NBA Wrap: Cavs outlast Knicks for 9th straight win

NEW YORK — LeBron James scored 31 points, Mo Williams made a tiebreaking jumper with 41 seconds left and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the New York Knicks 90-84 on Friday night (Saturday Manila time) for their eighth straight victory.

Cleveland remained unbeaten since dropping its opener at Chicago and matched its best start through nine games at 8-1.

Williams scored Cleveland's final six points and finished with 20.

Carmelo Anthony scored 26 for the Knicks, but 22 came in the first half and his only field goal in the second half was a follow dunk as James kept his friend in check when it mattered.

Arron Afflalo had 14 points for the Knicks.

BULLS 102, HORNETS 97

CHICAGO — Jimmy Butler had 27 points, Pau Gasol added 19 points and 13 rebounds and Chicago beat Charlotte.

Nicolas Batum scored 12 of his 28 points in the third quarter and was 5 of 6 from 3-point range for Charlotte. Kemba Walker had 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Charlotte trailed for most of the fourth quarter, but Jeremy Lamb scored eight straight points to pull the Hornets within 88-87 with 5:54 left.

But Butler hit a jumper and made a pair of free throws and Derrick Rose had a driving layup to get the lead up to 94-87 with 4:32 left.

Lamb missed a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left that would have tied it at 100. Butler then iced it with a 22-footer to put the Bulls up 102-97.

THUNDER 102, 76ERS 85

OKLAHOMA CITY — Russell Westbrook had his second straight triple-double and Oklahoma City beat Philadelphia.

Westbrook stepped up while top scorer Kevin Durant sat out with a strained left hamstring. Westbrook finished with 21 points, a career-high 17 rebounds and 11 assists for the 21st triple-double of his career. It was his third in his past four games against Philadelphia.

Dion Waiters scored 14 points and Enes Kanter had 13 for the Thunder, who won their third straight.

Christian Wood scored 15 points and Nerlens Noel had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the 76ers, who lost their 19th in a row.

Philadelphia's Jahlil Okafor, who had led all rookies with 20.6 points per game, finished with six on 3-for-18 shooting.

NUGGETS 107, ROCKETS 98

DENVER — Danilo Gallinari had 27 points, Will Barton scored a career-high 26 and Denver beat Houston to spoil the return of Ty Lawson.

Kenneth Faried added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Denver.

The home crowd didn't give Lawson a warm reception despite his mostly productive six years with the Nuggets. He helped Denver reach the playoffs four straight seasons and win a franchise-best 57 games in 2012-13 before a disappointing first-round exit against Golden State. 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. Terrence Jones added 23 off the bench and Dwight Howard had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

KINGS 111, NETS 109

SACRAMENTO, Calif.  — DeMarcus Cousins had 30 of his season-high 40 points in the second half and added 13 rebounds, Rajon Rondo had a triple-double and Sacramento Kings beat struggling Brooklyn.

It was the second straight victory for the Kings, who had snapped a six-game losing streak on Wednesday.

Rondo had his third triple-double in four games, with 23 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds. Reserve Ben McLemore had a season-high 15 points and Marco Belinelli had 14.

Jarrett Jack had 21 points and 12 assists for the Nets, who have opened the season with a 1-8 record.

GRIZZLIES 101, TRAIL BLAZERS 100

MEMPHIS, Tenn.  — Zach Randolph's put-back basket with less than a second left and a season-high 31 points from Marc Gasol led Memphis to a victory over Portland.

Portland had a final shot with 0.6 of a second left, but Al-Farouq Aminu's 17-footer was short and the Grizzlies snapped a four-game losing streak.

The Trail Blazers lost their fourth straight and haven't won since a 115-96 victory over Memphis on Nov. 5.

Randolph's winning basket gave him 15 points for the game. Jeff Green scored 14, while Mike Conley and newcomer Mario Chalmers added 11 points apiece.

C.J. McCollum led Portland with 26 points.

MAVERICKS 90, LAKERS 82

DALLAS — Zaza Pachulia notched his sixth double-double in nine games and Dallas sent Los Angeles to its fourth straight loss.

Kobe Bryant returned to action after missing the Lakers' two previous games with a tight back. He hit his first three shots and finished with 19 points while playing a season-high 32:25.

Dallas extended its record winning streak in the series between the teams to nine.

Pachulia led the Mavs with season highs of 18 points and 16 rebounds. He was acquired last summer after free agent DeAndre Jordan decided to stay with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Jordan Clarkson led the Lakers with 21 points and was 3 of 5 on 3-point shots.

PACERS 107, TIMBERWOLVES 103

INDIANAPOLIS — Paul George scored 29 points, Monta Ellis added 24 points in his best game this season and Indiana beat Minnesota for its sixth win in seven games.

Zach LaVine and Andrew Wiggins each scored 26 points and led a furious charge that almost brought Minnesota back from a 27-point deficit in the final 16 minutes. After Indiana built an 87-60 lead with 4 minutes left in the third quarter, the Timberwolves pulled within 101-100 with 1:18 left.

Ian Mahinmi added 12 points and nine rebounds and Glenn Robinson III scored 11 points and had five rebounds off the bench for Indiana.

Karl-Anthony Towns, the league's seventh-best rebounder, had 12 points and nine rebounds for Minnesota. Nemanja Bjelica and Shabazz Muhammad each had 10 points.

CELTICS 106, HAWKS 93

BOSTON — Isaiah Thomas scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half and added 10 assists as Boston recovered from early shooting troubles to beat Atlanta.

The Hawks played without coach Mike Budenholzer, who returned to Atlanta earlier Friday for a family emergency. Assistant Kenny Atkinson coached the team.

Amir Johnson scored 19 and Jared Sullinger had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Boston, which closed the game on a 10-0 run while holding the Hawks without a point for the final three minutes.

The Celtics outrebounded the Hawks 50-35 and had only 10 turnovers to Atlanta's 17.

Paul Millsap led Atlanta with 14 points and eight rebounds, but scored only four in the final three quarters. Al Horford added 13 points, Kent Bazemore scored 12 and Kyle Korver finished with 11 points for the Hawks.

RAPTORS 100, PELICANS 81

TORONTO  — Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 10 rebounds, DeMar DeRozan added 15 points and 11 assists and Toronto pulled away in the second half for a win over New Orleans.

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.

Five Raptors scored in double-figures, including Kyle Lowry with 20 points. Toronto begins a five-game road trip Sunday night at Sacramento and plays 11 of its first 15 games of the season on the road.

Guards Eric Gordon and Jrue Holiday led New Orleans. Gordon had 30 points and Holiday added 19.

The Raptors hit just 2 of 10 3-point attempts in the first half, but made 7 of 11 from beyond the arc in the second half.

MAGIC 102, JAZZ 93

ORLANDO, Fla. — Evan Fournier scored 21 points and Orlando raced out to a big early lead to defeat Utah.

Tobias Harris added 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic, who won for the fifth time in their last seven games.

The Magic jumped out to a 16-2 lead in the first four minutes while the Jazz missed eight of their first nine shots and turned the ball over four times.

They stretched their advantage to 22 points early in the second quarter and were up by as many as 23 in the fourth before the Jazz got within seven points in the closing minutes.

Gordon Hayward and Trey Burke each scored 16 points for the Jazz. Hayward was their only starter to make a field goal in the first half.