CLEVELAND (AP) — Max Strus drilled a 59-footer as time expired, his fifth made 3-pointer in the final four minutes, to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a wild 121-119 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.
After the Mavericks took the lead on P.J. Washington’s dunk with 2.9 seconds left, the Cavs quickly inbounded the ball to Evan Mobley, who passed back to Strus — who made four 3s in a span of 67 seconds down the stretch to keep Cleveland close.
Strus then took a dribble before launching his shot from well beyond mid-court. As it swished through the net, Strus was tackled to the floor by teammates as the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse crowd erupted.
Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points, Strus added 21 and Jarrett Allen 19 for the Cavs, who improved to 12-3 since Jan 26.
Luka Doncic had 45 points and 14 assists a day before turning 25 for the Mavericks. Kyrie Irving added 30 for Dallas, which lost for just the second time in 10 games.
CELTICS 117, 76ERS 99
BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 31 points and Boston earned its ninth straight win, powering past Philadelphia.
Jayson Tatum added 29 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, to help the NBA-leading Celtics post their 25th consecutive home win over an Eastern Conference opponent.
Boston won despite connecting on just 5-of-22 3-pointers and committing 14 turnovers. But the Celtics outscored Philadelphia 64-48 in the second half and dominated with a 56-28 rebounding edge.
Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers with 32 points and five assists. Philadelphia has lost four of its last five and is just 4-8 since Joel Embiid was sidelined with a knee injury.
WARRIORS 123, WIZARDS 112
WASHINGTON (AP) — Klay Thompson scored 25 points on a forgettable evening for Stephen Curry, Chris Paul demonstrated his value to the Warriors in his first game in seven weeks, and Golden State beat Washington.
Curry was held scoreless in the first half for the first time in the regular season since Nov. 23, 2012, against Denver. He missed his first seven shots, six from 3-point range — and three of them airballs, including a 32-foot heave at the halftime buzzer.
Curry got on the board with a 3-pointer 53 seconds into the third quarter and the Warriors went on to outscore the overmatched Wizards 38-17 in the period. He finished with 18 points and shot 4 of 16 on 3-pointers while the rest of the Warriors went 17 for 30 from beyond the arc.
Jonathan Kuminga added 21 points for Golden State, which has won 11 of 14 and moved into ninth place in the Western Conference, percentage points ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers.
BUCKS 123, HORNETS 85
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points, Damian Lillard had 23 points and Bobby Portis scored 21 as Milwaukee pounded Charlotte for its most lopsided victory of the season.
Milwaukee rolled to a 58-26 lead at the break by holding Charlotte to the lowest point total any team had produced in a half all season. This represented the second-lowest point total the Bucks had ever allowed in the first half of a game, behind only the 25 they yielded in a 94-81 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on March 3, 1972.
Milwaukee has won three straight since the All-Star break to improve to 6-7 under coach Doc Rivers. The Bucks have allowed fewer than 100 points in four of their last seven contests after reaching that goal just once in their first 52 games of the season.
Miles Bridges scored 17, Tre Mann 16, Brandon Miller 14 and Davis Bertans 12 for the Hornets, who lost for just the second time in their last seven games.
PELICANS 115, KNICKS 92
NEW YORK (AP) — Trey Murphy III scored 26 points, Brandon Ingram had 24 and New Orleans beat New York.
Zion Williamson added 21 points for the Pelicans.
Donte DiVincenzo led the Knicks with 23 points and Bojan Bogdanovic added 20 off the bench.
Jalen Brunson (neck spasms) and Isaiah Hartenstein (Achilles tendinopathy) did not play for the Knicks, who are still without starters Julius Randle, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson.
TIMBERWOLVES 114, SPURS 105
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 34 points, returning from an injury scare right before halftime, and Minnesota beat San Antonio without All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns.
Towns missed the game due to personal reasons. Earlier in the day, Towns memorialized a high school teammate on Instagram. Minnesota coach Chris Finch said before the game that he hoped Towns would only miss one game.
Rudy Gobert, back after missing a game with a left ankle sprain, added 13 points and 17 rebounds for the Timberwolves in his latest matchup with fellow French countryman Victor Wembanyama.
Wembanyama had 17 points and 13 rebounds as San Antonio lost its fifth in a row and 12 of its past 13 games. Wembanyama scored eight points in just over five minutes to open the game but didn’t score again until a 3 with 2:55 left in the third quarter.
THUNDER 112, ROCKETS 95
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points and Oklahoma City beat Houston for its sixth straight win.
Jalen Williams had 24 points and Chet Holmgren added 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Thunder, who held Houston to 38.9% shooting. Oklahoma City is tied with Minnesota for the best record in the Western Conference.
Alperen Sengun had 23 points and 11 rebounds and Jabari Smith Jr. added 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Rockets, who also lost to the Thunder on Sunday.
HEAT 106, TRAIL BLAZERS 96
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Jimmy Butler had 22 points and nine assists, Terry Rozier scored 19 points and Miami beat Portland for its fifth straight win.
Rozier was one of three players returning to the Miami lineup, playing in his first game since sustaining a knee injury on Feb. 11 against Boston. Butler and Nikola Jovic both made their returns after serving a one-game suspension for their roles in an on-court altercation in New Orleans on Feb. 23.
The Heat also used their 31st different starting lineup of the season, tying a franchise record. The Heat also had 31 combinations in the 2014-15 season; they needed only 58 games to match that mark this season.
Anfernee Simons scored 26 points for the Blazers, who led by 15 points. Jerami Grant had 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
HAWKS 124, JAZZ 97
ATLANTA (AP) — Jalen Johnson had 22 points with 13 rebounds and Atlanta never trailed after scoring the first 12 points and beat Utah.
The Hawks have won two straight games after losing All-Star point guard Trae Young for at least four weeks with a torn ligament in his left pinky finger. Dejounte Murray, who has taken over primary ball-handling duties, scored 17 points with 11 assists.
De’Andre Hunter scored 20 points Bogdan Bogdanovic had 19 in Atlanta’s balanced attack.
Collin Sexton led Utah with 22 points. Walker Kessler added 14 points with 12 rebounds. Utah has lost six of its last seven.
MAGIC 108, NETS 81
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Franz Wagner scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half and Orlando rolled over Brooklyn.
Moritz Wagner added 16 points and five rebounds. Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony scored 12 points apiece off the bench for Orlando.
Dennis Schroder scored 15 points in his third start for the Nets. Trendon Watford had 14 points and eight rebounds.
Forward Mikal Bridges, playing in his 450th consecutive games, scored four points, his lowest scoring output of the season. Bridges, who has never missed a game in his five NBA seasons, did not score in the first half and missed all seven of his 3-point shots.
PISTONS 105, BULLS 95
CHICAGO (AP) — Cade Cunningham scored 26 points and Detroit stopped a six-game losing streak by beating Chicago.
Owners of the NBA’s worst record, the Pistons bounced back from a heated loss at New York the previous night and picked up just their ninth win of the season despite big efforts by Chicago’s Nikola Vucevic, DeMar DeRozan and Andre Drummond.
Simone Fontecchio scored 17, and Jaden Ivey finished with 15 points, helping the Pistons beat the Bulls for just the second time in 18 games.
Vucevic had 25 points and 10 rebounds. DeRozan scored 25.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Leave a Reply