National Basketball Association Game Capsules

Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) – Kevin Love returned to get 10 points and 11 rebounds and the Cleveland Cavaliers eased to a 117-92 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night. Timofey Mozgov and J.R. Smith led the way with 17 points each and LeBron James scored 16 for the Cavs, who bounced back from a 106-92 loss in Miami on Monday to win for the fifth time in six games. They have won 14 in a row at home, last losing at Quicken Loans Arena on Jan. 7 to Houston. Kyrie Irving added 12 points and 10 assists for the Central Division leaders and Love played 27 1/2 minutes after resting the last two games. Deron Williams had 20 points to lead six Brooklyn scorers in double digits and Bojan Bogdanovic added 12 off the bench. The Nets had a two- game winning streak snapped and finished 2-2 on a four-game road trip.

Final Score: Philadelphia 94, Detroit 83

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Ish Smith scored 15 points with eight assists to power the Philadelphia 76ers to a 94-83 win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday. Jason Richardson went 3-for-5 from 3-point range and finished with 14 points, while Thomas Robinson and Jerami Grant netted 12 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench for the 76ers, who have won three of its four meetings with Detroit this season. Nerlens Noel finished with 11 points and three blocks before departing in the third quarter with a right foot contusion. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope supplied 20 points and eight boards, while Reggie Jackson recorded a triple-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the Pistons, who have lost 11 of their last 12 games.

Final Score: Miami 108, Portland 104

Miami, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Dwyane Wade took over down the stretch, scoring 15 of Miami’s final 17 points in a 108-104 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. Trailing 102-97, the Blazers scored seven straight points to take the lead. Arron Afflalo made a 3-pointer before LaMarcus Aldridge made two short jumpers to make it 104-102 with 52.1 seconds left. Wade responded with a pair of jumpers around a miss from Aldridge to give the Heat a two-point edge with 13.6 seconds remaining. The Blazers were then called for a backcourt violation, and Wade added two free throws to seal the victory. Wade ended with 32 points and six assists for the Heat, who overcame an 11-point deficit. Luol Deng made four 3-pointers en route to 24 points and Goran Dragic added 20 points and 11 assists. Aldridge had 34 points and 12 rebounds for the Northwest Division-leading Blazers, who have lost two in a row since a three-game winning streak. Damian Lillard and Afflalo contributed 17 and 15 points, respectively.

Final Score: Toronto 105, Minnesota 100

Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) – Jonas Valanciunas had 15 points and 15 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 105-100 on Wednesday night. DeMar DeRozan posted 21 points and seven boards, Terrence Ross netted 15 points and Patrick Patterson added 14 off the bench for the Raptors, who have won three of their last four games on the heels of a 1-9 stretch. All-Star guard Kyle Lowry left in the third quarter after taking a hard fall on his back. Kevin Martin scored 37 points, while Chase Budinger supplied 19 points and eight rebounds for Minnesota, which has dropped six in a row and 10 of its last 11 contests. Andrew Wiggins, who grew up in the north suburbs of Toronto, received a loud ovation during pregame introductions.

Final Score: Chicago 103, Indiana 86

Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) – Mike Dunleavy scored 19 of his 21 points in the first half and the Chicago Bulls led for the final 39-plus minutes in a 103-86 win over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night. Nikola Mirotic led the way with 25 points off the bench and Pau Gasol added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulls, returned home after losing the last two games of a three-game road trip in Charlotte and Oklahoma City. They won for only the second time in their last seven games and remained 2 1/2 games behind Cleveland for first place in the Central Division. Solomon Hill scored 13 points and Roy Hibbert had 12 to lead the Pacers, who shot just 39.5 percent in the game. Chicago outrebounded Indiana 52-38.

Final Score: Dallas 107, Orlando 102

Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – Dirk Nowitzki finished with 25 points and eight rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks held off the Orlando Magic for a 107-102 win on Wednesday. Monta Ellis scored 21 points and Devin Harris had 12 off the bench for the Mavericks, who won their third straight game. Elfrid Payton notched his first career triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, while Victor Oladipo and Maurice Harkless netted 19 and 18 points, respectively, in the Magic’s 12th consecutive road loss.

Final Score: San Antonio 114, Milwaukee 103

Milwaukee, WI (SportsNetwork.com) – Danny Green had 20 points and eight rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 114-103 on Wednesday night. Tim Duncan posted 19 points, seven assists and five boards, while Boris Diaw added 18 points, six rebounds and five helpers for San Antonio, which is 2-2 since a six-game winning streak. Giannis Antetokounmpo supplied 19 points and eight rebounds for the Bucks, who have dropped four straight.

Final Score: Oklahoma City 122, Boston 118

Oklahoma City, OK (SportsNetwork.com) – Russell Westbrook scored 36 points and led a third-quarter barrage that lifted the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 122-118 victory over the Boston Celtics. Westbrook recorded 15 points during a third quarter in which Oklahoma City outscored Boston by a 40-24 margin, then put up 10 more in the fourth to help the injury-plagued Thunder to an important win. Wednesday’s result moved Oklahoma City, still without Kevin Durant and now minus Serge Ibaka for likely the remainder of the regular season, a half-game in front of New Orleans for the Western Conference’s eighth seed. Enes Kanter finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds starting in Ibaka’s place, while Anthony Morrow gave Oklahoma City a huge lift off the bench by pouring in 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Westbrook added 10 assists. The Celtics, locked in a battle with Indiana and Miami for the East’s final two playoff spots after winning a season-high five straight coming in, received a career-high 25 points and nine rebounds from Marcus Smart. Kelly Olynyk and Brandon Bass each tallied 20 points in defeat.

Final Score: LA Clippers 116, Sacramento 105

Sacramento, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Chris Paul scored 20 of his 30 points in the second half to lead the Los Angeles Clippers past the Sacramento Kings, 116-105, on Wednesday night. Paul also dished out 11 assists for the Clippers, who went 17-of-37 from beyond the arc. J.J. Redick made seven 3-pointers en route to 27 points and Blake Griffin tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds. Rudy Gay ended with 23 points, six rebounds and three steals in his return from a two-game absence for the Kings, who have dropped four straight. Andre Miller and Nik Stauskas contributed 16 and 13 points, respectively. Sacramento was without DeMarcus Cousins (calf).

Final Score: Golden State 114, Atlanta 95

Oakland, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Stephen Curry had an off night and Klay Thompson has a bad ankle, but the Golden State Warriors still routed the best team in the Eastern Conference. Harrison Barnes netted 25 points and the Warriors blew out the Atlanta Hawks 114-95 on Wednesday night. Despite shooting just 4-of-11, Curry still finished with 16 points and dished out 12 assists for Golden State, which has won eight of its last nine games. Andre Iguodala provided 21 points and six assists and Andrew Bogut pulled down 14 boards in the triumph. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr announced Tuesday that Thompson will miss 7-to-10 days due to an ankle injury after suffering it Monday against the Los Angeles Lakers. Golden State is two games ahead of Atlanta in the loss column for the best record in the NBA. DeMarre Carroll tallied 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Hawks, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. Atlanta had an opportunity to clinch its first division title since the 1993-94 season with a win.

Final Score: Washington 88, Utah 84

Salt Lake City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) – John Wall tallied 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists and the Washington Wizards pushed their win streak to five games with an 88-84 triumph over the Utah Jazz. Paul Pierce added 18 points for Washington, which ended Utah’s six-game win streak. It also broke a three-game losing skid in Utah. The Wizards held on despite a number of crucial mistakes down the stretch. First, holding a four-point lead with 20 seconds to play, Pierce traveled on an inbounds pass. Then, Washington’s defense allowed Gordon Hayward to fly in for an alley-oop on a side out-of- bounds play, and Wall dribbled the ball off his foot under Utah’s basket with 11 ticks remaining, leaving the door open. But Hayward’s 3-point attempt was off the mark, and Wall hit two free throws to secure the win. Hayward scored a game-high 26 points, Derrick Favors netted 16 and Rudy Gobert pulled down 14 rebounds in the loss.

Categorized in: NBA