Cleveland opens February with a win.
CLEVELAND (AP) – LeBron James scored 27 points while Kyrie Irving had 14 points and a career-high 14 assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers, coming off a losing record in January, defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-97 on Wednesday night.
Cleveland, which went 7-8 last month, began February looking more like the defending NBA champions. The Cavaliers held a three-point halftime lead and took control midway through the third quarter. James’ three-point play gave the Cavaliers a 90-70 lead.
Cleveland All-Star forward Kevin Love missed his second straight game because of back spasms, but the Cavaliers had five players in double figures in scoring.
James was 11 of 14 from the field, and Irving scored 14 points. Kyle Korver, who has struggled since being acquired from Atlanta last month, scored 20 points, going 8 of 11 from the field and hitting four 3-pointers. Tristan Thompson had 18 points and 14 rebounds.
CELTICS 109, RAPTORS 104
BOSTON – Isaiah Thomas scored 19 of his 44 points in the final quarter to lift the Boston Celtics over the Toronto Raptors in a showdown for first place in the Atlantic Division.
It was the fifth straight win for Boston, which moved 1 { games ahead of the Raptors in the division and holds the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed.
HEAT 116, HAWKS 93
MIAMI – Goran Dragic scored 27 points, Dion Waiters added 20 and the Miami Heat pushed the NBA’s longest current winning streak to nine games by easing past the Atlanta Hawks.
Hassan Whiteside scored 18 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for the Heat, who hadn’t won nine straight since November 2013. James Johnson scored 16 before getting ejected in the fourth quarter for Miami.
PISTONS 118, PELICANS 98
AUBURN HILLS, Michigan – Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored a career-high 38 points, leading the Detroit Pistons over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Tobias Harris added 19 points and Andre Drummond 17 for the Pistons, who ended an eight-game losing streak to New Orleans. Detroit had lost three in a row overall.
KNICKS 95, NETS 90
NEW YORK – Kristaps Porzingis had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and joined a group of mostly substitutes who led a big fourth-quarter turnaround that carried the New York Knicks over the Brooklyn Nets.
Carmelo Anthony had 15 points for the Knicks, but he was on the bench for the entire fourth quarter after shooting 6 for 22 from the field. Instead, the Knicks rallied behind Willy Hernangomez, who had 16 points and 16 rebounds, and Sasha Vujacic, who made team history by converting a pair of four-point plays in the game.
PACERS 98, MAGIC 88
ORLANDO, Florida – C.J. Miles scored 16 points, Glenn Robinson III added 14 and the Indiana Pacers held on to beat the Orlando Magic.
The Pacers used their smaller lineup and timely 3-point shooting to keep the struggling Magic from rallying.
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