CLEVELAND (AP) - Kevin Love scored a season-high 32 points, LeBron James added 30 and the Cleveland Cavaliers withstood a 40-point performance by Giannis Antetokounmpo to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 124-119 on Tuesday night.
The Cavs have been one of the NBA’s biggest surprises this season - for all the wrong reasons. But after losing five of six, they did enough to hand the Bucks their fourth straight loss and keep Cleveland fans from panicking.
Love, who was briefly hospitalized after scoring just four points in a surprising loss to Atlanta on Sunday, also had 16 rebounds. J.R. Smith added a season-high 20 points for the Cavs.
Still a few weeks shy of his 23rd birthday, the multi-talented Antetokounmpo finished 16 of 21 from the floor. Malcolm Brogdon added 22 points for Milwaukee.
Before the game, the Bucks got some scoring help by acquiring guard Eric Bledsoe from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for forward/center Greg Monroe and two draft picks.
KNICKS 118, HORNETS 113
NEW YORK (AP) - Kristaps Porzingis scored 28 points, including a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:48 remaining, and the Knicks earned their third straight victory.
The Eastern Conference player of the week was held below 30 for only the third time in 10 games this season, but he delivered when it mattered, scoring seven points in the final 2:32.
Doug McDermott added a season-high 20 points off the bench and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 19 for the Knicks, who have won six of seven after an 0-3 start.
Kemba Walker, Dwight Howard and rookie Malik Monk each had 21 points in the Hornets’ third straight loss.
PELICANS 117, PACERS 112
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Anthony Davis had 37 points and 14 rebounds for New Orleans, and DeMarcus Cousins added 32 points and 13 boards.
Davis was 14 for 18 from the field in New Orleans’ third straight win. Darius Miller scored 12 points, and Jameer Nelson had 10.
Indiana had six players score in double figures in its third straight loss. Myles Turner had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Victor Oladipo scored 15 points.
Indiana led 75-61 at halftime, but the Pelicans outscored the Pacers 35-19 in the third quarter.
SPURS 120, CLIPPERS 107
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - LaMarcus Aldridge scored 25 points, and the Spurs made a season-high 15 3-pointers in their third straight win.
San Antonio also had a season-best 12 steals, and Danny Green, Rudy Gay and Pau Gasol all had or matched their best scoring output of the season. Green scored 24 points, Gay had 22 and Gasol added 19.
The Spurs were dominant in the third quarter for the second straight game. After routing Phoenix by 21 points in the third quarter Sunday, San Antonio outscored the Clippers by 19.
Austin Rivers led Los Angeles with 24 points. Blake Griffin added 15 points on 4-for-13 shooting.
MAVERICKS 113, WIZARDS 99
WASHINGTON (AP) - Harrison Barnes scored 31 points, rookie Dennis Smith Jr. had 22 and the Mavericks snapped a six-game losing streak.
Wesley Matthews made four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points for Dallas, which has won 14 of its last 15 meetings with Washington. It was just the second win on the season for the Mavericks.
John Wall had 23 points and 14 assists in his return from a sprained left shoulder, but the Wizards lost for the fifth time in seven games. Bradley Beal had 23 points, and Otto Porter Jr. finished with 13.
Dallas led by as many as 16 in the second half before Washington put together a 14-0 run to close to 90-88 with 8:56 remaining in the game. The Mavericks responded with a 15-5 spurt and were never challenged again.
KINGS 94, THUNDER 86
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Zach Randolph scored each of his 18 of his points in the second half, Buddy Hield had 21 points and Sacramento stopped a seven-game losing streak.
The Kings were limited to 10 points in the first quarter, but stormed back to take the lead going into halftime and never trailed in the second half.
Russell Westbrook had 20 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for Oklahoma City, which has dropped three in a row. The Thunder shot 33.7 percent (29 for 86) from the field, committed three shot clock violations in the third quarter alone and finished with 17 turnovers.
RAPTORS 119, BULLS 114
TORONTO (AP) - DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Toronto beat Chicago for its first three-game winning streak over the Bulls since 2009.
Kyle Lowry scored 17 points for the Raptors, who had lost 11 straight meetings with the Bulls before the current streak began with an overtime victory on March 21. Toronto beat Chicago 117-100 on Oct. 19 in the opening game of the season for both teams.
Chicago’s Bobby Portis had 21 points and 13 rebounds in his first game of the season. Robin Lopez scored 20 points as Chicago lost for the fourth time in five games.
Portis returned to the lineup after he was suspended for eight games for injuring teammate Nikola Mirotic during a fight at practice.
NUGGETS 112, NETS 104
DENVER (AP) - Nikola Jokic had a career-high 41 points for Denver, and Will Barton and Paul Millsap scored 17 apiece.
Jokic also had 12 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. The Nets starters couldn’t match Jokic’s output; they combined for 40 points.
Tyler Zeller led Brooklyn with a season-high 21 points. Only three Nets were in double figures. D’Angelo Russell had 12 points a night after scoring 23, and Timofey Mozgov scored 11.
76ERS 104, JAZZ 97
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Dario Saric scored a season-high 25 points and Philadelphia won its fifth straight game.
The winning streak is the longest for the 76ers since the 2011-12 season.
Philadelphia used a 21-7 run to start the third quarter, highlighted by eight straight points from J.J. Redick, to take a 67-51 lead it never relinquished.
The Sixers seemed to have more energy on both ends of the floor despite being on the road without starting center Joel Embiid, who was rested. Saric grabbed 10 rebounds, Redick scored 20 points and Ben Simmons had 16 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for his seventh double-double this season.
Rodney Hood led Utah with 19 points on 4-for-16 shooting, and Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 15 rebounds.
GRIZZLIES 98, TRAIL BLAZERS 97
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Tyreke Evans scored 21 points, Mike Conley had 20 - all in the second half - and the Grizzlies held off the Trail Blazers.
Marc Gasol added 16 points as the Grizzlies improved to 2-1 on their five-game road trip.
CJ McCollum led Portland with 36 points. Damian Lillard had 12 points on 4-for-16 shooting.
McCollum hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining to pull Portland to 98-97. After a video review, officials reversed an out-of-bounds call with 12.1 seconds left, giving the ball to the Blazers. McCollum missed a pull-up jumper and got his own rebound but couldn’t get another shot off in time.
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