LeBron James scored 33 points in his return from a two-week layoff, but it was not enough to prevent the Cleveland Cavaliers from going down to their sixth straight loss, 107-100 to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.
Markieff Morris scored a career-high 35 points on 15-of-21 shooting for the Suns, who outscored the Cavs 11-3 over the last 3 minutes, 31 seconds.
The Cavaliers rallied from a 19-point, third-quarter deficit to go ahead in the fourth, the first of eight lead changes down the stretch.
Photo: AFP
J.R. Smith, who joined the Cavaliers during James’ absence, scored 29, going eight of 14 on three-pointers.
James, who took time off to rest his sore left foot and lower back, made 11 of 18 shots, six of eight in the second half.
TIMBERWOLVES 110, PACERS 101
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Mo Williams scored a career-high 52 points, the most in the NBA this season, as Minnesota snapped a 15-game losing streak.
Williams made six three-pointers, including one that gave Minnesota a 102-96 lead. Andrew Wiggins added 20 points and Gorgui Dieng had 10 for the Timberwolves (6-31), who won for the first time since beating Portland 90-82 on Dec. 10 last year.
C.J. Miles had 22 points and C.J. Watson added 17 for the Pacers (15-25), who have lost three of four.
Williams surpassed the 46 points scored this season by both Carmelo Anthony and Pau Gasol, which had been the highest in the NBA.
WARRIORS 116, JAZZ 105
Stephen Curry scored 27 points and ignited a decisive third-quarter run to lead Golden State over Utah.
Draymond Green scored 15 points, while Harrison Barnes and Klay Thompson added 12 apiece to lift the Warriors (30-5) to their franchise-best seventh consecutive victory by double figures.
Derrick Favors had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz, who could not overcome blistering third-quarter shooting by Golden State. Utah allowed 44 points on 16-of-26 shooting in that period.
Gordon Hayward scored 17 points, while Enes Kanter and Rudy Gobert each added a double-double for Utah. Kanter finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Gobert had 16 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots off the bench.
WIZARDS 101, SPURS 93
John Wall broke yet another personal none-for-forever streak, this one against an entire team, scoring 25 points with eight assists in Washington’s win that gave him his first taste of success against the reigning NBA champions.
Wall had been 0-7 against the Spurs since he was drafted No. 1 overall in 2010, and the Wizards as a whole had not beaten San Antonio since Nov. 12, 2005 — a streak of 17 games.
Tim Duncan had 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Tony Parker scored 14 points for the Spurs.
HAWKS 105, 76ERS 87
Al Horford had his first career triple-double, scoring 21 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead Atlanta to their ninth straight win.
The Hawks easily thumped the Sixers even while resting 60 percent of their starting lineup. Leading scorer Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll all sat out with the team in a stretch of four games in five nights.
The Hawks have won 23 of 25 and also won their ninth straight road game. They are in first place this late in the season for the first time since they won the Eastern Conference in 1994.
Michael Carter-Williams scored 20 points for the Sixers.
MAVERICKS 108, KINGS 104
Monta Ellis scored six of his 28 points in overtime and added 10 assists, as Dallas beat Sacramento.
The Mavericks rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to avoid their first four-game losing streak of the season. Dallas were coming off two humbling losses to Detroit and the Clippers.
DeMarcus Cousins, who fouled out late in the fourth quarter, had 32 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists for the Kings, while Darren Collison had 18 points and seven rebounds.
Rajon Rondo broke out of a scoring slump with 21 points and seven assists for Dallas, who rallied from a 24-point deficit to beat the Kings on Nov. 11 last year.
Tyson Chandler had 16 points and 17 rebounds, Dirk Nowitzki scored 15 points and Chandler Parsons finished with 13.
HEAT 78, LAKERS 75
Mario Chalmers scored nine of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, and Hassan Whiteside added 15 as Miami completed a Staples Center sweep.
Chris Bosh scored eight points on four-of-17 shooting for the Heat, who followed up their surprise victory over the Clippers two days ago by winning an ugly game against the Lakers, despite losing Dwyane Wade to a strained left hamstring late in the first half.
Kobe Bryant scored 12 points on three-of-19 shooting in his return to the Lakers’ lineup after missing three of the past four games to rest.
Bryant’s three-pointer with 31 seconds to play trimmed Miami’s lead to three points, but he missed a potential tying three-pointer with two seconds left.
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