(The Sports Xchange) —The short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers, using just nine players, beat the Knicks 106-100 to end New York’s eight-game winning streak.
Cavaliers (27-44) guard Jarrett Jack scored a season-high 31 points and recorded 10 assists, including 13 points in the fourth quarter. Jack started in place of Cleveland’s leading scorer, Kyrie Irving, who is out due to a biceps injury.
Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points for the Knicks (29-40), who failed to capitalize on an Atlanta loss earlier in the day. New York trails the Hawks by three games for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
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Nets 107, Mavericks 104 (overtime)
The Brooklyn Nets got the big shots and big stops when they needed them most in rallying to beat Dallas in overtime.
Joe Johnson scored 22 points, sending the game into overtime with a shot with 9.9 seconds left in regulation, including six to seal it in the extra session.
The Nets (37-31) won for the 11th time in their last 13 games, as they continue to climb in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Brooklyn, fifth in the East, are eyeing a top-four seed with 14 games left in the regular season.
The Mavericks (42-29) fell into eighth in the Western Conference and dropped to 2-2 on their franchise-record eight-game homestand.
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Suns 127, Timberwolves 120
Markieff Morris scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and the Phoenix Suns rallied for a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Suns (41-29) trailed after each of the first three quarters, but outscored the Timberwolves 34-17 in the fourth.
With 48 seconds to play, Eric Bledsoe put Phoenix on top 120-118 and they sealed it at the free throw line.
Kevin Love emerged with game-high totals in points (36) and rebounds (14) for Minnesota (34-34).
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Nuggets 105, Wizards 102
Kenneth Faried had 20 points and eight rebounds as the short-handed Denver Nuggets overcame a 14-point deficit in the first quarter to defeat the Washington Wizards.
Washington (36-34) pulled to two with 10 seconds to go but the Nuggets closed it with free throws.
Randy Foye had 17 points and forward Darrell Arthur added 15 off the Nuggets bench.
Injury ravaged Denver (32-38) played their first game without J.J. Hickson, who tore his right ACL and was lost for the season on Friday.
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Lakers 103, Magic 94
Jordan Hill scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, helping the Los Angeles Lakers end a four-game skid with a victory over the Orlando Magic.
Nick Young scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter for the Lakers (23-46), who handed the Magic their ninth consecutive defeat.
Orlando (19-52), the worst road team in the NBA at 4-34, have lost 23 of their past 24 games.
Victor Oladipo led Orlando with 21 points and 10 assists. Arron Afflalo added 18 points, while Tobias Harris had 16 points and nine rebounds.
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Raptors 96, Hawks 86
Kyle Lowry scored a game-high 25 points and the Toronto Raptors came from behind to defeat the Atlanta Hawks.
The Raptors overcame a 14-point deficit and took their first lead of the second half when DeMar DeRozan hit a jumper to make it 85-84 lead with two minutes remaining. DeRozan finished with 21 points.
Paul Millsap and and DeMarre Carroll each had 17 points for Atlanta (31-37).
With the win, Toronto (39-30) matched their win total at home last season at 21. The Raptors now have a winning home record in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2006-07 and 2007-08.
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Kings 124, Bucks 107
DeMarcus Cousins scored 32 points and pulled in 12 rebounds, Isaiah Thomas added 30 points and Rudy Gay had 24, and the Kings rolled to a victory over the hapless Bucks.
The Kings (25-45) led from wire to wire for the first time all season.
O.J. Mayo led the Bucks (13-57) with 21 points, but Milwaukee lost for the seventh consecutive time, their third skid of at least that many games this season.
