THe associated press
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Cleveland Cavaliers’ recent dominance carried over to a trouncing of one of the best teams in the Western Conference.
The Cavaliers built a 29-point lead in the third quarter, maintained the cushion through the fourth and defeated Memphis 111-89 on Wednesday night, handing the Grizzlies their biggest home loss of the season.
Kyrie Irving scored 24 points, Kevin Love added 22 points and 10 rebounds for Cleveland, which won its fourth straight and eighth in the last nine. Since Jan. 15, Cleveland is 28-6 and holds the Eastern Conference’s second seed by a three-game cushion over Chicago.
“We came to play,” Cavaliers coach David Blatt said. “We were focused on having a defensive presence in the first quarter, and I thought we had that right from the get go.”
LeBron James finished with 20 points and Timofey Mozgov added 14 for Cleveland. J.R. Smith had 13 points for the Cavaliers, who shot 51 percent and were 14 of 34 from 3-point range.
Marc Gasol led Memphis with 18 points, while Beno Udrih scored 15. Jeff Green had 11 points for Memphis, which had its three-game winning streak snapped.
The Grizzlies, who hold the second seed in the West, saw their advantage over third-place Houston shrink to 1 ½ games after the Rockets defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 95-93 on Wednesday night.
The game was not in doubt after the big third quarter from the Cavaliers, who outscored Memphis 36-24 in the frame.
“It makes you have a sickness in your stomach because you know you’re better than that,” said Memphis forward Zach Randolph, who was limited to five points and three rebounds.
Cleveland controlled the boards with a 49-32 advantage. And while Memphis outscored Cleveland 50-38 in the paint, the Grizzlies converted only 25 of 49 shots in close.
“I thought we missed a lot of shots, and they were able to play free and loose, playing from the lead for most of the game,” Memphis coach Dave Joerger said.
The game completely got away from Memphis in the third when Cleveland connected on 11 of its first 13 shots in the quarter, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range. The Cavaliers would convert 14 of 19 shots in the third, contributing to Cleveland extending its 13-point halftime lead to a 91-66 advantage entering the fourth – a lead so substantial Joerger left his starters on the bench for the final period.
“Everyone really stepped up in the third quarter,” Love said. “So it was really, really good basketball.”
The Cavaliers were able to convert because Memphis appeared to simply be going through the motions on both ends of the floor after halftime. The Grizzlies’ defense, which is among the best in the league, was virtually nonexistent as Cleveland converted on dunks and jumpers.
“We obviously know how great they are defensively, especially in this building,” James said. “For us to move the ball and share the ball like we did in the facet that we did was very impressive.”
ROCKETS 95, PELICANS 93
NEW ORLEANS — James Harden had 25 points and 10 assists, Dwight Howard had seven rebounds and a block on Anthony Davis in his return from a two-month absence, and Houston handed New Orleans its fourth straight loss.
Davis had 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Pelicans, but uncharacteristically missed eight free throws, including one that could have pulled New Orleans to 94-93 with 7 seconds left.
The Pelicans still had a chance to set up a trying 3-pointer after Harden missed a free throw with 3.3 seconds left, but Corey Brewer intentionally fouled Eric Gordon on the inbounds pass to force free throws. Gordon made the first and purposely missed the second in hopes for a tying putback that never materialized.
SPURS 130, THUNDER 91
SAN ANTONIO — Tony Parker had 21 points and six assists and San Antonio stopped Oklahoma City’s four-game winning streak.
Boris Diaw scored 19 points, and Tim Duncan had 16, and Kawhi Leonard 14 points in the Spurs’ highest scoring game of the season. They have won 11 of 13.
Thunder star Russell Westbrook was held to 16 points on 5-for-16 shooting. He left midway through the third quarter with the Spurs leading by 30. Westbrook averaged 32.7 points, 11.2 assists and 9.6 rebounds in his previous 13 games.
HAWKS 95, MAGIC 83
ORLANDO, Fla. — Paul Millsap had 25 points and 11 rebounds and Atlanta snapped a three-game losing streak with victory over Orlando.
Jeff Teague added 16 points, despite spraining his left ankle in the first quarter.
The Hawks trailed by 13 in the first half, but outscored the Magic 27-12 in the fourth quarter.
Elfrid Payton led the Magic with 19 points and nine rebounds. Victor Oladipo and Nik Vucevic added 16 points apiece.
Orlando had just five turnovers in the first half, but finished the night with 17.
The Magic lost their second straight and have dropped eight of their last nine.
BULLS 116, RAPTORS 103
TORONTO — Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, Pau Gasol had 18 and Chicago beat Toronto.
Tony Snell scored 17 points to help the Bulls move 1 1/2 games ahead of the Raptors for third place in the Eastern Conference. Aaron Brooks had 16 points, and Nikola Mirotic finished with 15.
Toronto clinched a playoff spot when Boston and Charlotte lost. The Raptors have dropped three of four and have a five-game losing streak against Chicago.
Greivis Vasquez had 22 points for the Raptors, and DeMar DeRozan added 20. Vasquez also matched a career high with six 3-pointers.
CLIPPERS 111, KNICKS 80
NEW YORK — DeAndre Jordan raised the NBA’s best shooting percentage above 71 percent by making all seven shots and scoring 14 points, and Los Angeles pounded New York.
Shooting all night from either right at or above the rim — and once right on top of Jason Smith — Jordan hiked his season average to .713, which would be second only to Wilt Chamberlain’s .727 in 1972-73.
Chris Paul added 11 points and 16 assists for the Clippers. They won their fifth straight and improved the fourth-best record in the Western Conference to 47-25. Austin Rivers scored 21 points in 19 minutes.
Rookie Cleanthony Early had a season-high 18 points for the Knicks. They lost their fifth straight to drop to 14-58 and move a loss away from matching the franchise record.
KINGS 108, SUNS 99
PHOENIX — DeMarcus Cousins scored 24 points, all but four in the first three quarters, and had 11 rebounds to help Sacramento beat Phoenix.
Cousins also had three assists, two steals and a block, and Rudy Gay scored 14 points for the Kings. They have won four straight.
Markieff Morris scored 24 points, and Eric Bledsoe and Marcus Morris added 19 each for the Suns.
Phoenix squandered an opportunity to make up a game on eighth-place Oklahoma City in the Western Conference. The Thunder were routed at San Antonio. Phoenix trails Oklahoma City by three games for the West’s final playoff spot.
PACERS 103 WIZARDS 101
WASHINGTON — George Hill made a driving layup with 2.7 seconds left to lift Indiana past Washington, snapping the Pacers’ six-game losing streak.
Hill scored 29 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter as Indiana rallied from a 10-point deficit.
Washington’s John Wall, who scored 17 of his season-high 34 points in the final quarter, tied the game with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 11 seconds left.
HEAT 93, CELTICS 86
BOSTON — Goran Dragic had 22 points and seven assists and banged-up Miami beat Boston.
Luol Deng added 15 points for Miami, and Udonis Haslem had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Henry Walker and Tyler Johnson also scored 12 points apiece.
Miami played without Dwyane Wade, Hassan Whiteside and Chris Andersen due to injuries, but bounced back quite nicely from Tuesday night’s 89-88 loss at Milwaukee. The Heat blew a 14-point lead in the final 6 1/2 minutes against the Bucks.
Miami has won four of six and is seventh in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Jae Crowder scored 16 points for the Celtics.
NETS 91, HORNETS 88
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Brook Lopez had 34 points and 10 rebounds and Brooklyn handed slumping Charlotte its fifth loss in six games.
The 7-foot center came into the game on a tear, having scored at least 26 points in each of his last three games, including 31 on Monday night against Boston.
Deron Williams had 10 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds for the Nets.
Nets forward Thaddeus Young left the game late in the third quarter with a hyperextended knee and did not return. Team officials said X-rays were negative and he will be re-evaluated Thursday.
Gerald Henderson and Al Jefferson each had 23 points for the Hornets.
TRAIL BLAZERS 92, JAZZ 89
SALT LAKE CITY — Damian Lillard had 23 points and 12 assists and Portland overcame a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Utah.
Lillard helped Portland snap a five-game losing streak, scoring 13 fourth-quarter points. LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 points and nine rebounds.
Derrick Favors led Utah with 26 points and 13 rebounds, and Trey Burke added 22 points on 9-of-19 shooting. Rudy Gobert had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
LAKERS 101, TIMBERWOLVES 99
MINNEAPOLIS — Jordan Clarkson hit two free throws with 0.3 seconds left in overtime to lift Los Angeles past Minnesota.
Clarkson scored eight points in overtime and finished with 20. Jeremy Lin added 19 points to help the Lakers snapped a five-game road losing streak.
Andrew Wiggins had 27 points for Minnesota.
Chase Budinger scored 22 points and sent the game to overtime with a 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds left in regulation.
76ERS 99, NUGGETS 85
DENVER — Rookie Robert Covington tied a career high with 25 points and Philadelphia beat Denver. Nerlens Noel had 14 points and 15 rebounds to help the 76ers sweep the season series.
Ty Lawson scored 19 points, and Wilson Chandler had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets.
Covington, who also tied a career high with six 3-pointers, scored 15 points in a 6:16 span of the third quarter to give Philadelphia a 66-62 lead.
