LeBron James had a triple-double with 32 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, while Kyrie Irving scored 27 of his 32 points in the second half to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers 118-111 over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday.
Kevin Love added 22 points for the Cavs, who played their second home game this season.
James and Irving dominated in the second half, combining for 46 points — 30 in the third quarter when the Cavs overcame a nine-point deficit. Love, too, was huge after halftime, making four three-pointers.
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Anthony Davis scored 27 with 14 rebounds for the Pelicans, who beat defending NBA champions San Antonio on Saturday night and gave the Cavaliers all they could handle. Ryan Anderson added 32 points — 23 in the first half.
BULLS 102, PISTONS 91
In Chicago, Derrick Rose had 24 points and seven assists in his return to the lineup as a balanced Chicago Bulls beat Detroit.
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Rose was 9-for-20 from the field in 32 minutes after being sidelined by sprained ankles. The NBA’s 2011 MVP had missed four of the previous five games after he was injured in an overtime loss to Cleveland on Oct. 31.
Pau Gasol had 17 points and 15 rebounds for Chicago, while Joakim Noah finished with 13 points, 14 boards and six assists. The Bulls outrebounded the Pistons 49-46 after losing the battle on the glass in the previous six games, rankling hard-nosed coach Tom Thibodeau.
Josh Smith had 19 points and 11 rebounds for Detroit, who were coming off a 97-96 home loss to the Utah Jazz on Sunday.
Greg Monroe had 16 points and 10 boards, while reserve D.J. Augustin scored 16.
Pistons center Andre Drummond, who began the game in a jersey that had his name misspelled on the back, grabbed 12 rebounds, but was 0-for-5 from the field and finished with two points.
SPURS 89, CLIPPERS 85
In Los Angeles, Kawhi Leonard equaled his career high with 26 points despite playing with only one good eye, as San Antonio closed with a rush to beat the Clippers.
Leonard’s vision has been affected by a case of conjunctivitis, but he still pulled down 10 rebounds and gave the defending NBA champions the first lead with 1 minute, 44 seconds left in the game.
Tim Duncan had 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Tony Parker scored nine of his 13 in the fourth quarter for the Spurs, who snapped a two-game skid in their first road win.
San Antonio finished the game on a 14-0 run, giving Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Parker their 500th career victory together. In terms of number of wins for trios in NBA history, they trail only Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, who won 540 games with the Boston Celtics.
HAWKS 91, KNICKS 85
In New York, Paul Millsap scored 19 points and Dennis Schroder extended his best stretch in the NBA with two big baskets in the final 2 minutes as Atlanta sent the New York Knicks to their fifth straight loss.
Kyle Korver had 17 points as Atlanta sealed a home-and-home sweep, after a 103-96 win on Saturday.
Schroder, a second-year guard from Germany, scored a career-high 14 points, two nights after setting his previous best with 11. With the Hawks clinging to a three-point lead, he knocked down a jumper with 1:55 to play, then scored on a drive to the basket that gave Atlanta an 81-74 advantage with 59 seconds left.
Carmelo Anthony had 25 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Knicks, who came in averaging 92 points — tied for worst in the NBA — and barely surpassed their previous low of 80 in their season-opening loss to Chicago.
PACERS 97, JAZZ 86
In Indianapolis, Indiana, Roy Hibbert scored a season-high 29 points to help Indiana beat Utah, ending the Pacers’ six-game skid.
A.J. Price had 22 points and Lavoy Allen added 12 — also season highs — as the Pacers won for the first time since the season opener. Allen also had 15 rebounds and Hibbert grabbed five.
Price scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, including two three-pointers during a 13-2 run that gave Indiana an 87-79 lead midway through the period.
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Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
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