Paul Millsap scored 22 points, while Jeff Teague added 17 as the Atlanta Hawks eclipsed the franchise record with their 15th straight victory, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 103-93 on Friday night.
Before a raucous sellout crowd, the Hawks won for the 29th time in 31 games to extend their Eastern-best record to 36-8.
As usual, pretty much everyone chipped in.
Photo: EPA
Four starters made double figures and backup point guard Dennis Schroder led a spurt at the start of the fourth quarter that helped the Hawks pull away. He finished with 13 points and five assists, igniting the arena with a towering finger roll that dropped gently through the net.
Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 22 points.
Kyle Korver was the only starter who did not reach double figures, but even he chipped in with a play that had everyone talking: Another dunk in the waning seconds of the first half that sent the Hawks to the locker room with a 48-47 lead.
They did not trail again for the rest of the game.
CAVALIERS 129, HORNETS 90
LeBron James scored 25 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers put on a dominant performance to rout the Charlotte Hornets for their fifth straight win.
The Cavaliers, with an artful display of shooting and passing, had the home crowd on its feet throughout the game.
Cleveland’s 75-40 lead at halftime was its biggest in franchise history and the margin reached 49 points in the fourth quarter.
J.R. Smith scored 21 points on seven three-pointers, while Kyrie Irving added 18 in Cleveland’s biggest win of the season.
Charlotte had won eight of nine, but were no match for the Cavaliers, who have again looked like title contenders since James returned from an eight-game absence with knee and back injuries.
Al Jefferson led Charlotte with 22 points.
SPURS 99, LAKERS 85
The San Antonio Spurs never trailed in rolling to a 99-85 victory over a depleted Los Angeles Lakers team that has potentially lost Kobe Bryant for the season to a shoulder injury.
Tony Parker scored 17 points, Kawhi Leonard had 15 points and 14 rebounds, Manu Ginobili scored 15 points and Tim Duncan added 14 points for San Antonio.
Nick Young scored 17 points to lead the Lakers, who lost their seventh straight. Rookie point guard Jordan Clarkson, a San Antonio native, had 11 points and four assists in his first career start.
BULLS 102, MAVERICKS 98
Derrick Rose scored 20 points, while Jimmy Butler had 14 of his 20 in the second half as the Chicago Bulls beat the Dallas Mavericks.
Pau Gasol had 13 points and 16 rebounds, while Joakim Noah added six points and seven boards in his return after missing four games with a sprained right ankle.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points to lead the Mavericks.
ROCKETS 113, SUNS 111
James Harden scored 33 points, including a 20-foot jumper as time ran out, to lift the Houston Rockets to a victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Harden’s 33 points came in the absence of injured star center Dwight Howard for three quarters.
Harden, the NBA’s leading scorer entering the night at 27.2 points per game, added 10 assists and six rebounds and made 14 of 17 free-throw attempts for the Rockets.
Eric Bledsoe had 25 points, eight rebounds and nine assists to lead the Suns.
PELICANS 92, TIMBERWOLVES 84
Newly minted All-Star starter Anthony Davis had 21 points and 12 rebounds to help the New Orleans Pelicans avoid what would have been another ugly road loss.
Eric Gordon scored 20 points and the Pelicans (22-21) shot 50 percent from the field to move over 500 for the first time since Jan. 2.
Gorgui Dieng had 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Timberwolves (7-35), who have the fewest wins in the league.
HEAT 89, PACERS 87
Luol Deng scored 23 points, while Chris Bosh added 19 as the Miami Heat survived another second-half struggle at home, hanging on to top the Indiana Pacers.
Dwyane Wade scored 13 for Miami, who led by 20 late in the third quarter before Indiana ripped off an 11-0 run and got right back into the game. Indiana’s hope at overtime went awry when C.J. Watson’s open 20-footer from the right corner rimmed out at the buzzer.
Luis Scola scored 14 points for the Pacers, who dropped their seventh straight.
KNICKS 113, MAGIC 106
Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points as the New York Knicks extended their season-high winning streak to three games with a win over Orlando.
Jason Smith added a season-best 19 points for the Knicks, who improved to 8-36.
Lance Thomas scored 16 points, while Langston Galloway added 15; both are in the midst of their second 10-day contract.
Nikola Vucevic led the way for the Magic (15-31) with 34 points and 18 rebounds.
In other results, it was:
‧ Raptors 91, 76ers 86
‧ Celtics 100, Nuggets 99
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