 24 without missing from the floor for Cleveland.

After an uninspiring first two months, the Cavaliers have regrouped to win 11 of 13, and at the halfway point, they look more capable of defending their Eastern Conference title than at any other time this season.

The Cavs outrebounded the Wizards 53-29 and outscored them 69-39 in the second half.

Hornets 96, Trail Blazers 81

In New Orleans, the home side extended their season-best winning streak to six games with victory over Portland.

Jannero Pargo scored a season-high 24 points in 24 minutes as the Hornets overcome an early 12-point deficit and surged into the lead for good in the second quarter.

The Hornets have won 14 of 16 games and lead the Southwest Division after their best first half of a season in franchise history.

Portland wound up 3-4 on their seven-game road trip.

Raptors 114, Celtics 112

In Boston, Jose Calderon converted a go-ahead, three-point play with 10.5 seconds left to lead Toronto past Boston.

Calderon finished with 24 points and 13 assists for the Raptors, scoring four of Toronto's 15 three-pointers.

Boston have won three in a row and had not lost to any of their Atlantic Division rivals in 10 tries this season.

Toronto moved 11 games behind the Celtics in the division.

Pistons 86, 76ers 78

In Philadelphia, Detroit snapped a rare three-game losing streak with victory over Philadelphia.

Richard Hamilton scored 21 points and Chauncey Billups had 19 for the Pistons, who have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference but entered the game trying to avoid their first four-game skid in three years.

The Pistons have won eight of their past nine games against the Sixers.

Philadelphia have lost 10 of 12 and what few fans turned out left in droves in the fourth quarter.

Timberwolves 117, Suns 107

In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Timberwolves won consecutive games for the first time this season by downing Phoenix.

Al Jefferson had a career-high 39 points and 15 rebounds for the Timberwolves.

The Suns had their four-game winning streak stopped and lost to strugglers Minnesota for the second time this season.

Spurs 103, Lakers 91

In San Antonio, Texas, Tim Duncan had 28 points and 17 rebounds to lead San Antonio past Los Angeles.

Six Spurs scored in double digits and they broke open the game in the third quarter, sparked by a 14-0 run.

Magic 112, Grizzlies 85

In Memphis, Tennessee, Orlando made a team-record 18 three-pointers to sink Memphis.

Hedo Turkoglu scored 26 points, including six-of-eight outside the arc, for Orlando, who hit 55 percent of their threes. The Magic's previous record for three-pointers was 16, set against Atlanta in 1996.

Mavericks 102, Bobcats 95

In Charlotte, North Carolina, Dallas withstood a late rally by Charlotte.

Devin Harris scored 23 points and Josh Howard added 21 points and had 12 rebounds.

Bulls 108, Pacers 95

In Chicago, the home side beat Indiana despite having their two best players injured.

Kirk Hinrich scored a career-high 38 points for the Bulls, who learned earlier in the day that forward Luol Deng would miss one to three weeks because of his recurring left Achilles' tendinitis. Then they found out that leading scorer Ben Gordon would sit out with a sprained right wrist.

Nuggets 107, Hawks 100

In Denver, Colorado, Allen Iverson scored 29 points to lift Denver to victory over Atlanta.

Atlanta have lost six straight road games.

Clippers 111, Kings 85

In Los Angeles, Chris Kaman added another benchmark to his breakout season with 21 rebounds and 20 points to lead Los Angeles over Sacramento.

It was the fifth time in Kaman's five NBA seasons that he's had at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game.

Rockets 109, SuperSonics 107

In Seattle, the home side slumped to their 12th straight loss in defeat to Houston. The Sonics have yet to win this year.
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