LeBron James and Kyrie Irving each scored 18 points, and J.R. Smith had 17 and hooked up with Iman Shumpert for a dazzling dunk in their return to New York as the Cleveland Cavaliers crushed the Knicks 101-83 on Sunday.
James moved past Allen Iverson into 22nd place on the career scoring list, and added seven rebounds and seven assists. Kevin Love finished with 16 points and 16 boards, combining with James and Irving to outscore the inept Knicks in the first half.
Cleveland won for the 16th time in 18 games and got good performances from Smith and Shumpert, who were acquired by the Cavs on Jan. 5 and have helped solidify a team that was still below .500 shortly after the trade. The Cavaliers are 35-22 and have been untouchable since returning from the All-Star break, hammering Washington by 38 on Friday night and leading this one by 30.
Photo: EPA
Shumpert came off the bench for four points, five rebounds and seven assists, one of them when Smith jumped to catch his lob pass and slammed it down with his back to the basket. The two guards hugged, and Smith jumped into James’ arms heading back to the bench.
Rodney Stuckey scored 30 points to lead the Indiana Pacers past the NBA-leading Golden State Warriors 104-98.
The Warriors played without injured guard Stephen Curry for the first time this season.
Klay Thompson scored 39 points for Golden State.
The Lakers’ Jeremy Lin had a season-high 25 points as Los Angeles ended a seven-game losing streak with a 118-111 overtime victory over the Boston Celtics.
Wesley Johnson added a season-high 22 and Nick Young finished with 19 points, helping the Lakers win for only the second time in their last 18 games. The other victory came in double overtime at home against Chicago on Jan. 29. They have not won a game in regulation since Jan. 9, when they beat Orlando 101-84 at Staples Center.
Isaiah Thomas, making his Celtics debut after Thursday’s trade from Phoenix, scored 21 points in 25 minutes before he was ejected with five minutes and three seconds left in regulation and Boston trailing 91-87.
In Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook had 21 points and a career-high 17 assists as the Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 119-94 without Kevin Durant.
Durant was out after a procedure on Sunday to replace a screw that was causing soreness in his surgically repaired right foot. The reigning NBA MVP is expected to return this season.
In other games, Marc Gasol scored 21 points as the Memphis Grizzlies overcame a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 98-92, the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Charlotte Hornets 92-81, the Atlanta Hawks beat the Milwaukee Bucks 97-86, the Detroit Pistons downed the Washington Wizards 106-89 and the Orlando Magic were 103-98 winners over the Philadelphia 76ers.
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