Trail Blazers crush James, Cavaliers – Lowly 76ers nab 2nd victory

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PORTLAND, Oregon, Dec 27, (AP):  Allen Crabbe scored a career-high 26 points, and Portland held LeBron James to just 12 points.

Crabbe scored 21 in the first half, helping Portland (12-20) stop a five-game losing streak. He was 4 for 6 from 3-point range for the night.

C.J. McCollum had 16 points for the Trail Blazers, while Mason Plumlee had 11 points and 14 rebounds.

James missed his first four shots, had six points at halftime and didn’t play in the fourth quarter. He matched his season-low scoring total.

Kevin Love had 13 points for Cleveland, which was coming off an 89-83 loss at Golden State on Christmas.

76ers 111, Suns 104

Isaiah Canaan scored 22 points, reserve Nik Stauskas had 17 and the lowly Philadelphia 76ers beat the Phoenix Suns 111-104 on Saturday night for their second victory of the season.

Carl Landry added 16 points as Philadelphia (2-30) snapped a 12-game losing streak with its first win since Dec. 1. The 76ers also stopped a 23-game road slide dating to last season.

Former Suns guard Ish Smith, who was acquired in a trade with New Orleans on Christmas Eve, scored 14 points in a starting role. Nerlens Noel added 14 points and 11 rebounds.

The Suns lost leading scorer Eric Bledsoe to a sprained left knee in the first half. The team said he would go for an MRI.

Brandon Knight led Phoenix with 21 points. Devin Booker scored 19 points, and Jon Leuer had 14 points and nine rebounds. The Suns have lost four in a row and six of seven.

Mavericks 118, Bulls 111

In Dallas, J.J. Barea made a career-high seven 3-pointers and finished with 26 points coming off his first 30-point game, powering the Mavericks to the win.

Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 25 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, but had a key turnover before getting called for a 5-second violation when Chicago had a chance to tie in the final 11 seconds.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 16 points in his first home game since passing Shaquille O’Neal on the career scoring list, and Zaza Pachulia had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Barea was 7 for 8 from beyond the arc.

Nikola Mirotic had 23 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for the Bulls, who were trying for back-to-back wins a night after winning at Oklahoma City.

Clippers 109, Jazz 104

In Salt Lake City, Playing without an injured Blake Griffin, J.J. Redick scored 25 points and Paul Pierce had 20 to lead the Clippers to the road victory.

The Clippers learned before the game that Griffin, their leading scorer, had a partially torn left quadriceps tendon and is expected to miss at least two weeks.

Chris Paul scored 19 points and DeAndre Jordan added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Clippers, who won their second straight game after losing three in a row. Gordon Hayward scored 28 points for Utah.

Pelicans 110, Rockets 108

In New Orleans, Anthony Davis had 24 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots for New Orleans, and Tyreke Evans stole Trevor Ariza’s inbounds pass in the final seconds.

Eric Gordon scored 26 for the Pelicans, hitting six 3-pointers as New Orleans shot 13 of 24 from long range. Ryan Anderson scored 16, and Evans finished with 11 points and 13 assists.

James Harden scored 25 points for Houston. His final basket was a 3 that tied it at 108 with 2:27 left.

Ariza and Patrick Beverley each had 16 points for Houston. Right after Harden’s tying 3, Davis dunked an alley-oop lob from Evans, and neither team scored during the last 2 minutes.

Wizards 111, Nets 96

In New York, John Wall had 22 points and 13 assists, Marcin Gortat scored 25 points, and Washington earned its fourth straight victory.

Rookie Jarell Eddie made four 3-pointers and scored 12 points in the fourth quarter of his NBA debut, helping the Wizards blow open what was a two-point game after three. Washington (14-14), despite a number of injuries, is back at .500 for the first time since it was 6-6 a month ago.

Brook Lopez had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets, who lost their sixth straight home game. Thaddeus Young finished with 16 points and 14 boards.

Hawks 117, Knicks 98

In Atlanta, Paul Millsap scored 22 points, Al Horford added 19 points and Atlanta won its sixth straight game.

Carmelo Anthony, returning after missing one game with a sprained right ankle, finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks. New York has dropped three straight and seven of 11.

Atlanta trailed by 15 midway through the first quarter and was down 14 late in the third before blowing past the Knicks to take a 20-point lead on Thabo Sefolosha’s three-point play early in the fourth.

Mike Scott had a season-high 18 points for the Hawks.

Spurs 101, Nuggets 86

In San Antonio, Kawhi Leonard had 20 points, and the Spurs rebounded from a rare loss.

San Antonio extended its franchise record for consecutive wins at home to 26, including a record 17 straight to open this season.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Spurs, and Boris Diaw had 16 points.

Denver’s Nikola Jokic scored 22 points on 10-for-19 shooting.

Hornets 98, Grizzlies 92

In Charlotte, N.C, Kemba Walker scored 11 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, and Charlotte held on for the victory. Nicolas Batum had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets, who trailed 81-76 early in the final period. P.J. Hairston added 14 points, and Jeremy Lin had 13.

Mike Conley scored 19 points for Memphis, and Marc Gasol had 18. Zach Randolph added a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Charlotte fought back to take the lead for good at 89-88 on a layup by Walker with 1:55 left.

Heat 108, Magic 101

In Orlando, Florida, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh each scored 24 points, leading Miami to the victory.

Goran Dragic added 22 points as Miami won for the third time in four games, including a 94-88 overtime victory against New Orleans on Christmas. Gerald Green scored 15 points, and Bosh also had 10 rebounds.

Orlando led 76-69 after three, but Wade fueled Miami’s rally with 12 points in the fourth. The Heat outscored the Magic 39-25 in the final period.

Nik Vucevic led Orlando with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Elfrid Payton added 18 points and seven assists.

Celtics 99, Pistons 93

In Auburn Hills, Mich,  Avery Bradley scored 18 points, Isaiah Thomas had 17 points and nine assists, and the Celtics got the win on the road.

Each of Boston’s starters scored in double figures, and reserve Evan Turner added 13 points.

Detroit pulled within five in the last minute, and Turner was called for an offensive foul with 36 seconds left. Reggie Jackson’s 3-pointer then trimmed Boston’s lead to 95-93, but former Piston Jonas Jerebko hit a baseline jumper with 10.7 seconds left.

Pistons center Andre Drummond had 22 points and 22 rebounds for his fifth 20-20 game of the season.

Raptors 111, Bucks 90

In Milwaukee,  DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points and Terrence Ross had 21, leading Toronto to the road win.

Luis Scola had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors, and Bismack Biyombo added 14 points and 12 rebounds. DeMarre Carroll, who missed the last nine games with a bruised right knee, scored seven points as Toronto won its third straight over Milwaukee.

After the Bucks took a slim lead late in the third quarter, the Raptors made eight 3-pointers  most were wide-open looks  and closed the game with seven straight for their final 21 points.

Khris Middleton scored 20 points and Greg Monroe added 16 for Milwaukee.

Pacers 102, Timberwolves 88

In Minneapolis, Monta Ellis had 22 points and six rebounds to help the Pacers rally for the victory.

Paul George scored 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting for Indiana, and reserve Jordan Hill scored 12 points. The Pacers snapped a three-game skid.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and eight rebounds for Minnesota, which has lost three in a row. Ricky Rubio finished with 15 points, nine assists and five rebounds.

Indiana, the league’s fourth-best 3-point shooting team, was 3 of 17 on 3s through three quarters before hitting 6 of 9 in the fourth.

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