Kevin Love had 23 points and 13 rebounds, while forward LeBron James added 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 91-84 win over the New York Knicks on Wednesday.
The Knicks were playing without Carmelo Anthony and still nearly pulled off an upset thanks to 23 points and 13 rebounds from rookie Kristaps Porzingis.
The Knicks rallied from 11 points down to take their first lead on a tip-in from forward Lou Amundson with 11 minutes to play, but they were well held near the close, with Porzingis shut out in the fourth quarter.
Photo: AFP
Cavs guard Kyrie Irving played 20 minutes in his second game back from a fractured kneecap, but was clearly still rusty, with five points and four assists on 1-of-7 shooting from the field.
The Knicks limited the Cavs to 39 percent shooting from the floor and had a chance to win until the final minute.
Cavs guard Iman Shumpert’s defense forced the Knicks into a timeout after guard Arron Afflalo was trapped in the corner with the score tied at 82-82.
Photo: AP
Knicks forward Lance Thomas threw away the inbounds pass and Cavs guard Matthew Dellavedova converted at the other end.
The Cavs strung together a couple more stops, including once when Shumpert stripped Afflalo again two possessions later for a turnover, and James clinched the win with a dunk in the final minute.
Guard Mo Williams returned after missing a week with a sprained right thumb.
“I will be happiest when we see a full roster that is entirely healthy, but it feels good,” Blatt said. “We have been waiting for this.”
MAVERICKS 119, NETS 118
Dirk Nowitzki capped a milestone night by converting a go-ahead layup with 19.2 seconds remaining in overtime as the Dallas Mavericks outlasted the Brooklyn Nets for a wild 119-118 victory.
Early in the second quarter, Nowitzki moved past Shaquille O’Neal into sole possession of sixth place on the NBA’s career scoring list with a 17-footer.
Long after passing O’Neal, Nowitzki capped a 22-point night by executing an up-and-under move near the basket. Nowitzki now has 28,607 points, while O’Neal finished with 28,596.
Nowitzki’s shot stood as the game-winner when Brooklyn guard Jarrett Jack missed an 18-foot fade-away from the left wing with nine-tenths of a second remaining.
CELTICS 102, HORNETS 89
Kelly Olynyk scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Jae Crowder had 19 points and 11 rebounds as Boston beat Charlotte.
The Celtics never trailed and they led by as many as 20 points in the second half. They were on top by seven at half-time, then blew the game open by going on a 23-10 run to open the third quarter.
MAGIC 104, ROCKETS 101
Nikola Vucevic scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds, leading Orlando past Houston.
The Magic won for the fifth time in six games as they snapped the Rockets’ three-game winning streak.
James Harden finished with 31 points and seven assists, while Dwight Howard had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Rockets.
KINGS 108, PACERS 106
DeMarcus Cousins (25 points, 16 rebounds) sank two free throws with 1 minute, 5 seconds remaining as Sacramento defeated Indiana.
A Monta Ellis three-pointer with 2 minutes, 5 seconds remaining gave Indiana a 106-104 lead after the Pacers had trailed by 15 at half-time. A Rudy Gay jumper with 1 minute, 31 seconds left tied it at 106-106 and the Kings won it on Cousins’ free throws.
WIZARDS 100, GRIZZLIES 91
Garrett Temple continued his surprising scoring surge with 20 points, while John Wall had 14 points and 14 assists as Washington won their third consecutive game.
Marcin Gortat had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards, who swept their three-game homestand.
HAWKS 107, PISTONS 100
The Hawks’ strategy of repeatedly fouling Detroit center Andre Drummond worked, forcing Pistons coach Stan van Gundy to take his big man off the floor for stretches, changing the flow of the game.
Jeff Teague scored 23 points and handed out nine assists as the Hawks used a big second-quarter run with Drummond on the bench to take command in a win over the Pistons.
Drummond finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds, but he hit just seven of 18 foul shots.
PELICANS 115, TRAIL BLAZERS 89
Anthony Davis scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds — his 16th double-double of the season — as New Orleans snapped a seven-game losing streak to Portland.
The Pelicans sent the reeling Blazers to their fifth loss on a five-game road trip. Portland had not gone winless on a road trip of at least five games since an 0-5 trip in 1974.
SPURS 108, TIMBERWOLVES 83
San Antonio got a balanced effort in a rout of Minnesota.
Six players scored in double figures for the Spurs, who won their seventh consecutive game and 11th of the past 12. Kawhi Leonard led all scorers with 19 points.
Minnesota, losers of six of eight games, got 10 points and 11 rebounds from rookie Karl-Anthony Towns.
BUCKS 113, 76ERS 100
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 22 points as Milwaukee made interim head coach Joe Prunty’s debut memorable, cruising to a victory over Philadelphia.
Antetokounmpo hit his first 10 shots from the field and went 11-for-13 for the game, as the Bucks shot 60.7 percent from the field and made five of 11 three-pointers.
NUGGETS 104, SUNS 96
Randy Foye stepped into the starting lineup and produced 31 points, hitting seven three-pointers, as Denver beat Phoenix.
Darrell Arthur added 19 points and Will Barton scored 17 off the bench for the Nuggets, who dressed only 10 players due to illness and injury. Denver blew a 22-point lead and still snapped a three-game losing streak thanks to 14 three-pointers.
Brandon Knight had 21 points and Jon Leuer added 18 for the Suns, who lost their third consecutive game.
WARRIORS 103, JAZZ 85
Golden State tuned up for their Christmas Day showdown with the Cleveland Cavaliers by dispatching Utah in rather lackluster fashion.
The Warriors became the first team since the 1990-1991 Denver Nuggets to score 100 or more points in a 47th consecutive game. The defending champs extended their home-court winning streak to 30 regular-season games with their 13th in a row this season.
Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 20 points, while Stephen Curry added 16 points and nine assists. Derrick Favors had 17 points and Rodney Hood scored 15 for the Jazz.
THUNDER 120, LAKERS 85
Russell Westbrook had 23 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, while Kevin Durant scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds as Oklahoma City routed Los Angeles.
The Thunder prevailed for the ninth time in 10 games. They also blew out the Lakers for the second time in five days.
Kobe Bryant scored 19 points on 7-of-22 shooting to lead the Lakers.
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
Erling Haaland on Sunday scored twice to propel Manchester City up to second in the English Premier League with a 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth. The Cherries started the day in second thanks to the longest unbeaten run in the English top flight, but Andoni Iraola’s side were undone by the scintillating form of the Norwegian striker, who took his tally to 13 Premier League goals in 10 games. Haaland’s relentless streak is maintaining City’s title challenge as they reduced the gap to leaders Arsenal back to six points and edged one point ahead of Liverpool, who they face at the weekend. “Important
For almost 30 minutes, Vitomir Maricic did not take a breath. Face down in a pool, surrounded by anxious onlookers, the Croatian freediver fought spasming pain to redefine what doctors thought was possible. When he finally surfaced, he had smashed the previous Guinness World Record for the longest breath-hold underwater by nearly five minutes. However, even with the help of pure oxygen before the attempt, it had pushed him to the limit. “Everything was difficult, just overwhelming,” Maricic, 40, told reporters, reflecting on the record-breaking day on June 14. “When I dive, I completely disconnect from everything, as if I’m not even there.
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