NBA roundup: Cavaliers drop their fourth in a row, 124-107 to the Pacers
Thaddeus Young scored 26 points, Darren Collison had 25 and the Indiana Pacers sent the Cleveland Cavaliers to their fourth straight loss, 124-107 on Wednesday night in Cleveland.
LeBron James had 33 points and 11 assists, but it wasn’t enough to keep Cleveland from losing for the fifth time in six games and falling to 3-5.
The Cavaliers held a lengthy meeting before Tuesday’s practice to discuss their struggles, but the defending Eastern Conference champions have lost by a combined margin of 58 points in their losing streak.
James was upbeat about the meeting, but the Cavaliers still have issues to work out, especially on the defensive end. Cleveland led 69-68 in the third quarter, but Indiana hit four straight 3-pointers and built an eight-point lead. Indiana was 16 of 26 from three-point range.
Victor Oladipo scored 23 points for the Pacers. Bojan Bogdanovic added 17, and Domantas Sabonis had 15 points and 12 rebounds.
at Boston 113, Sacramento 86: Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown each scored 22 points in three quarters, and Bostoncoasted past skidding Sacramento for its sixth straight victory.
It was the Celtics’ 11th consecutive win over the Kings in Boston, dating to their last loss on Jan. 19, 2007. Terry Rozier added 12 points, and Daniel Theis had 10 points with 10 rebounds.
Buddy Hield scored 17 points and Zach Randolph 16 for the Kings, who lost their sixth in a row — the last three by an average of 24 points.
Phoenix 122, at Washington 116: T.J. Warren scored 28 of his career-high 40 points in the second half and Phoenix overcame a 22-point deficit to beat Washington.
Warren also had 10 rebounds and Devin Booker added 22 points to help the Suns improve to 4-1 under interim coach Jay Triano following an 0-3 start that led to Earl Watson’s firing.
Bradley Beal scored a season-high 40 points for Washington, which built the lead to 22 by the second quarter but saw it completely disappear early in the fourth.
John Wall added 21 points, and Marcin Gortat had 13 rebounds for Washington.
Houston 119, at New York 97: James Harden had 31 points and nine assists, and Houston its three-pointers falling again in a victory over New York.
Harden made six 3-pointers and the Rockets hit 19 to bounce back after two straight losses.
Ryan Anderson added 21 points for the Rockets. They won their eighth straight at Madison Square Garden, a streak that lasts so long that Mike D’Antoni was the Knicks’ coach last time they beat Houston at home, back on Jan. 26, 2009.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 23 points for the Knicks, but Kristaps Porzingis was held to 19 as their three-game winning streak was snapped.
at Charlotte 126, Milwaukee 121: Kemba Walker had 26 points, rookie Malik Monk had a huge fourth quarter and the Charlotte put the clamps on the NBA scoring leader Giannis Antetokounmpo to beat Milwaukee.
Walker was 8 for 12 from the field, including 3 for 4 from three-point range, and 7 for 7 from the foul line to help Charlotte win its third straight game. Monk, the team’s first-round draft pick from Kentucky, had 18 of his 25 points in the fourth.
Antetokounmpo came in averaging 33.7 points, but struggled with foul trouble and finished with a season-low 14 points along with 13 rebounds. He was limited to five points in the final three quarters. Khris Middleton led Milwaukee with 43 points on 15-for-28 shooting.
Minnesota 104, New Orleans 98: Jimmy Butler hit a go-ahead 20-foot jumper as he was fouled with 34 seconds left to cap off a 23-point performance, and Minnesota beat New Orleans.
Andrew Wiggins scored 18 points for Minnesota, which has won three straight, but nearly blew a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter. DeMarcus Cousins had 35 points and nine rebounds for the Pelicans while Anthony Davis cutting finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Orlando 101, Memphis 99: Evan Fournier scored 22 points, Aaron Gordon added 19 and Orlando held on to beat Memphis.
The Magic held the lead through much of the fourth quarter before a rally keyed by Tyreke Evans, who finished with 32 points for Memphis, tied it at 97 with 1:45 left on a basket by Marc Gasol,w ho finished with 22 points and nine rebounds.
A three-pointer from Gordon with 52 seconds remaining put the Magic ahead for good and Memphis missed long-range jumpers from Mario Chalmers and Dillon Brooks in the final 20 seconds.
at Miami 97, Chicago 91: Goran Dragic scored 20 points, Tyler Johnson added 19 and Miami beat Chicago to snap a three-game slide.
Hassan Whiteside returned from a five-game absence with a bruised knee and had 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Heat.
Lauri Markkanen scored 25 points and Robin Lopez added 22 for the Bulls, who were 7 for 28 from three-point range. Chicago fell to 1-5, matching its worst start since 2007-08.
at Philadelphia 119, Atlanta 109: Ben Simmons had 19 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, and Joel Embiid had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead Philadelphia past Atlanta for its third straight victory.
Robert Covington scored 22 points to help the Sixers (4-4) reach .500 for the first time in four years. Dennis Schroder had 25 points for Atlanta.
The Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 World Series
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