LeBron James had 24 points and 13 assists, while Kevin Love added 15 points and 13 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers won their sixth straight game by beating the Toronto Raptors 105-91 on Friday night.
Tristan Thompson set season highs with 21 points and 14 rebounds, while Kyrie Irving scored 15 for Cleveland, who are unbeaten since a 110-93 home loss to Toronto on Nov. 22.
Amir Johnson scored a season-high 27 points and Kyle Lowry had 22 as Toronto lost for the third time in five games.
James Johnson scored 11 for the Raptors, who failed to win their third straight home meeting with Cleveland.
Irving, who scored a season-high 37 points in Thursday’s win at New York, had just two points in the first half, but connected on six of 12 field-goal attempts in the second half.
HORNETS 103, KNICKS 102
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Kemba Walker drove for a left-handed layup as time expired to lift Charlotte over New York, snapping the Hornets’ 10-game losing streak.
Gerald Henderson scored a season-high 22 points, while Al Jefferson had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Hornets, who nearly squandered a 20-point lead for the third time this season.
The Knicks stormed back from 20 down late in the third quarter behind 32 points from Carmelo Anthony to take the lead with less than a minute left. However, Anthony missed a short jumper and the Hornets grabbed the rebound with four seconds remaining.
After a timeout, Walker received a half-court inbound pass near the top of the key, faked to the right and found a crease down the left side of the lane. He put the ball off the glass for the winner, sending the Knicks to their seventh consecutive defeat.
Walker finished with 11 points on four-of-15 shooting, but it was his second game-winning shot of the season.
ROCKETS 114, TIMBERWOLVES 112, OT
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, James Harden had 38 points before fouling out and Nick Johnson scored on a driving layup with 0.8 seconds to go in overtime to help Houston escape with a victory over Minnesota.
Harden made 11 of 17 shots and also had six assists, but he fouled out with 1 minute, 20 seconds to play and the Rockets let a 13-point lead with five minutes to go slip away. Jason Terry hit a three-pointer and then two free throws in overtime to finish with 19 points.
Thaddeus Young had 19 for the Timberwolves, the last two coming with 15.9 seconds to go in overtime to tie the game at 112. However, Johnson got loose on the final possession and bulled to the rim to hit a tough layup that gave the Rockets their sixth win in seven games.
In other games on Friday, it was:
‧ Celtics 113, Lakers 96
‧ Thunder 103, 76ers 91
‧ Wizards 119, Nuggets 99
‧ Hawks 98, Nets 75
‧ Suns 118, Mavericks 106
‧ Bucks 109, Heat 85
‧ Magic 98, Jazz 93
‧ Kings 102, Pacers 101, OT
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