The last unbeaten home record in the NBA came to an end on Monday when the Cleveland Cavaliers produced a final-quarter rally to see off the Phoenix Suns 109-91.
LeBron James hit 29 points and Mo Williams 24 as the duo led a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter for the Cavaliers (21-8), while the Suns, who trailed by six with 6:50 remaining, went scoreless for more than five minutes.
“Our effort was at a pretty high level for most of the night on the defensive end,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown told reporters. “When we do that, we get good results.”
PHOTO: REUTERS
James produced a couple of thunderous dunks and was supported by Anderson Varejao (13 points) and Delonte West (12) to prevent the Suns claiming their 20th successive home win.
“They have a great player [James] on their team and they play off him,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. “Contrary to what anybody may think, to get to the Eastern Conference Championship you are going to have to go through Cleveland at some point.”
Shaquille O’Neal had an uneventful return to Phoenix in his first game back since being traded from the Suns in the offseason, scoring three points and grabbing five rebounds in 19 minutes.
For Phoenix (18-10), Steve Nash recorded 18 points and 10 assists as they suffered their first home defeat since Cleveland beat them on March 12.
“We just stopped scoring,” Nash said “It didn’t necessarily have to do with their lineups. They wanted it bad, and we were indecisive. We lost our confidence down the stretch, and that was it.”
KINGS 102, BULLS 98
At Chicago, Tyreke Evans and the Sacramento Kings rallied from 35 points down in the second half to edge the Chicago Bulls in the biggest NBA comeback in 13 years.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the NBA’s biggest comeback since Utah overcame a 36-point deficit to beat Denver on Nov. 27, 1996.
The Bulls led 79-44 with 8:50 left in the third quarter and were still up 83-50 two minutes later before they collapsed.
Evans finished with 23 points for Sacramento.
After Sacramento finished the third with a 19-5 run to make it 88-69, Ime Udoka scored 15 of the Kings’ next 22 points in 9:32 to cut it to 95-91. That’s when Evans took over.
Luol Deng scored 26 points and Derrick Rose added 24 for the Bulls, who were booed off the court.
In Monday’s other games, it was:
• Bucks 84, Pacers 81
• Spurs 103, Clippers 87
• Magic 104, Jazz 99
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