Kevin Love scored 27 points, Collin Sexton had 25 and the host Cleveland Cavaliers stunned the Denver Nuggets 104-102 on Saturday night.
Cedi Osman added 20 points, Tristan Thompson had nine points and 13 rebounds, and Matthew Dellavedova had seven points and 14 assists for Cleveland, which swept the season series against the Nuggets and ended a four-game skid.
Will Barton scored 22 points, Gary Harris had 18 and Jamal Murray added 17 for Denver. Nikola Jokic had just eight points but added eight rebounds and eight assists.
The Cavaliers led by five early in the fourth but went cold for nearly five minutes, allowing Denver to go up 93-90. Sexton ended the drought with a pair of free throws with 5:50 left, and that started a 10-0 run that put Cleveland ahead for good.
Charlotte Hornets 108 – Houston Rockets 99
The Hornets scored the game’s first 20 points, Terry Rozier scored all 24 of his points in the first three quarters, and Charlotte topped host Houston.
Devonte’ Graham added 23 points, PJ Washington contributed 22 points, Cody Zeller had 13 points and Miles Bridges was good for 10 points for Charlotte, which closed a four-game homestand with its only victory during that stretch.
James Harden scored 30 points for the Rockets, but he was charged with 10 of the team’s 20 turnovers. Harden also had 10 rebounds and 14 assists. Houston played without guard Russell Westbrook (rest).
Sacramento Kings 123 – Portland Trail Blazers 111
Bogdan Bogdanovic matched his career high of seven 3-pointers and recorded 27 points and eight assists, as Sacramento halted a 12-game losing streak in Portland with a dominant victory.
Buddy Hield scored 22 points, and Harrison Barnes added 20 as the Kings won in Portland for the first time since Dec. 8, 2012. They also equaled the franchise record of 21 3-pointers (in 39 attempts), with Hield knocking down six and Barnes making five.
De’Aaron Fox recorded 14 points and 11 assists for the Kings, who have won seven of their last nine games. Sacramento stands 3 1/2 games behind the eighth-place Memphis Grizzlies for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Utah Jazz 111 – Detroit Pistons 105
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 32 points and Utah stretched its winning streak to five games with a win in Detroit.
The Jazz, who were closing out a four-game road trip, have won the last eight meetings between the clubs. They were playing the second end of a back-to-back after winning in Boston on Friday.
Donovan Mitchell supplied 25 points, Jordan Clarkson contributed 14 points off the bench, and Mike Conley added 12. Christian Wood led the Pistons with a career-high 30 points and 11 rebounds. Langston Galloway and Jordan McRae had 14 points apiece off the bench.
Memphis Grizzlies 118 – Atlanta Hawks 101
Jonas Valanciunas scored 12 of his 27 points in the first quarter to help Memphis get off to a quick start and allow them to cruise past the visiting Atlanta Hawks.
Valanciunas had 17 rebounds for his 32nd double-double of the season. It was the second time in a week that the Grizzlies have thumped the Hawks. Memphis won 127-88 in Atlanta on Monday.
Atlanta got leading scorer Trae Young back in the lineup after he missed Friday’s game with flu-like symptoms. Young, however, wasn’t at full strength, played only 29 minutes, and was limited to 16 points — 13 fewer than his season average — and four assists.
Golden State Warriors 118 – Philadelphia Warriors 114
Villanova product Eric Paschall capped a 23-point performance with a pair of go-ahead free throws with 51.7 seconds remaining as Golden State edged Philadelphia in San Francisco, in a nationally televised game that featured more star power on the sidelines than on the court.
The Warriors learned during the day that Stephen Curry would be joining fellow former All-Star teammates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green out of action because of an illness. Curry had returned from a 58-game absence because of a broken left hand on Thursday.
Tobias Harris scored a team-high 24 points for the 76ers, who likewise were without three injured starters — Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Josh Richardson.
–Field Level Media
