CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points, Evan Mobley added 21 and the Cleveland Cavaliers bullied the New York Knicks from the start Friday night, winning 142-105 in a matchup of two of the Eastern Conference’s top teams.
Only the Cavs looked elite, winning their sixth straight and improving the NBA’s best record to 46-10. Cleveland has won 34 games by double digits.
Jalen Brunson scored 26 points and Karl-Anthony Towns 23 for the Knicks, who beat Chicago in overtime on Thursday in their first game back from the All-Star break.
New York couldn’t use a back-to-back as any excuse as the Cavs won in Brooklyn a night earlier. It was the Knicks’ most-lopsided loss this season.
Cleveland got a scare in the first half when All-Star guard Darius Garland hit his head on the floor while taking an awkward fall. Garland, who missed significant time last season with a broken jaw, stayed in the game.
BUCKS 104, WIZARDS 101
WASHINGTON (AP) — Kyle Kuzma scored 19 points in his return to Washington, and Milwaukee overcame Giannis Antetokounmpo’s foul trouble to win.
Kuzma was traded from Washington to Milwaukee earlier this month. Khris Middleton went to the Wizards in that deal, and he finally played for his new team for the first time, scoring 12 points. Marcus Smart — acquired by Washington from Memphis — also made his Wizards debut and scored five.
The game came down to a desperation 3-point attempt by Middleton in the final seconds that missed badly.
Antetokounmpo scored 18 points in limited playing time before fouling out with 3:36 remaining. He picked up two early fouls in the first, and his fourth came with with 8:11 left in the third. Milwaukee left him in until he was whistled for foul No. 5 with 5:41 to go in the third.
That foul led to two Washington free throws that cut Milwaukee’s lead to five. Antetokounmpo sat out for the next 11:59, and when he finally returned the lead was 11.
Rookie Alex Sarr scored a career-high 22 points for Washington.
HEAT 120, RAPTORS 111, OT
TORONTO (AP) — Tyler Herro scored 10 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, Andrew Wiggins added 25 points and Miami snapped a four-game skid by beating Toronto.
Miami’s Bam Adebayo had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Heat guard Davion Mitchell scored 16 points against the team that traded him earlier this month.
Duncan Robinson scored 14 points as Miami won for the first time since Feb. 5 at Philadelphia.
In the fourth and final meeting of the season between the Heat and Raptors, Miami became the first road team to win.
RJ Barrett scored 29 points for Toronto, Immanuel Quickley had 23 and Scottie Barnes added 13. Gradey Dick had a career-high 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Barnes and Adebayo missed driving shots on their teams’ final possessions of regulation. Wiggins tried to tip in Adebayo’s miss but Barrett blocked it to force overtime.
GRIZZLIES 105, MAGIC 104
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Ja Morant scored 10 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and Jaren Jackson Jr. blocked a driving floater by Orlando’s Paolo Banchero in the final second to give Memphis a win.
Desmond Bane, who finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, provided the Grizzlies with their margin of victory with a free throw with 45.2 seconds remaining. Memphis’ Santi Aldama missed two free throws with 10.7 seconds left before Banchero’s failed final drive.
Franz Wagner led the Magic with 25 points. Banchero added 21 points on 5 for 21 shooting and Cole Anthony had 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Orlando.
Jackson had 16 points and three blocks.
After the Grizzlies missed 19 of their first 21 3-point shots, GG Jackson II made three of the Grizzlies’ four 3-pointers during a 19-0 third-quarter run that erased a 19-point Magic lead.
MAVERICKS 111, PELICANS 103
DALLAS (AP) — Kyrie Irving scored 35 points, P.J. Washington Jr. had 20 of his 24 points in the first half and Dallas beat New Orleans for their third straight victory.
Irving hit 11 of 22 shots from the floor, hitting 5 of 12 3-pointers, and all eight of his free throws.
Washington, a 6-foot-7 power forward, returned to a Dallas lineup whose three centers are all out with injuries after he missed the last three games before the All-Star break with an ankle sprain.
Zion Williamson scored 29 points for New Orleans, and Trey Murphy III had 20. The Pelicans have lost 11 of their last 12.
PISTONS 125, SPURS 110
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 25 points and 12 assists and keyed a 19-0 run as Detroit won their fifth straight game, beating San Antonio.
Cunningham scored seven points during the run that started during the final minute of the first half and carried over into the second half.
Jalen Duren had 21 points and 15 rebounds and Tobias Harris scored 22 for Detroit. Malik Beasley scored 16, including four 3-pointers. He’s made 29 shots from 3-point range in his last five games.
Keldon Johnson scored 28 and De’Aaron Fox had 27 to lead San Antonio, which split back-to-back games in Austin after learning on Thursday that star Victor Wembanyama was finished for the season due to a blood clot in his right shoulder.
The Spurs play two games annually in Austin, a city they count as part of a wider region they’ve been cultivating for years.
THUNDER 130, JAZZ 107
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 points and West-leading Oklahoma City beat Utah for their eighth victory in nine games.
Chet Holmgren added 20 points for the Thunder. Jalen Williams had 18 points, and Isaiah Hartenstein grabbed 13 rebounds.
John Collins scored 26 points for Utah, and Keyonte George added 20. Walker Kessler finished with 19 rebounds, and Isaiah Coller had 12 assists.
Oklahoma City never trailed. The Thunder used a 15-4 run to take a 27-14 lead late in the first quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander and Alex Caruso fueled the spurt with a pair of baskets apiece.
Oklahoma City led by 25 points in the final minute of the half, going up 66-41 on Lu Dort’s layup.
The Associated Press
