(The Sports Xchange) – LeBron James had the second-highest scoring performance of his career with 57 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 130-122 win over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.
James sank 23 of 34 shots, including two 3-pointers, made all nine of his free-throw attempts and had 11 rebounds with seven assists in a dominant performance befitting a four-time league Most Valuable Player. He finished within four of his career-high set March 3, 2014, against Charlotte.
Derrick Rose added 20 points for the Cavaliers, whose slide included three double-digit losses.
Bradley Beal scored 36 points for the Wizards, who have lost four of five. John Wall had 13 points and 15 assists.
Rockets 119, Hawks 104
James Harden had 29 points and 11 assists before sitting the fourth quarter as Houston bombed away early and often from behind the 3-point arc to beat Atlanta.
Harden was 6 of 11 from on 3-point shots, and the Rockets took 47 of their 89 shots from behind the 3-point arc, making 16.
The Rockets had lost seven straight games overall to the Hawks and hadn’t won in Atlanta since a 109-102 victory on Nov. 2, 2012.
Kent Bazemore scored 18 for the Hawks, who dropped their eighth straight.
Bulls 105, Magic 83
Justin Holiday scored 19 points and David Nwaba added 16 points to lead Chicago to a surprisingly easy victory over Orlando, which had been 3-0 at home.
The Bulls never trailed after grabbing the lead early in the second half, coasting past the Magic, who had won five of their previous six games.
Evan Fournier led the Magic with 21 points.
76ers 121, Pacers 110
J.J. Redick scored a season-high 31 points, including three 3-pointers in the final 2:06, and rookie Ben Simmons had his second triple-double as Philadelphia won its fourth straight game.
Redick, signed as a free agent in the offseason after four seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, nailed 11 of 19 of shots, including 8 of 12 3-point attempts. His 3-pointer with 2:06 left snapped a tie and triggered a game-ending 11-0 rush.
Simmons finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. He also added three steals and three blocks.
Victor Oladipo had 31 points to lead Indiana, which saw a three-game winning streak end.
Pistons 105, Bucks 96
Andre Drummond had 24 points and 15 rebounds, leading Detroit past Milwaukee.
Drummond made a career-high 14 free throws on 16 attempts for the Pistons, who won four of their last five games.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, the NBA’s leading scorer, paced the Bucks with 29 points.
Knicks 120, Suns 107
Kristaps Porzingis had 37 points to lead six players in double figures as New York got back to .500 with a win over Phoenix.
The Knicks used a 15-2 run to take control midway through the first quarter as Phoenix missed 15 straight shots.
With Suns hot-scoring forward T.J. Warren sidelined with a head injury suffered at the end of the first quarter, Phoenix lacked a No. 2 scorer behind Devin Booker, who finished with 34 points.
Pelicans 99, Mavericks 94
Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins both had double-doubles, combining for 50 points, 35 rebounds, and 11 assists in New Orleans’ win.
Davis finished with a game-high 30 points, 13 rebounds and four assists. Cousins chipped in with 20 points and 22 boards, one rebound shy of his season high, and seven assists.
The misery continued for Dallas. The Mavs rallied late from 17 down to make it interesting but still dropped to 1-9, matching their worst 10-game start since the 1993-94 season.
Dirk Nowitzki went only 2 of 9 from the field and scored seven points.
Spurs 108, Hornets 101
Bryn Forbes scored 22 points to lead four reserves in double figures as San Antonio held on to snap a four-game losing streak.
Reserve Rudy Gay added 20 points for the Spurs, who earned a 64-16 advantage over Charlotte in bench scoring. Patty Mills added 17 points, 12 of them in the fourth quarter,
Charlotte’s Jeremy Lamb led all scorers with 27 points while Dwight Howard added 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Nuggets 95, Heat 94
Paul Millsap had a season-high 27 points and nine rebounds, and he hit three free throws with 11.8 seconds left to help Denver beat Miami.
Nikola Jokic had 19 points and 14 rebounds as Denver won for the fourth time in five games.
Goran Dragic led Miami with 23 points to tie a season high and James Johnson and Dion Waiters had 15 points each for the Heat (3-5). Hassan Whiteside had 13 points in 24 minutes in his second game back after missing five games with a left knee bone bruise.
With Denver trailing by two Millsap was fouled on a 3-point attempt and drained all three foul shots to put Denver ahead 95-94.
Waiters’ long jumper rimmed out at the buzzer.
Raptors 109, Jazz 100
DeMar DeRozan scored a season-high 37 points as Toronto beat Utah.
DeRozan rebounded from a 10-point showing in Wednesday’s blowout loss at Denver by producing his second 30-point game of the season.
Toronto’s Kyle Lowry added 15 points and 10 assists for his second double-double of the season.
Rookie Donavan Mitchell scored 25 points for Utah, which fell to 5-1 at home.
Celtics 101, Thunder 94
Kyrie Irving scored 22 of his 25 points after halftime as Boston beat Oklahoma City and extended its winning streak to seven games.
Al Horford added 20 points for Boston, which outscored Oklahoma City 64-39 in the second half.
Paul George led the Thunder with 25 points. Russell Westbrook added 19 points and 11 assists while Carmelo Anthony shot 3 of 17 and finished with 10 points.
Lakers 124, Nets 112
Brook Lopez scored a season-high 34 points against his former team as Los Angeles beat Brooklyn.
Lopez made six 3-pointers and shot 13 of 23 overall. Rookie Kyle Kuzma added 20 for the Lakers while Jordan Clarkson finished with 19.
Allen Crabbe scored 25 for the Nets, who dropped their fourth straight. D’Angelo Russell, who the Lakers traded for Lopez, scored 17 points on 8-of-24 from the field.
