NBA Wrap: Cavs recover; Pistons survive; Warriors dazzle anew

Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez (left) defends Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James during the first half of an NBA game in New York. The Cavs recovered from a drubbing in the hands of their Finals foe, the Golden State Warriors, via a rout of the Nets earlier today. | AP Photo/Kathy Willens

NEW YORK — Kevin Love had 17 points and 18 rebounds, and the Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back from their embarrassing performance against Golden State with a 91-78 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night (Thursday in Manila).

LeBron James also had 17 points and neither forward played in the fourth quarter, a welcome rest with a home game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.

More importantly for the Cavs, it was a welcome performance after they were crushed 132-98 on Monday (last Tuesday) in the NBA Finals rematch.

PISTONS 123, ROCKETS 114

HOUSTON — Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Marcus Morris each scored 22 points and Detroit beat Houston despite Andre Drummond setting an NBA record by missing 23 free throws.

Drummond set a career high and franchise record by attempting 36 free throws on a night he was intentionally fouled 21 times. The previous record for most misses was 22, set by Wilt Chamberlain on Dec. 1, 1967.

The Hack-A-Shaq tactic allowed the Rockets to take the lead in the third quarter when they did it 12 straight times, but it didn't help them close the gap in the fourth when Drummond went out for good with 5 1/2 minutes left after seven hacks in the quarter and Detroit leading 107-94.

James Harden had his first triple-double of the season and seventh of his career with 33 points, a career-high 17 rebounds and 14 assists in the loss.

Drummond finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

WARRIORS 125, BULLS 94

CHICAGO — Stephen Curry scored 25 points, and Golden State made it look easy again in beating Chicago.

Curry tied a season high with 11 assists and grabbed seven rebounds.

Klay Thompson added 20 points. Harrison Barnes scored 19, and the defending champions simply outclassed Chicago after embarrassing LeBron James and the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Monday night. The Warriors built a big lead in the first quarter and never were threatened after that, improving their league-best road record to 20-4.

Derrick Rose scored 29 and Jimmy Butler added 23 points.

THUNDER 109, HORNETS 95

OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant scored 26 points to help Oklahoma City beat Charlotte for its sixth straight win.

Russell Westbrook collected 16 points, 15 assists, eight rebounds and five steals in 27 minutes before sitting out the fourth quarter because the Thunder were in control.

Steven Adams had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder, who have won 21 of their past 25 games. Kyle Singler added a season-high 11 points.

Charlotte's Kemba Walker, who scored 52 points Monday in a win over Utah, led the Hornets with 21 points. Jeremy Lin scored 16 points.

KNICKS 118, JAZZ 111, OT

NEW YORK — Carmelo Anthony had 30 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, leading New York to an overtime victory over Utah.

Robin Lopez added 22 points and 12 rebounds for New York, which trailed by as many as 12 in the second half and by eight entering the fourth quarter. Derrick Williams scored 18 points, and rookie Kristaps Porzingis had 16.

Rodney Hood led Utah with 29 points, and Gordon Hayward finished with 27.

MAVERICKS 106, TIMBERWOLVES 94, OT

DALLAS — Chandler Parsons scored seven of his game-high 30 points in overtime as short-handed Dallas rallied to beat Minnesota.

The Mavericks, playing without Dirk Nowitzki, shook off a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit and a career game from Timberwolves rookie Karl-Anthony Towns to win in their fourth consecutive overtime game at home.

After trailing for much of the second half, Dallas was never behind in overtime. Parsons hit the biggest shot of the extra period, a 3-pointer with 2:36 to play to give Dallas a 98-93 lead. With 1:25 to go, Devin Harris made a three-point play to extend the lead to eight.

With Nowitzki (right knee) and Kevin Garnett (rest) watching from their respective benches in suits, the 2015 first overall pick Towns had 27 points and career highs with 17 rebounds and six blocks for Minnesota. Andrew Wiggins added 23 points for the Wolves.

WIZARDS 106, HEAT 87

WASHINGTON — John Wall had 18 points and 10 assists and Bradley Beal added 18 more as Washington Wizards sent injury-ravaged Miami to its sixth loss in seven games.

Miami played without Dwyane Wade, who was scratched with shoulder soreness about a half-hour before the game. Halfway through the second quarter, starting center Hassan Whiteside abruptly fell to the floor and with a strained left oblique and did not return to the game.

Down to nine players, 33-year-old Amare Stoudemire scored a season-high 11 points in 21 minutes — six more than he had played in his previous 14 games this season.

One of the Heat's remaining players, Luol Deng, who had scored 16 points, left the floor with 2:25 remaining, holding a towel to his face.

RAPTORS 115, CELTICS 109

TORONTO — DeMar DeRozan scored 34 points and Jonas Valanciunas had his eighth double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds as Toronto won its season-high sixth straight game.

Luis Scola chipped in with 18 points and Kyle Lowry added 14 for the Raptors.

Boston guard Isaiah Thomas had his fifth double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 assists. Avery Bradley added another 19 points for the Celtics.

76ERS 96, MAGIC 87

ORLANDO, Florida — Jahlil Okafor scored 20 points, Ish Smith had 13 points and 11 assists and Philadelphia beat Orlando.

Hollis Thompson added 17 points and Isaiah Canaan scored 15 for Philadelphia, which has won two of three to get to six wins on the season.

Elfrid Payton led Orlando with 21 points and 10 assists, but the Magic were lethargic all night defensively and lost for the eighth time in nine games. Nikola Vucevic had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Tobias Harris added 15 points and 10 boards.

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