The night before slipping in Milwaukee, 108-105, the Cavs rallied to beat the NY Knicks, 90-84, in Madison Square Garden.
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Then Mo Williams converted on a tough step back jumper to put the Cavaliers ahead. He helped Denver reach the playoffs four straight seasons and win a franchise-best 57 games in 2012-2013 before a disappointing first-round exit against Golden State. James scored Cleveland’s last six points in regulation and blew right by Bucks guard Khris Middleton for a game-tying dunk with 16.5 seconds to play.
The Knicks (4-6) were led by Carmelo Anthony, who scored 26 points but was held to just one field goal and only four points in the second half due to smothering defense by James.
In Tuesday’s win over the Jazz, James posted 17 of his 31 in the fourth quarter, and Friday in NY 12 of his 31 came in the final frame.
Jamal Crawford added a season-high 37 points, making all 10 of his free throws, and DeAndre Jordan had 10 points and 16 rebounds for the Clippers, who were without injured starters Chris Paul and J.J. Redick. Kevin Love had seven points and 11 rebounds, Timofey Mozgov had 11 points and seven rebounds against the team that drafted him, while Tristan Thompson finished with double digit rebounds. He shot 5-for-6 and scored 14 points in the first quarter.
John Wall had 15 points and 11 assists for the Wizards.
The home crowd didn’t give Lawson a warm reception despite his mostly productive six years with the Nuggets. Trouble off the court, including multiple arrests, soured his reputation with the fans and preceded him being dealt to Houston in the summer.
James Harden led the Rockets with 28 points. After a hot first half, Anthony fell into a cold spell in the second half, missing his first nine shots.
Arron Afflalo’s basket tied the game at 84, but Williams answered with an off-balance jumper to reclaim the lead.
E’Twaun Moore added 11 points, Taj Gibson chipped in 12 points, Derrick Rose finished with 10 points and Pau Gasol recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
The Cavaliers, alone in first place in the National Basketball Association Central Division, are dead serious about putting the brakes on their one-game losing streak. Reserve Ben McLemore had a season-high 15 points and Marco Belinelli had 14. Still, NY has a winning 3-1 record in games where it reaches the century mark. “We’re just continuing to develop a will to win, no matter how it looks, whether the score is 70-70 or 100-100, we just need to find ways to win”.
Boston recovered from early inaccuracy to beat Atlanta 106-93, with Isaiah Thomas scoring 17 of his 23 points in the second half.
After trailing by nine points during the first half, the Raptors turned a 40-40 halftime tie into a rout against the banged-up Pelicans – New Orleans was without five regulars.
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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Evan Fournier scored 21 points and Orlando raced out to a big early lead to defeat Utah.
