NBA roundup: Donovan Mitchell, Cavs keep rolling, beat Kings 136-110
CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell was stuck in the foul lane after picking up his dribble, so he tossed the ball off the backboard to himself and dunked.
“I’ve never thrown it left-handed,” Cleveland’s All-Star guard said with a laugh. “Sometimes you just make (stuff) up.”
The Cavaliers can do no wrong right now.
Mitchell scored 29 points, Max Strus added 22 and Cleveland beat the Sacramento Kings 136-110 on Monday night for its sixth straight win and 14th in 15 games.
Cleveland is a league-best 19-4 since Dec. 16 — when starters Darius Garland and Evan Mobley went down indefinitely with injuries — and the Cavs have climbed to No. 2 overall (by percentage points over Milwaukee) in the Eastern Conference.
“It’s good, but it’s February,” Mitchell said. “We’re just going to try to continue to play the way we’ve been playing. We’re being cohesive as a group. We’re playing great, but the biggest thing is: How do we keep going?
“Everybody has risen to the occasion when their number has been called. Heading into the All-Star break we’re playing good ball, and we want to keep it going.”
The Cavs matched a season high with 23 3-pointers in winning their ninth straight home game and eighth in nine against teams from the West.
At the moment, it doesn’t matter who the Cavs are facing. They’re clicking on all cylinders offensively and are healthy after being without Garland (broken jaw) and Mobley (knee surgery) for six weeks.
Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis had 12 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists for his 15th triple-double this season, tying him with Denver’s Nikola Jokic for the league lead.
Harrison Barnes added 22 points and De’Aaron Fox had 19 as the Kings finished 5-2 on a season-long trip.
LAKERS 124, HORNETS 118
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Anthony Davis had 26 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists for his third career triple-double, and Los Angeles beat short-handed Charlotte.
D’Angelo Russell scored 28 points and LeBron James had 26 for the Lakers, who won their third straight and concluded a 4-2 trip.
MAVERICKS 118, 76ERS 102
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyrie Irving had 23 points and eight assists and Luka Doncic scored 19 points as Dallas beat Philadelphia.
Irving and Doncic played together for just the 23rd time in the Mavericks’ 50 games. Josh Green scored 20 points for the Mavericks.
Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 19 points, Tobias Harris had 17 and Tyrese Maxey 15 for the Sixers, who fell to 4-11 without injured MVP Joel Embiid, who’s set for knee surgery this week.
WARRIORS 109, NETS 98
NEW YORK (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 29 points, Jonathan Kuminga added 28 points and 10 rebounds, and Golden State shook off a poor start to beat Brooklyn.
The Warriors outscored the Nets 66-49 in the second half, even while going just 4 for 22 from behind the arc in the game — with all the makes by Curry.
Cam Thomas scored 18 points but shot 4 for 21 for the Nets, who had won three of four. Nic Claxton added 15 points and a career-high seven blocked shots before being ejected in the fourth quarter for a flagrant foul against Brandin Podziemski, who had 15 points and 11 rebounds.
PELICANS 138, RAPTORS 100
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Brandon Ingram made a career-high eight 3-pointers and scored 41 points, and New Orleans routed Toronto.
Ingram hit 16 of 21 shots and also dished out nine assists in 30 minutes. He capped his performance by hitting five straight 3s at the end of the third.
CJ McCollum scored 20 points for the Pelicans, who won their third straight and sent the Raptors to their eighth loss in nine games.
Rookie Gradey Dick had a season-high 22 points for the Raptors.
CLIPPERS 149, HAWKS 144
ATLANTA (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 36 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, and Los Angeles beat Atlanta to conclude a 6-1 road swing.
James Harden had 30 points and 10 assists, and Paul George scored 18 for Los Angeles.
De’Andre Hunter matched a season high with 27 points for the Hawks. Trae Young added 25 points.
