(The Sports Xchange) – Highlights of Sunday’s National Basketball Association games:
Trail Blazers 115, Jazz 111
Guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum combined for 61 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers past the Utah Jazz 115-111 Sunday night at the Moda Center.
McCollum scored 31 points and Lillard 30 points as the Trail Blazers won for the 10th time in 11 games. Forward Moe Harkless came off the bench for 17 points and seven rebounds for Portland (29-27).
Cavaliers 115, Thunder 92
Forward Kevin Love scored 29 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to an emphatic 115-92 road victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Love shot 9 of 18 from the field and hauled in 11 rebounds. Forward LeBron James started slowly, recording only two points in the first 10 minutes but eventually collected 25 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds as the Cavaliers improved to 40-14.
Pelicans 111, Pistons 106
Anthony Davis poured in a career-high 59 points, the NBA’s highest-scoring outing this season, to carry the New Orleans Pelicans to a 111-106 victory over the slumping Detroit Pistons, who lost their fifth straight.
The All-Star power forward shot 24-for-34 from the field and made 9-of-10 free throw attempts. He also grabbed a season-high 20 rebounds.
Celtics 121, Nuggets 101
Guard Isaiah Thomas had 22 points and 12 assists, and the surging Boston Celtics beat the Denver Nuggets 121-101 on Sunday.
Forward Jared Sullinger had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Boston, which had a 48-36 edge in rebounding despite being undersized against Denver.
Guard Avery Bradley added 20 points for the Celtics (33-24), who have won 11 of 14 to stay on the heels of first-place Toronto in the Atlantic Division.
Spurs 118, Suns 111
Guards Tony Parker scored 22 points and Patty Mills added 21 as the San Antonio Spurs struggled with the Phoenix Suns before pulling away for a 118-111 win on Sunday.
Forward LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 points and 10 rebounds and Rasual Butler had 12 points for the Spurs, who won for the eighth time in the last nine games to improve to 47-9, the best 56-game start in franchise history. That record is one game better than the 2010-11 Spurs team (46-10).
Hornets 104, Nets 96
Guard Kemba Walker scored 28 points and the Charlotte Hornets ran their season-high winning streak to five games with a 104-96 victory over the Brooklyn Nets Sunday night.
Walker picked up his first road win against the Nets by shooting 11 of 18 from the field and making four 3-pointers. The Hornets had been 0-4 on the road in games Walker played against the Nets, and the New York native was injured last year when Charlotte had a 14-point win in Brooklyn.
Pacers 105, Magic 102
Monta Ellis had 21 points and Paul George 20, leading the Indiana Pacers to a 105-102 victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday night at the Amway Center.
The Pacers (30-25) won for the fourth time in the last five games.
Raptors 89, Grizzlies 85
Guard DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points and the Toronto Raptors defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 98-85 on Sunday night.
Guard Kyle Lowry added 18 points and seven assists for the Raptors (36-18), who had lost their previous two games.
Forward Zach Randolph scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Grizzlies (32-23), who had won their two previous games.
Mavericks 129, 76ers 103
Nothing like the Philadelphia 76ers coming to town to put the Dallas Mavericks back in a good place.
Power forward Dirk Nowitzki hit another milestone in the Mavericks’ relatively stress-free 129-103 victory over the Sixers on Sunday night at American Airlines Center.
Bulls 126, Lakers 115
Guard E’Twaun Moore matched a career high with 24 points, and the Chicago Bulls outlasted the Los Angeles Lakers for a 126-115 win Sunday night.
Bulls guard Derrick Rose scored 24 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished six assists. Center Pau Gasol added 21 points and seven rebounds for Chicago (29-26).
