LeBron James lead Lakers past Cavs in Cleveland return

CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James felt only love at home.

Making his first trip back to Cleveland since leaving for the second time as a free agent, James was welcomed like a hero Wednesday night and rallied the Los Angeles Lakers to a 109-105 victory over the Cavaliers, who played an inspired game against their former teammate but couldn't stop him when it mattered most.

James finished with 32 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. He also scored or assisted on 11 straight points to help the Lakers overcome a 99-91 deficit in the fourth quarter.

The Cavs had a chance to tie late, but Kyle Korver missed a wide-open 3-pointer with 17 seconds left, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made four free throws in the final 15 to seal it.

The NBA-worst Cavs didn't roll over against James and played one of their best games this season. They seemed in control up 99-91 before James, as he did some many times for Cleveland. Jordan Clarkson had 20 points for Cleveland.

ROCKETS 126, PISTONS 124

HOUSTON (AP) — James Harden scored a season-high 43 points, Clint Capela added 27 and Houston held off Detroit for its fifth straight victory.

Houston has won eight of its last 10 after winning just one of its first six.

Blake Griffin led the Pistons with 37 points and 11 rebounds Andre Drummond added 20 points with 11 rebounds for the Pistons.

The Rockets led by 14 with about five minutes left, but Griffin made five 3-pointers that helped Detroit cut the lead to four points with about 90 seconds left. Houston struggled to contain Griffin late after defensive stopper P.J. Tucker was ejected in the third quarter after he received two technical fouls for arguing with officials.

76ERS 121, PELICANS 120

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid had 31 points and 19 rebounds and Philadelphia beat New Orleans after Anthony Davis missed the third of three free throws with 2.5 seconds left.

The 76ers are 10-0 at home. They looked in control, up nine points with just under 2 1/2 minutes to play, before a late surge by the Pelicans.

Embiid fouled Davis on a 3-point attempt, and Davis made the first two free throws before the third one went in and out. Davis grabbed the rebound, but his wild attempt at a winning shot was off the mark.

Davis finished with 12 points and 16 rebounds in a matchup between two of the NBA's top big men with Embiid.

KNICKS 117, CELTICS 109

BOSTON (AP) — Trey Burke scored 29 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. had 21 and New York beat Boston to snap a six-game losing streak.

Noah Vonleh had 16 points and Enes Kanter finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds. New York won for the fifth time in 19 games.

Kyrie Irving led the Celtics with 22 points and 13 assists, and Marcus Morris had 21 points. Boston has lost three straight to fall to 9-9.

HORNETS 127, PACERS 109

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jeremy Lamb scored 21 points, NBA scoring leader Kemba Walker had 16 points and a season-high 11 assists and Charlotte beat Indiana.

Walker scored 103 points in his previous two games, including 60 against Philadelphia on Saturday night. But Walker only attempted 10 shots, instead taking advantage of double teams to find teammates for open looks. Charlotte shot 62 percent from 3-point range, making a season-high 18 of 29 shots from beyond the arc.

Bojan Bogdanovic had 20 points for Indiana.

BUCKS 143, TRAIL BLAZERS 100

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo matched his season high with 33 points and finished an assist short of a triple-double in three quarters to help Milwaukee rout Portland.

Antetokounmpo added 16 rebounds and nine assists in 30 minutes. CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard each had 22 points for the Trail Blazers.

GRIZZLIES 104, SPURS 103

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Mike Conley had 30 points, Marc Gasol hit two free throws with 0.7 seconds left and Memphis beat San Antonio.

San Antonio's DeMar DeRozan had 24 points, including a fadeaway 15-footer in the left corner with 1.2 seconds remaining for a 103-102 lead.

Gasol drew a foul from Rudy Gay on the inbound pass and hit both free throws, and LaMarcus Aldridge missed a 3-point try at the buzzer.

Gay finished with 21 points, and Aldridge had 19 points and 11 rebounds.

BULLS 124, SUNS 116

CHICAGO (AP) — Jabari Parker had 20 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, and Chicago beat Phoenix to stop a four-game slide.

Chicago shot a season-high 56.8 percent in just its third win in its last 12 games. Zach LaVine scored 29 points after missing Saturday night's loss to Toronto due to an illness, and Ryan Arcidiacono finished with 14.

Phoenix lost for the seventh time in its last eight games. Devin Booker scored 23 points, T.J. Warren had 21 and Deandre Ayton added 18 points and 12 rebounds.

RAPTORS 124, HAWKS 108

ATLANTA (AP) — Kyle Lowry scored 21 points in his first triple-double of the season and Toronto beat Atlanta.

Lowry had 17 assists and 12 rebounds for his 13th career triple-double.

Vince Carter's dunk for the Hawks with less than a second remaining pushed him past 25,000 career points. He became the 22nd NBA player to reach the milestone.

MAVERICKS 119, NETS 113

DALLAS (AP) — Harrison Barnes scored a season-high 28 points, Devin Harris broke a fourth-quarter tie with eight straight points and Dallas beat Brooklyn.

Teenage rookie Luka Doncic had 21 points and nine rebounds to help the Mavericks win their fifth consecutive home game. Allen Crabbe scored a season-high 27 points for the Nets.

NUGGETS 103, TIMBERWOLVES 101

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Paul Millsap had 25 points, Jamal Murray added 18 and Denver held off Minnesota.

Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 22 points, and Derrick Rose added 20 off the bench.

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