Cavaliers 113, Knicks 106: LeBron James scored 47 points, including 24 straight for Cleveland in the first half, and the Cavaliers held off visiting New York last night for their 11th straight victory.
James, who historically has saved some of his best performances for the Knicks, set a franchise record with 35 points in the first half thanks to his remarkable streak. He finished one point shy of his season high while adding eight rebounds and eight assists.
He needed just 5:29 to score 24 straight — 16 in a row to end the first quarter and eight straight to start the second. He closed the first quarter with four 3-pointers in the final two minutes, including two from 32 feet in the final 37 seconds.
James celebrated after the first quarter by charging toward the fans and throwing open his arms as the sellout crowd inside the Q roared. With James' free agency pending this summer and the woeful Knicks dreaming of him in New York blue and orange next season, the Knicks could only stand by and watch James embrace his hometown fans.
But the Cavaliers still had to fight to hold on in the fourth quarter.
NEW YORK — Gallinari 5-10 0-0 13, Chandler 2-7 2-2 6, Lee 10-14 0-0 20, Robinson 9-18 3-3 26, Jeffries 3-4 5-5 12, Duhon 2-6 0-0 5, Harrington 6-14 2-2 16, Hill 4-5 0-0 8. Totals 41-78 12-12 106.
CLEVELAND — James 17-31 7-7 47, Hickson 5-7 0-0 10, O'Neal 8-13 3-5 19, Gibson 2-6 0-0 6, Parker 4-6 1-2 11, Ilgauskas 3-6 0-0 6, Moon 1-2 1-1 3, Varejao 3-5 0-0 6, J.Williams 1-4 2-2 5. Totals 44-80 14-17 113.
New York 24 30 26 26 — 106
Cleveland 44 30 20 19 — 113
3-Point Goals—New York 12-27 (Robinson 5-7, Gallinari 3-5, Harrington 2-8, Jeffries 1-2, Duhon 1-3, Chandler 0-2), Cleveland 11-22 (James 6-12, Parker 2-3, Gibson 2-3, J.Williams 1-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—New York 35 (Lee 8), Cleveland 41 (James 8). Assists—New York 27 (Duhon 8), Cleveland 22 (James 8). Total Fouls—New York 15, Cleveland 10. A—20,562 (20,562).
Pistons 99, Nets 92: Jonas Jerebko scored 20 points on 9-for-9 shooting, and Detroit snapped a five-game home losing streak with a victory over New Jersey last night.
Detroit has won only two of its past eight, both in the past five days over New Jersey.
The Nets lost their 14th straight on the road and are 1-26 away from home this season.
Richard Hamilton added 17 points for Detroit, while Rodney Stuckey had 10 points and 11 assists.
Devin Harris led New Jersey with 21 points, while Brook Lopez added 20.
Detroit dominated the first half with a rare strong shooting performance. The Pistons hit 60.5 percent from the floor and added six offensive rebounds to take a 56-47 lead. Jerebko had 13 in the half, while Charlie Villanueva added 12 on 4-for-4 shooting from 3-point range.
New Jersey stayed close in the third quarter, but Detroit got a buzzer-beating jumper from Will Bynum to take a 78-71 advantage into the fourth.
The Nets, though, scored the first seven points of the fourth to tie the game on Terrence Williams' dunk with 10 minutes left. New Jersey led briefly, but Hamilton's 3-pointer helped Detroit move the lead back to 93-87.
NEW JERSEY — Hayes 3-6 2-2 9, Yi 1-7 4-4 6, Lopez 8-12 4-5 20, Harris 7-12 4-5 21, Lee 4-12 0-0 9, Humphries 6-14 2-4 14, Douglas-Roberts 0-1 0-1 0, Dooling 4-7 0-0 11, Williams 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 34-74 16-21 92.
DETROIT — Prince 2-6 0-1 4, Jerebko 9-9 0-1 20, Wallace 3-4 3-4 9, Stuckey 4-13 2-2 10, Hamilton 5-14 7-10 17, Maxiell 6-8 1-1 13, Bynum 4-7 0-0 9, Gordon 1-5 2-2 5, Villanueva 4-7 0-0 12. Totals 38-73 15-21 99.
New Jersey 18 29 24 21 — 92
Detroit 26 30 22 21 — 99
3-Point Goals—New Jersey 8-15 (Dooling 3-5, Harris 3-5, Hayes 1-2, Lee 1-3), Detroit 8-12 (Villanueva 4-4, Jerebko 2-2, Bynum 1-2, Gordon 1-2, Stuckey 0-1, Hamilton 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—New Jersey 42 (Humphries 9), Detroit 44 (Wallace 10). Assists—New Jersey 21 (Harris 7), Detroit 29 (Stuckey 11). Total Fouls—New Jersey 17, Detroit 18. Technicals—Wallace, Detroit defensive three second. A—20,176 (22,076).
Timberwolves 109, Grizzlies 102: Al Jefferson rallied Minnesota to its season-high fourth straight victory by scoring 16 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter in a win last night over visiting Memphis.
Jefferson was quiet all night against steadily improving big man Marc Gasol, until the Grizzlies stretched their lead to seven points with eight minutes left. Jefferson found his touch, scoring 12 straight and giving the Timberwolves the final push they needed to avoid their first season sweep by the Grizzlies franchise.
Jefferson went 8 for 8 from the field in the fourth from all over the floor.
In 15 seasons playing Vancouver and Memphis, Minnesota has always won at least one game against them. The Wolves lost their first three against the Grizzlies this season.
Corey Brewer, who had 15 of his 17 points in the third quarter, helped spark the turnaround by finishing a fast break with a one-handed dunk from outside the lane to tie the game at 76.
Ramon Sessions had nine of his 19 points in the third, too, playing well enough that rookie starter Jonny Flynn sat on the bench for nearly the last 20 minutes of the game.
Kevin Love returned from a scary injury to knock down the sealing 3-pointer with less than 2 minutes left to give Minnesota a 104-99 lead. Love whacked his chest a couple of times on the way back to the other end, and Flynn leaped into his arms in a bear hug in celebration.
Jefferson was the star of the show, though, pump-faking newly minted All-Star Zach Randolph into the air and dribbling right for a baseline jumper that cut the Memphis lead to 95-94 at the 3:48 mark to end his run of 12 straight points.
Rudy Gay did his best to keep the Grizzlies in it with an array of pull-up jumpers, finishing with 27 points and eight rebounds. Randolph had 14 points and 13 rebounds.
MEMPHIS — Gay 13-18 0-0 27, Randolph 7-18 0-1 14, Gasol 5-11 5-5 15, Conley 6-11 0-0 14, Mayo 7-14 0-0 16, Williams 3-5 0-0 7, Young 0-4 1-2 1, Thabeet 0-1 0-0 0, Carroll 3-4 0-0 6, Hunter 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 45-87 6-8 102.
MINNESOTA — Gomes 10-14 1-2 26, Jefferson 11-17 1-4 23, Hollins 2-3 0-0 4, Flynn 2-6 2-2 6, Brewer 8-17 0-0 17, Love 3-7 5-6 12, Wilkins 0-2 0-0 0, Sessions 8-12 3-5 19, Ellington 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 45-81 12-19 109.
Memphis 27 26 25 24 — 102
Minnesota 17 30 29 33 — 109
3-Point Goals—Memphis 6-14 (Conley 2-3, Mayo 2-6, Williams 1-1, Gay 1-2, Randolph 0-1, Young 0-1), Minnesota 7-14 (Gomes 5-7, Love 1-2, Brewer 1-5). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Memphis 43 (Randolph 13), Minnesota 44 (Jefferson, Love 7). Assists—Memphis 27 (Randolph, Conley 6), Minnesota 26 (Sessions 6). Total Fouls—Memphis 16, Minnesota 10. A—14,159 (19,356).
Bulls 95, Heat 91: Luol Deng scored 25 points, Derrick Rose added 24 and Chicago beat visiting Miami last night to snap a three-game losing streak.
After blowing a fourth-quarter lead the previous night at Atlanta, the Bulls showed the poise that led to five straight wins before this skid and won even though they were missing the injured Joakim Noah and suspended Tyrus Thomas.
They went ahead early in the fourth and held on, extending Miami's season-high losing streak to five.
Jermaine O'Neal tied season highs with 24 points and 16 rebounds, Dwyane Wade added 20 points, but the Heat fell for the seventh time in eight games.
MIAMI — Richardson 5-13 0-0 13, Beasley 2-11 2-2 6, O'Neal 9-16 6-7 24, Alston 4-6 0-0 11, Wade 7-21 6-8 20, Haslem 2-5 0-0 4, Anthony 0-0 2-2 2, Wright 3-6 0-0 7, Arroyo 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 34-82 16-19 91.
CHICAGO — Deng 8-19 9-11 25, Gibson 3-7 2-4 8, Miller 3-9 6-7 13, Rose 9-19 6-8 24, Hinrich 3-7 0-0 6, Salmons 5-13 5-5 15, Richard 1-4 0-0 2, Brown 1-4 0-0 2, Pargo 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-82 28-35 95.
Miami 27 15 27 22 — 91
Chicago 23 26 20 26 — 95
3-Point Goals—Miami 7-21 (Alston 3-5, Richardson 3-8, Wright 1-3, Beasley 0-2, Wade 0-3), Chicago 1-8 (Miller 1-4, Brown 0-1, Hinrich 0-1, Salmons 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Miami 57 (O'Neal 16), Chicago 50 (Miller 8). Assists—Miami 19 (Wade 8), Chicago 16 (Salmons 5). A—22,352 (20,917).
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