LeBron James erupted for a game-high 38 points along with 11 rebounds and 12 assists to power the visiting Los Angeles Lakers to a 131-120 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday.
James, who played for the Cavs for 11 seasons, was 17 of 29 from the field. He came into Monday’s game second in the league in scoring at 29.8 per game in a virtual three-way tie with Philadelphia Joel Embiid and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Lakers finished 2-2 on their four-game road trip.
Russell Westbrook contributed 20 points and 11 assists for the Lakers, while D.J. Augustin had 20 points off the bench. Augustin didn’t miss a shot from the field (7 of 7) or the 3-point line (6 of 6), as the Lakers shot a season-high 56.4 percent from the field.
Guard Darius Garland was sensational with 29 points and a game-high 16 assists for the Cavs, who were 3-2 in their just-concluded five-game homestand. Garland has scored 20 or more points in 14 of his last 15 games.
Nets 114, Jazz 106
Kevin Durant scored 15 of his 37 points in the third quarter as Brooklyn surged ahead and held on for a victory over Utah in New York.
The Nets won for the sixth time in seven games following a 3-17 skid as Durant posted his 20th 30-point showing of the season. Bruce Brown added a season-best 22 points with seven rebounds and five assists as the Nets shot 54.2 percent. Nic Claxton filled in for starting center Andre Drummond (non-COVID illness) and added 11 of his 15 in the decisive third.
Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points on 9-for-23 shooting as the Jazz saw their three-game winning streak stopped. Jordan Clarkson added 19 and Mike Conley chipped in 18 with seven assists as Utah was held to 44.6 percent from the field.
Celtics 132, Thunder 123
Jayson Tatum scored 36 points to lead Boston to a road win over Oklahoma City.
The Celtics swept their four-game road trip and the two-game season series against the Thunder. Jaylen Brown added 25 points for Boston while Grant Williams added 20 points and 10 rebounds. Derrick White and Payton Pritchard scored 18 each for the Celtics, who shot 51.2 percent from the field. Tre Mann finished with a Thunder rookie-record 35 points, going 13 of 21 from the floor and making a season-high seven 3-pointers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 31 points while Darius Bazley scored 22 and Aleksej Pokusevski a season-high 19 for Oklahoma City.
Bulls 113, Raptors 99
Zach LaVine scored 16 of his 26 points in the pivotal third quarter and Chicago defeated visiting Toronto.
Former Raptor DeMar DeRozan also scored 26 points on 11-for-14 shooting from the field for the Bulls, who ended a three-game losing streak. Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls, who pulled away in the third quarter after trailing by one at halftime.
Pascal Siakam scored 22 points for the Raptors, who had a six-game road winning streak end. Fred VanVleet added 19 points and nine assists, and Chris Boucher contributed 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Hornets 106, Pelicans 103
LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier scored 17 points apiece and Charlotte finally caught up in the final minutes in a victory over visiting New Orleans in a clash of teams vying for playoff spots.
The Hornets’ Mason Plumlee scored on two dunks in the final minute, but Pelicans rookie guard Jose Alvarado answered the second of those with a hoop, cutting the gap to 104-103. Ball countered by making a running floater with 8.9 seconds to stretch Charlotte’s lead in what became their fifth consecutive win.
CJ McCollum had 27 points and six assists while Jonas Valanciunas added 24 points and 18 rebounds for the Pelicans, who had won three of their previous four games, including a road game a night earlier at Atlanta. Reserve Naji Marshall contributed 14 points.
76ers 113, Heat 106
Tyrese Maxey scored 28 points, Shake Milton added 20 and host Philadelphia defeated Miami.
Furkan Korkmaz contributed 18, Georges Niang chipped in with 15 and Tobias Harris had 14 for the short-handed Sixers. Since it was the second leg of a difficult back-to-back, the Sixers opted to play without All-Stars Joel Embiid (back) and James Harden (hamstring).
Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 27 points, Bam Adebayo added 22 and Kyle Lowry had 20. Caleb Martin also scored 14 and Tyler Herro had 10.
Trail Blazers 119, Pistons 115
Brandon Williams had 23 points and visiting Portland snapped a four-game losing streak by holding off Detroit.
Ben McLemore had 21 points and Drew Eubanks supplied 17 points and eight rebounds. CJ Elleby contributed 16 points and eight rebounds, Trendon Watford tossed in 13 points and Justise Winslow added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Blazers.
Saddiq Bey and Cade Cunningham had 25 points apiece for Detroit. Cunningham also made seven assists but committed nine turnovers. Marvin Bagley III added 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Killian Hayes chipped in 12 points and six assists.
Mavericks 110, Timberwolves 108
Dwight Powell scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds as Dallas held on for a win over visiting Minnesota.
Spencer Dinwiddie added 20 points while shooting 7 of 12 from the field for the Mavericks. Luka Doncic shot only 5 of 17 but posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists.
Karl-Anthony Towns, who was questionable to play because of a forearm injury, led Minnesota with 22 points and eight rebounds. Anthony Edwards had 19 points, D’Angelo Russell scored 18 and Taurean Prince chipped in 17 off the bench.
Rockets 115, Wizards 97
Christian Wood scored 30 of his career-high 39 points in the second half as Houston erased a 23-point deficit to beat visiting Washington.
Wood finished 14 of 18 overall and 8 of 9 on 3-point attempts to help the Rockets snap a five-game losing skid. He also grabbed 10 rebounds. The Rockets’ Jalen Green scored 17 points.
Kristaps Porzingis paced the Wizards with 22 points and 13 rebounds while Rui Hachimura added 16 points and eight boards. Raul Neto posted a career-high 10 assists for Washington.
—Field Level Media