CLEVELAND (AP) - Rodney Hood scored a season-high 26 points, Cedi Osman added 20 and Cleveland ended its six-game losing streak to start the season, beating the Atlanta Hawks 136-114 on Tuesday night in the Cavaliers’ first game since coach Tyronn Lue was fired.
The Cavs came in as the NBA’s only winless team, and Lue paid the price for club’s slow start.
But with Larry Drew serving as Cleveland’s “acting” coach while he tries to get the team to restructure his contract, the Cavs played a complete game - Cleveland had seven players in double figures - and avoided their first 0-7 start since 1995-96.
George Hill and rookie Collin Sexton scored 17 apiece, and Tristan Thompson had 13 rebounds for Cleveland.
Rookie Trae Young scored 24 and Alex Len 22 for the Hawks. Young scored a season-high 35 against the Cavs on Oct. 21, wrecking their home opener.
RAPTORS 129, 76ERS 112
TORONTO (AP) - Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points, Pascal Siakam had 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, and Toronto bounced back from its first loss of the season by routing Philadelphia 129-112, handing the 76ers their 12th consecutive defeat north of the border.
Kyle Lowry had 20 points and 13 assists, extending his streak of double-digit assist games to a career-best six. Jonas Valanciunas scored a season-high 23 points and Serge Ibaka had 16 as the Raptors improved to 6-0 at home.
Joel Embiid scored 31 points, Robert Covington had 15 and JJ Redick scored 13 as the 76ers lost for the first time in three games. Philadelphia is 0-4 on the road.
Ben Simmons narrowly missed a triple-double, finishing with 11 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, but also committed 11 turnovers.
THUNDER 128, CLIPPERS 110
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Russell Westbrook scored 32 points and had another run-in with Patrick Beverley in Oklahoma City victory over Los Angeles.
The Thunder outscored the Clippers 39-10 in the third quarter, and the only drama in the fourth was the dustup between Westbrook and Beverley. Beverley dove at Westbrook’s left knee, and both were issued technical after jawing in front of the benches. Police officers stepped onto the court to help keep the teams separated. Upon review, Beverley’s foul was ruled a flagrant 1.
Westbrook tore the lateral meniscus in his right knee during the playoffs in 2013 when Beverley lunged for the ball as Westbrook prepared to call timeout.
Paul George also had 32 points, Steven Adams had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Dennis Schroder added 15 points for the Thunder, who won their second straight after four losses to start the season.
TRAIL BLAZERS 104, ROCKETS 85
HOUSTON (AP) - Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic scored 22 points each, and Portland never trailed in a trouncing of struggling Houston.
The Rockets dropped their fourth straight in their second game without James Harden, who is out with a hamstring injury, to fall to 1-5. After entering the season with eyes on a championship, the Rockets have rarely even been competitive, dropping their four home games by an average of more than 17 points.
Now they face a season-long five-game road trip where they’ll likely be without Harden and fellow starter James Ennis (right hamstring) for at least the first game and possibly more.
Chris Paul led Houston with 17 points and nine assists in his second game back after a two-game suspension for his role in a fight with the Los Angeles Lakers.
CELTICS 108, PISTONS 105
BOSTON (AP) - Kyrie Irving scored a season-high 31 points, Marcus Morris had 15 points and nine rebounds and Boston beat Detroit, handing the Pistons back-to-back losses after a 4-0 start.
Jayson Tatum scored 16, Jaylen Brown had 14 points and Al Horford scored 11 for Boston.
Blake Griffin had 24 points and 15 rebounds for Detroit, which couldn’t recover after scoring just 13 points in the third quarter. The Pistons chopped Boston’s 14-point lead down to a point with 4:21 left to play, and then again with 12 seconds remaining, but couldn’t quite complete the comeback.
Boston, which beat Detroit on the road 109-89 on Saturday, is still the only team to beat the Pistons this season.
HORNETS 125, HEAT 113
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Tony Parker had 24 points and 11 assists to lead a big night from Charlotte’s bench, and the Hornets beat Miami.
Behind Parker, who provided a spark all game long with his scoring, passing and decision-making, Charlotte’s reserves outscored Miami’s 66-46. Malik Monk had 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including four 3-pointers, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist contributed 14 points and eight rebounds for the second unit.
Among the starters, Nic Batum had 20 points and Kemba Walker had 19, his lowest output of the season, as the Hornets beat the Heat for the second time in 10 days.
Walker still played a big role, helping squash a fourth-quarter comeback sparked by Dwyane Wade, who led Miami with 19 points and made four 3-pointers. Walker knocked down a pair of 3s in the final 3½ minutes to push Charlotte’s lead back to double digits.
KINGS 107, MAGIC 99
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Buddy Hield finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Sacramento beat Orlando and extended its winning streak to four games.
Hield scored six points in a 13-2 run to close out the third quarter and the Kings held on for the victory and matched their longest winning streak since February 2017.
Nemanja Bjelica finished with 21 points for Sacramento, and Willie Cauley-Stein added 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Aaron Gordon had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic, who lost their third straight. Terrence Ross came off the bench to score 17 points, and Nikola Vucevic finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
GRIZZLIES 107, WIZARDS 95
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Garrett Temple scored 20 points, Marc Gasol and Mike Conley added 19 apiece and Memphis sent Washington to its fourth straight loss.
Shelvin Mack added 14 for Memphis, which won its second straight and opened the season 3-0 at home. Conley added seven assists, while Temple had seven rebounds.
John Wall led Washington with 22 points, while backcourt mate Bradley Beal scored 17 points. Kelly Oubre finished with 16 points, and Otto Porter contributed 15.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Please read our comment policy before commenting.