LeBron James scored 27 points with 13 assists, while Kevin Love added 22 points and 18 rebounds, as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Charlotte Hornets 97-88 on Monday.
The Cavaliers jumped to a 21-0 lead, but the Hornets regrouped and got within two points early in the third quarter before Cleveland pulled away.
The Cavaliers ended the third on a 21-9 run. Kyrie Irving scored 16 points for the Cavaliers, who were coming off consecutive road losses to Oklahoma City and New Orleans after winning eight in a row.
Kemba Walker led Charlotte with 24 points and Al Jefferson added 14.
BUCKS 96, SUNS 94
In Phoenix, Khris Middleton hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Milwaukee a win over Phoenix.
Middleton’s shot bounced off the backboard and curled into the net to win the game — it was the biggest three points of the 14 he scored on the night. The Bucks trailed 94-93 after Markieff Morris knocked down a 14-foot jumper from inside the free-throw line with 3.9 seconds left.
Morris led the Suns with 25 points, including two buckets in the last 24 seconds of a back-and-forth final five minutes.
Brandon Knight dropped in a running jump shot with 7.2 seconds left, part of his team-high 20 points for the Bucks (13-12).
Isaiah Thomas scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter.
CELTICS 105, 76ERS 87
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kelly Olynyk scored a career-high 30 points to lead the Celtics to a victory over the 76ers.
Avery Bradley had 15 points, while Brandon Bass and Jeff Green added 14 apiece for Boston (8-14), who snapped a three-game skid.
Rookie Nerlens Noel had a career-high 19 points for the 76ers (2-22), who dropped to 0-13 at home this season. The loss moved Philadelphia closer to the NBA mark for worst home start to a season, set in the 1993-1994 season when the Mavericks began 0-19.
RAPTORS 95, MAGIC 82
In Toronto, Ontario, Lou Williams scored 18 points and Kyle Lowry had 17 as the Raptors won their 10th straight game over the Magic.
Amir Johnson scored 11 points and Patrick Patterson had 10 for the Raptors, who improved to 11-1 this season against opponents with losing records.
Tobias Harris scored 18 points, Ben Gordon had 16, Nikola Vucevic had 13 and Victor Oladipo 12 for the Magic, who have not won in Toronto since March 26, 2012.
HAWKS 93, BULLS 86
In Atlanta, Al Horford scored 21 points, including a huge jumper with just less than a minute remaining, as the streaking Hawks won for the 10th time in 11 games with a victory over the Bulls.
The Hawks led most of the way, but never by more than 10 points. After Taj Gibson’s dunk with 1 minute, 13 seconds remaining brought the Bulls to 87-84, Horford got loose for a 19-footer on the wing and knocked it down.
Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 22 points.
Also on Monday it was:
‧ Trail Blazers 108, Spurs 95
‧ Clippers 113, Pistons 99
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care