Curry shines as Golden State march on

LOS ANGELES -- Stephen Curry scored 28 points as the unbeaten Golden State Warriors defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 100-84 to equal a 55-year-old franchise record for the best start to a season in history.

The Warriors victory took the reigning NBA Champions to 9-0, emulating the feat of the 1960-1961 side featuring the legendary Wilt Chamberlain when the franchise was based in Philadelphia.

It was another chastening night for the Grizzlies, who had been run ragged by the Warriors last week during a 119-69 defeat.

Curry, who had been averaging more than 32 points per game prior to Wednesday's clash, added to his season haul with another sparkling contribution, taking the game away from Memphis with a 17-point blitz in the third quarter.

The Warriors now stand alone as the only unbeaten team in the NBA this year.

However they remain several wins away from the all-time record for the best start of 15-0, shared by the 1948-49 Washington Capitols and the 1993-94 Houston Rockets.

Andre Iguodala, the hero of last season's NBA Finals victory, finished with 20 points off the bench for Golden State while forward Harrison Barnes contributed 19 points.

Curry meanwhile had five rebounds, five assists and five steals in addition to his 28-point haul.

Elsewhere Wednesday, New York Knicks's in-form forward Kristaps Porzingis was denied what would have been a dramatic winning three-pointer on the buzzer in a pulsating contest with the Charlotte Hornets.

Porzingis's shot was initially ruled good before match officials reversed the call after determining that the clock had expired a fraction before the Latvian rookie released.

The decision meant the Hornets were able to hang on for a 95-93 victory, improving their record to 4-4 after a dismal 0-3 start to the season.

"That's the way it goes in this league," Knicks coach Derek Fisher said.

"One night the ball bounces your way and you get a favorable call, and the next night it goes the other way."

The Dallas Mavericks meanwhile won their grudge match against the Los Angeles Clippers in DeAndre Jordan's first match in Dallas since reneging on a summer free agent deal which would have seen him leave the Clippers for Texas.

Jordan, who was loudly booed and jeered all night, was restricted to just nine points in a 118-108 victory for the Mavericks.

German legend Dirk Nowitzki stole the show for the home side, pouring on 31 points.

The power forward made 11-of-14 shots from the field, including a banked three-pointer with 1:05 left to play which gave the Mavericks a 113-108 lead.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Hawks' Millsap out for 2 days due to injury

Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap suffered a right shoulder sprain and contusion and will miss the next two games, the team announced Monday.

Millsap, who is averaging 16.8 points and 7.8 rebounds in 72 games this season, will miss the team's games on Tuesday and Wednesday and then be re-evaluated. The Hawks have already locked up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

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The Washington Wizards signed guard Will Bynum for the remainder of the season.

Because of hamstring problems, Bynum has appeared in only three games with Washington this season after signing a 10-day contract with the team on March 27.

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The Brooklyn Nets signed forward Earl Clark to a multiyear contract.

Clark, who was signed by Brooklyn to a 10-day contract on March 27, has appeared in five games for the Nets, averaging 4.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game.

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The NBA suspended Sacramento Kings forward Carl Landry for one game without pay for leaving the bench area during an altercation.

Landry will serve his suspension on Tuesday, when the Kings host the Minnesota Timberwolves.

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Leonard shines as Spurs down Warriors

Spurs 107, Warriors 92
Kawhi Leonard matched his career best for the regular season with 26 points and set a personal mark with seven steals as the Spurs defeated Golden State, 107-92, for their seventh consecutive victory.

Tim Duncan scored 19 points for the Spurs and guard Danny Green had 18.

Golden State (63-14) had its 12-game winning streak snapped a night after Steve Kerr set an NBA record for most victories by a rookie coach with a win at Dallas.

Stephen Curry led Golden State with 24 points, converting five of ten 3-point attempts.

San Antonio (51-26) played without Tiago Splitter, the starting centre who left a game against Denver on Friday with tightness in his right calf.

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Clippers 106, Lakers 78

Blake Griffin scored 18 points to lead six players in double figures as the Los Angeles Clippers hammered the Los Angeles Lakers.

DeAndre Jordan had 16 points, 11 rebounds and four steals for the Clippers (52-26), winners of three in a row and 10 of their last 11 games.

They also stayed a half-game ahead of the San Antonio Spurs for the fourth spot in the Western Conference playoff race.

The Lakers (20-56) set a franchise record for losses in a season, topping last season's mark (27-55) under former coach Mike D'Antoni.

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Hawks torch Nets; Blazers snap Pelicans' win streak

Hawks 131, Nets 99

Al Horford and DeMarre Carroll each scored 20 points as the Atlanta Hawks beat the Brooklyn Nets and matched a franchise record for wins in a season.

The Hawks are 57-19; they also won 57 games during the 1986-87 and 1993-94 seasons. The team have already clinched first place in the Eastern Conference.

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Trail Blazers 99, Pelicans 90

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans.

Damian Lillard scored 19 points and center Chris Kaman tied his season high with 16 points to go with 11 rebounds for the Trail Blazers (50-26), who won for the sixth time in seven outings.

Anthony Davis added 19 points and nine boards for the Pelicans (41-35), who saw the end to a four-game win streak and are one game behind eighth-place Oklahoma City for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

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Magic 97, Bucks 90

Victor Oladipo scored six points in the final 90 seconds and Tobias Harris had 23 points as the Orlando Magic pulled away late in the fourth quarter for a victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bucks also failed to gain ground on Brooklyn, which was rocked by 32 points at Atlanta but remains in seventh place in the East, 2 1/2 games behind Milwaukee for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.

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Hornets 92, 76ers 91

Gerald Henderson hit a driving layup with 6.0 seconds remaining, and the short-handed Charlotte Hornets kept their playoff hopes alive with a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Henderson's drive came after the Hornets inbounded with 10.2 seconds remaining, after Philadelphia guard Ish Smith missed two free throws with 10.6 seconds remaining.

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Wade falls as LeBron, Cavs rout Heat

Cavaliers 114, Heat 88
The chance of seeing an opening-round playoff series between Cleveland and Miami was dealt a major blow when the second-ranked Cavs knocked the Heat out of seventh place with a 114-88 victory on Thursday.

The situation became even more desperate for the Heat (34-41) when guard Dwyane Wade suffered a nasty fall that may have delivered a knockout punch to Miami's post-season ambitions.

LeBron James scored 23 points, along with eight rebounds and seven assists against his former team, as Kyrie Irving also scored 23 points and the Cavs (49-27) pounded the Heat in what was a potential playoff series at the start of the game.

The Heat said Wade sustained a bruised left knee even though no one touched the All-Star and his leg barely touched the ground. He was dribbling near the baseline in the second quarter when his right foot slipped, causing his knee to buckle.

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Rockets 108, Mavericks 101

Houston rallied late to score a comeback victory over Dallas at American Airlines Center, taking another step towards locking down the number two seed in the tough Western Conference.

Dallas led 72-61 with 5:01 to go in the third quarter and Houston looked to be staring at a defeat until former Mavs forward Corey Brewer hopped off the bench and changed the flow of the game with his relentless energy.

Brewer scored six points in the third quarter and eight in the fourth to give him 14 points on four-of-eight shooting from the field. He was one of five Rockets players to score in double figures.

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Warriors secure top seed in west with win over Bucks

MILWAUKEE -- The Golden State Warriors secured the top seed in the NBA's Western Conference on Saturday with a record-setting victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Stephen Curry scored 25 points and Klay Thompson added 21 in the 108-95 victory, which guarantees the Warriors the best record in the west and home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs.

The Warriors also set a club record for wins in a season with their 60th triumph of the current campaign.

Their previous record of 59 was set in 1975-76.

Harrison Barnes scored 13 points and pulled down six rebounds and Marreese Speights supplied 12 points and seven rebounds for Golden State, who won their ninth straight game.

The Warriors connected on 12 of 25 three-point attempts and made 12 of 14 free throws.

The Bucks in contrast were just two of 15 from three-point range and were held to 37.9 percent from the floor overall.

Khris Middleton led the Bucks with 14 points.

Milwaukee trimmed a 19-point deficit after three quarters to 11, moving on to score the first eight points of the fourth.

Golden State, however, responded with a 10-4 scoring run and were never threatened after that.

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Bucks drop Pacers for 2nd straight win

Ersan Ilyasova set a career high with 34 points as the Milwaukee Bucks won consecutive games for the first time in more than a month with a 111-107 victory over the Indiana Pacers in the only game on the NBA schedule.

Ilyasova, who connected with five three-pointers, made 12 of 14 shots from the field and also had six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

The result consolidated the Bucks (36-36) in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, and dropped the Pacers (31-40) half a game behind eighth-placed Boston.

(Compiled by Andrew Both; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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Westbrook's triple-double leads Thunder over Heat

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma City star guard Russell Westbrook's 10th triple-double of the NBA season powered the Thunder to a 93-75 romp over visiting Miami on Sunday for its third consecutive win.

NBA scoring leader Westbrook only managed 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting.

But he matched a career-high with 17 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Thunder improved to 40-30, moving three games ahead of New Orleans for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff berth.

Still missing injured 2014 NBA Most Valuable Player Kevin Durant, the Thunder were led by 27 points from Enes Kanter.

Mitch McGary scored 14 points while Anthony Morrow added 12 and Dion Waiters and Steven Adams each contributed 10.

"It was a balanced attack on both ends of the floor," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said.

The Heat fell to 32-37, seventh in the Eastern Conference but only two games ahead of ninth-place Indiana in the fight for the final playoff positions in the East.

Miami's three-game win streak was halted. The Heat shot only 39.5 percent for the game and trailed for the final three quarters.

Hassan Whiteside scored 13 points to lead Miami while Dwyane Wade, Goran Dragic and Mario Chalmers each added 12.

The Thunder pulled away in the fourth quarter, stretching a 66-60 edge with a 27-11 run for the biggest margin of the game at 93-71.

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WATCH: Irving's 57-point explosion lifts Cavs past Spurs

Check out the highlights of the Cleveland versus San Antonio game where the Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving’s scored a career-high 57 points to rally his team to a thrilling 128-125 finish against the Spurs.

Irving’s 57-point output against the Spurs surpassed his own 55-point record in a win over Portland in January.

He set the record for the most points in a game this NBA season.

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Scintillating Irving lifts Cavs over Spurs

Kyrie Irving scored a career-high 57 points, including 11 in overtime, as the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied for a thrilling 128-125 NBA victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday.

Irving had the most points in the NBA this season, bettering his own 55-points in a win over Portland in January.

Cleveland's 22-year-old Australian-born star scored nine points in the final minute of regulation, including a three-pointer to knot the score at 110-110 and send the game into overtime.

He added 11 points in the extra period as the Cavaliers snapped a 10-game losing streak against the reigning NBA champion Spurs.

"All the credit goes to my team-mates," Irving said. "They were doing a great job of screening me, getting me open.

"Our offensive execution down the stretch was huge. We got stops when we needed it.

"We were all tired going into that overtime, but there's no excuses," added Irving, who connected on all seven of his three-point attempts, was 20-of-32 from the field and made 10 of 10 free throws.

"Everybody's gearing up for playoff basketball."

Four-time NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James added 31 points, five rebounds and seven assists for Cleveland, and gave his young team-mate an emotional congratulatory embrace when the game concluded.

The victory snapped a six-game Spurs winning streak, while the Cavs improved to 2-0 on their current four-game road trip.

San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard was looking like the hero of the game, effectively containing James early while putting up 22 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

But Leonard missed two free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining in regulation, opening the door for Irving's game-tying three-pointer.

An inbound pass from James found Irving at the top of the key and he went right, rose and drained the basket to force overtime.

It was the first time since the second quarter that the Cavs had leveled the contest.

With the win, Cleveland improved to 42-25 and remained in first place in the Central Division and second in the Eastern Conference.

The Spurs endured their first March defeat since 2013. They had won 20 games in the month of March prior to Thursday's game.

The defending NBA champs are sixth in the Western Conference.

Point guard Tony Parker led the Spurs with 31 points and six assists. Leonard finished with 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Danny Green also chipped in 24 points, while Tim Duncan contributed 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

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Hawks hit 20 3-pointers to rout Kings

ATLANTA -- Kyle Korver and DeMarre Carroll each scored 20 points to pace a balanced scoring attack as Atlanta ripped Sacramento 130-105 Monday for the Hawks' 50th victory of this NBA season.

Korver sank six of a team-record 20 three-pointers on 36 attempts that the Hawks made on their way to a 13th consecutive triumph in meetings with the Kings.

Jeff Teague and Al Horford each added 18 points for Atlanta, with Teague also passing out a game-high 13 assists as the Hawks finished with a team total of 42 assists, the most by any club in an NBA game this season.

Paul Millsap added 13 points and Dennis Schroeder added 12 off the bench for the Hawks.

At 50-13 and with 30 wins in 34 home starts, the Hawks stretched the Eastern Conference's best record to 11 games ahead of second-place Cleveland.

Atlanta led 76-54 at half-time and stretched the lead at times in the second half on the way to a fifth consecutive home triumph in the team's final appearance before home supporters ahead of a six-game road trip.

Rudy Gay led Sacramento with 23 points while deMarcus Cousins grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds for the Kings, who fell to 21-41.

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Westbrook reels off another triple double against Raptors

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Russell Westbrook earned his fifth triple double in his last six games to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 108-104 win over the struggling Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

Westbrook, who is playing with a protective mask because of a facial fracture, had 30 points, 17 assists and 11 rebounds for his seventh triple double of the National Basketball Association season.

He is the first player with at least 30 points, 11 rebounds and 17 assists in a game since Magic Johnson tallied 32 points, 11 rebounds and 20 assists in 1988.

Westbrook also joins Oscar Robertson as the only players to have at least 200 points, 50 rebounds and 50 assists over a five-game span.

And he did it Sunday without injured forward Kevin Durant. He credited his teammates with helping him reach another triple double.

"Guys are making shots," Westbrook said. "Guys put a lot of work in throughout the summer and throughout the year. My job is to find a way to get them easy shots and they are knocking them down."

Enes Kanter finished with 21 points and 12 boards, while Serge Ibaka had 21 points and seven rebounds for the Thunder, who had dropped three of their last five games coming in.

DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points and nine assists and Terrence Ross scored 20 points for Toronto, which has lost eight of its last nine games.

Westbrook reached his triple-double status in three quarters. It is the sixth time in the last two years he has done it that quickly.

"If you find somebody who has slowed him down, let me know," DeRozan said. "It's definitely tough. You got to give him credit. Their best player is out and he's stepping up when they're fighting for a playoff spot."

After two Kyle Lowry free throws gave Toronto a 75-73 lead late in the third quarter, the Thunder gained control by going on a 13-4 surge at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Westbrook netted seven points during the run and Steven Adams hit a jumper at the buzzer to cap it and give Oklahoma City an 86-79 lead heading into the fourth.

Jonas Valanciunas capped a 9-0 Raptors run with a hook shot to get them within 95-92 with seven minutes to go.

But the Thunder answered with seven of the next nine points, with a Kanter reverse layup extending the margin to 102-94 with 2:38 left.

"We have to continue to get better," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "We can't feel sorry for ourselves. Nobody is going to do that. We have to put together 46, 47 minutes of good offence, good defense and continue as we go on in the season."

A DeRozan dunk cut the lead to 106-104 with 15 seconds remaining, but Westbrook made a pair of free throws and DeRozan missed a shot from three point range to seal Toronto's fate.

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Grizzlies snap Clippers' 5-game winning streak

Grizzlies 90, Clippers 87

Mike Conley scored 18 points and recorded a game-winning steal in the final seconds, and the Memphis Grizzlies edged the Los Angeles Clippers.

Chris Paul scored 30 points and handed out 10 assists to lead the Clippers, who had a five-game winning streak snapped.

Los Angeles (37-20) had an opportunity to take the lead on two occasions, but Conley, who also had seven assists, stripped Paul of the ball with 1.9 seconds left as Memphis (41-14) won for the 12th time in 14 games.

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Heat 119, 76ers 108

The Miami Heat got 29 points from Luol Deng to beat the Philadelphia 76ers.

Goran Dragic, playing just his second game with the Heat, had 23 points and 10 assists as Miami (24-31) posted a season high in points. Philadelphia (12-44) scored more than 100 for just the third time in 33 games.

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Celtics 115, Suns 110

Isaiah Thomas burned his former team with six of his 21 points in the final 1:37 as the Boston Celtics held on to beat the Phoenix Suns.

Thomas was traded from Phoenix to Boston (21-33) four days ago at the deadline.

The Suns (29-28) had won their last three since trading away five players.

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Nets 110, Nuggets 82

Deron Williams had 16 points and 12 assists, center Brooks Lopez scored 19 points and pulled down nine rebounds and the Brooklyn Nets beat the slumping Denver Nuggets.

The 28-point win is Brooklyn's (23-31) largest margin of victory since beating Oklahoma City by 31 on Nov. 3.

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Sacramento Kings hires George Karl as coach

The Sacramento Kings officially hired George Karl as their head coach on Tuesday.

Karl is well-traveled as an NBA coach, making stops in Cleveland (1984-86), Golden State (1986-88), Seattle (1991-98), Milwaukee (1998-2003) and Denver (2004-2013). He most recently worked as a television analyst.

The 63-year-old Karl, who has survived two battles with cancer, is among a select group of NBA coaches with 1,000 career wins.

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The Orlando Magic hired Igor Kokoskov as an assistant coach on Tuesday and will stay with interim head coach James Borrego for the remainder of the season.

Borrego, who replaced Jacque Vaughn after he was fired earlier this month, will guide the team for the final 26 regular-season games while the Magic search for a permanent replacement, ESPN reported.

Kokoskov, 43, was an assistant for the Cleveland Cavaliers last season and also has served as an assistant for the Phoenix Suns (2008-13) and the Detroit Pistons (2003-08).

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Forward Amar'e Stoudemire, whose contract was bought out by the New York Knicks on Monday, is prepared to join the Dallas Mavericks.

Stoudemire was in the last season of a five-year, $99.7 million deal before the Knicks cut him loose at his request. Assuming no team claims him and takes on his $23.4 million salary, he would clear waivers on Wednesday afternoon, making him a free agent.

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With two months of the regular season left, the Golden State Warriors are favored by the majority of Las Vegas sportsbooks to win the NBA title.

The Warriors are listed as a 12-5 favorite at William Hill's Sportsbook.

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With the NBA trade deadline approaching Thursday, one of the more prominent players being shopped around is Utah Jazz big man Enes Kanter.

Kanter, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, has expressed some frustration as his role has diminished with the emergence of center Rudy Gobert. The 6-foot-11 Kanter is averaging 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds in only 15.4 minutes per game.

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James dominant as Cavs beat Heat

CLEVELAND -- LeBron James delivered a dominant performance against his former team on Wednesday leading Cleveland to a 113-93 NBA victory over Miami.

James finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Cavs cruised to their 14th win in 15 games despite playing without Kevin Love for most of the second half.

Love departed after he was poked in the right eye by Heat guard Mario Chalmers early in the third quarter.

Love was hit in the face as he was going up for a rebound and immediately fell to the court, holding his eye.

After several minutes he rose and headed to the locker room.

The Cavs said he had a corneal abrasion, although he was to travel with the team to Chicago for Thursday's game against the Bulls -- the last game before the NBA breaks for this weekend's All-Star game festivities.

In Love's absence, Timofey Mozgov stepped up, scoring 14 of his season-high 20 points in the second half.

Tristan Thompson added 17 points and nine rebounds, Kyrie Irving had 15 points and six assists and Iman Shumpert scored 13.

Chalmers scored 18 to lead the Heat, who have lost five of seven with Dwyane Wade sidelined by a hamstring strain and head into the All-Star break with a 22-30 record.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra refused to use Miami's numerous injuries as an excuse for their position on the edge of playoff contention, in eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

"This is a men's only league," Spoelstra said. "Don't feel sorry for yourself, don't make excuses, forge ahead. We're in the playoffs right now. The best time of year will be when we come back and have that race to the finish."

With the victory, the Cavaliers avenged a Christmas Day defeat in Miami, James' first regular-season game against the Heat team he led to two NBA titles and four straight appearances in the finals.

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Love scores 32 to power Cavaliers over Lakers

CLEVELAND -- Kevin Love scored a season-high 32 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to spark the Cleveland Cavaliers over the Los Angeles Lakers 120-105.

Bouncing back after the end of a 12-game win streak with a Friday loss at Indiana, the Cavaliers improved to 32-21, staying on the heels of central division leader Chicago.

Australian guard Kyrie Irving scored 28 points while LeBron James added 22 points and both James and Russian big man Timofey Mozkov each grabbed 10 rebounds.

But the main spark was Love, who was only 2-of-8 shooting for five points in the loss at Indiana but spent an extra hour working on his shooting after practice and made 11-of-18 from the floor against the Lakers, including 7-of-8 from 3-point range.

"We just came off a tough loss at Indiana so we really wanted to get this one," Love said. "We just keep playing through adversity the best we can."

The Lakers, playing without injured star Kobe Bryant for the remainder of the season, fell to 13-38.

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Mavs rally past Blazers in overtime

Mavericks 111, Trail Blazers 101 (OT)

Dirk Nowitzki drained the game-tying three-pointer late in regulation and scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to an improbable 111-101 overtime victory against the Portland Trail Blazers.

All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge and point guard Damian Lillard appeared to have Portland primed to pick up a rare road win against a playoff team but the Blazers squandered an 11-point lead in the final two minutes of regulation.

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Bucks 96, Celtics 93

Brandon Knight scored 26 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo posted a double-double for the fourth time in his last five games as the Milwaukee Bucks edged the Boston Celtics 96-93.

Boston forward Jae Crowder missed a three-point attempt as time expired and the Celtics' three-game winning streak was over.

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Jazz 102, Kings 90

Small forward Gordon Hayward scored a game-high 30 points to help the Utah Jazz halt a three-game losing streak in a 102-90 win over the Sacramento Kings.

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Pacers snap Cavaliers' 12-game win streak

Former Cleveland guard C.J. Miles scored 26 points, 16 of them in the fourth quarter, as Indiana snapped the Cavaliers' 12-game NBA winning streak with a 103-99 come-from-behind triumph.

Miles drained three three-pointers in the final period, and George Hill completed a remarkable four-point play with 1:26 remaining that put the Pacers up for good.

Cleveland's Kyrie Irving snagged Hill's left hand as Hill dribbled around a screen set by Roy Hibbert at the top of the arc, Hill using his right hand to flip in a neat basket from three-point range -- looking surprised himself when it fell.

Hill connected on the ensuing foul shot to give the Pacers a 95-92 lead.

After Cavs superstar LeBron James missed a three-pointer, Miles snatched the rebound from Iman Shumpert and was fouled.

He drained both free throws with 53.2 seconds remaining and the Cavaliers couldn't recover, suffering their first defeat since January 13.

Cleveland, who got off to a stuttering start this season as they adjusted to the return of Ohio native James after his stint with the Miami Heat, fell one win shy of matching the longest winning streak in club history.

The Cavaliers have won 13 consecutive contests twice before, the most recent from between January 16 and February 11, 2010.

Hill finished with 20 points and seven assists, while David West added 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Pacers, who have won four of their last six games.

Irving supplied 29 points and five assists and James delivered 25 points, six rebounds and five assists for Cleveland.

The win marked the fourth time this season the Pacers rallied for a victory when trailing after three quarters.

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Augustin powers Pistons over Wade-less Heat

DETROIT -- D.J. Augustin scored 25 points and added a season-high 13 assists Tuesday, sparking the Detroit Pistons over Miami 108-91 as Heat star Dwyane Wade missed his third consecutive game.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 18 points and Andre Drummond scored 14 and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Pistons, who have won back-to-back games after a four-game losing streak.

Kyle Singler had 13 points, Greg Monroe added 12 and reserve Jodie Meeks had 10 for Detroit, which improved to 19-30, 2 1/2 games behind Miami (21-27) for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Despite a 34-point performance from Chris Bosh, the Heat never led after an 11-8 edge. Bosh went 9-for-9 in the third quarter, when he poured in 21 points.

Wade remains sidelined by a strained hamstring and could be sidelined for several weeks.

Britain's Luol Deng scored 10 points for the Heat while Hassan Whiteside, the 7-foot center who led Miami in scoring the past two games, contributed 11 points and 10 rebounds.

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Irving, James power Cavs to 11th consecutive win

CLEVELAND -- Kyrie Irving scored 24 points while LeBron James contributed 18 points and 11 assists in sparking the Cleveland Cavaliers to their 11th NBA victory in a row, beating Philadelphia 97-84 Monday.

The Cavaliers captured their seventh home triumph in the win streak and avenged a 95-92 loss at Philadelphia last month which came when James was sidelined to rest a sore back and aching knees.

Kevin Love grabbed 15 rebounds for Cleveland while Aussie guard Irving matched a game high with five assists and pulled down five rebounds.

Aussie reserve guard Matthew Dellavedova and J.R. Smith each added 12 points for the Cavaliers, who improved to 30-20, hot on the heels of Central division leader Chicago (30-19).

The Cavaliers are only two wins shy of matching the longest win streak in franchise history, set during the 2009-2010 season before James departed Cleveland to spent four seasons in Miami until his return last July.

Cleveland can match a club-best 13-game win streak by beating the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday and winning Friday at Indiana. A potential 14th win in a row could come Sunday when the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Cavaliers.

The 76ers, averaging an NBA low 89.6 points a game coming into the contest, suffered their seventh consecutive road defeat and fell to 10-39, the worst record in the Eastern Conference and second-worst in the NBA.

Robert Covington and reserve Jerami Grant each scored 18 points to lead Philadelphia.

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