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    Saturday, May 11, 2024

    NBA roundup

    The Cavaliers' LeBron James, right, grabs a rebound ahead of Brooklyn's DeMarre Carroll, left, as Larry Nance Jr. watches during the second half of Tuesday's game in Cleveland. The Cavaliers won 129-123. (Tony Dejak/AP Photo)

    Cavaliers 129, Nets 123

    LeBron James had quite a February, and continues a one-of-a-kind career.

    He finished the month averaging a triple-double for the first time in his career after having 31 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists on Tuesday night in Cleveland's win over the Nets.

    James has 12 triple-doubles this season and 67 in his career.

    "Scoring has always been last for me," James said. "I've never looked at myself as a scorer. But to know the history of the game and seeing the guys that put up triple-doubles on a regular (basis) from Jason Kidd to Magic Johnson to Oscar Robertson to Russell Westbrook, you can throw my name in there as well."

    His 11th assist on Tuesday came late in the game and gave him 8,000 in his career. He's the first player in NBA history with 30,000 points, 8,000 rebounds and 8,000 assists.

    "With the long list of so many great players that have come through this league, in the history of this league, for me to be the only (person) in a category, I think it's pretty cool," James said. "It's pretty cool."

    James also became the first frontcourt player and the 11th overall in league history to reach 8,000 assists.

    Rodney Hood's three-point play with 40 seconds remaining gave Cleveland a 123-121 lead. James and George Hill hit two free throws each in the final 16 seconds to seal the win.

    Jarrett Allen's two free throws gave Brooklyn a 119-117 lead with 1:18 to play. Jordan Clarkson's 3-pointer put Cleveland ahead, but Allen Crabbe's runner in the lane put the Nets up 121-120.

    Hood, one of four players acquired at the trade deadline, hit a jumper from the wing and made the foul shot that gave Cleveland a two-point lead.

    "The play kind of broke down," Hood said. "He (Jarrett Allen) cut me off. I stepped back. It's a shot I work on all the time."

    Nets forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who scored 14 points, wasn't surprised about James' performance.

    "He's a superstar player and is super aggressive, and he just took over," he said. "It came down to a lot of tough shots being made, and LeBron getting them."

    The win could also help Cleveland position in the NBA draft. The Cavaliers own Brooklyn's No. 1 pick, acquired in a trade with Boston. The Nets have the seventh-worst record in the league, but have lost nine of 10.

    Hill, also acquired at the trade deadline, scored a season-high 26 points and Cleveland placed six in double figures.

    Russell led Brooklyn with 25 points. Caris LeVert scored 18 while DeMarre Carroll had 16. Brooklyn broke an eight-game losing streak Monday by beating Chicago.

    Heat 102, 76ers 101

    Dwyane Wade scored a season-high 27 points, the last of those coming on a jumper that gave Miami its only lead of the fourth quarter with 5.9 seconds left, and the Heat rallied to beat the 76ers.

    Wade had 15 of his points in the fourth quarter, and the Heat won a game where they never led by more than three.

    Goran Dragic scored 21 for the Heat, who got 16 points from Tyler Johnson and 15 points and 11 rebounds from Hassan Whiteside.

    Joel Embiid scored 23 points for Philadelphia, which got 21 from Dario Saric. The 76ers led by as many as 10 in the fourth and had a chance to win at the buzzer, but JJ Redick's wide-open 3-point try bounced off the rim.

    Redick finished with 15 for the 76ers.

    Hornets 118, Bulls 103

    Kemba Walker scored 31 points and Dwight Howard added 24 after returning from a first-quarter back injury as the Hornets knocked off the Bulls to win their season-best fifth game in a row.

    Zach LaVine led seven Bulls players in double-digits with 21 points as Chicago (20-41) dropped its fifth consecutive game. New London's Kris Dunn struggled for the Bulls as he missed 9 of 11 shots and had 10 points and 7 turnovers

    The Hornets improved to 28-33 as their suddenly hot shooting helped them continue their push to make the playoffs. In all, Charlotte sank 53.7 percent of its field-goal attempts, and 42.9 percent from 3-point range.

    Walker hit 11-of-19 attempts — including 6-of-10 of 3-pointers — while Howard missed only two shots in 12 attempts. Nicolas Batum also added 10 points, 12 assist and seven rebounds.

    Wizards 107, Bucks 104

    Bradley Beal scored 21 points, hitting a clutch 3-pointer and a free throw down the stretch, to help the Wizards hang on for a victory over the Bucks.

    Otto Porter Jr. added 17 points and Markieff Morris 14 for Washington which stayed hot after snapping the Philadelphia 76ers' seven-game winning streak Sunday with a 109-94 victory.

    The Bucks lost a chance at clinching the season series with the Wizards who hold the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. Washington improved to 2 1/2 games ahead of the sixth-place Bucks. The road team won both games of the series.

    Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Jabbari Parker had a season-high 19 points for Milwaukee.

    Clippers 122, Nuggets 120

    Lou Williams scored 25 points and Boban Marjanovic added a season-high 18 as the Clippers overcame a 19-point deficit in the third quarter to beat the Nuggets.

    Austin Rivers added 17 points and Montrezl Harrell had 15 for the Clippers, whose bench outscored Denver's reserves 54-4 in the second half.

    Gary Harris had 23 points to lead the Nuggets, who lost consecutive games at home for the first time this season. Paul Millsap had nine points and seven rebounds in 23:26 minutes of play in his return from a left wrist injury that had sidelined him for the last three months.

    Leading by six at the half, the Nuggets stretched their lead to 19 points on a layup by Harris but the Clippers fought back to within seven points going into the fourth quarter, outscoring the Nuggets 18-6 over the last 4 1-2 minutes of the third.

    Trail Blazers 116, Kings 99

    Damian Lillard had 26 points and 12 assists, and the Trail Blazers won their fourth straight with a victory over the Kings.

    Jusuf Nurkic added 17 points and nine rebounds for Portland, which sits in fifth place in the Western Conference — a game back of San Antonio — after winning five of its last six games. The current four-game winning streak matched the team's longest of the season.

    Zach Randolph had 20 points for the Kings, who lost their fifth straight overall. Sacramento has dropped 10 straight games at Portland's Moda Center.

    With just 18 wins, Sacramento is in second-to-last place in the West, above only the Phoenix Suns. The Kings have lost four straight and six of their last seven.

    The Kings were playing the second of a back-to-back, after losing to Minnesota 118-100 on Monday night. Randolph sat out that game but returned against the Blazers. Randolph played six seasons in Portland.

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