Lillard ties career high 9 3-pointers, leads Blazers.
MIAMI (AP) – Damian Lillard scored a season-high 49 points, including 28 after halftime, as the Portland Trail Blazers continued their playoff push by beating the Miami Heat 115-104 on Sunday night.
Lillard tied a career high with nine 3-pointers, giving him 1,002 for his career. He shot 14 for 21 from the field, 9 for 12 from 3-point range and made all 12 of his free throws.
CAVALIERS 125, LAKERS 120
LOS ANGELES – Kyrie Irving scored 46 points and LeBron James added 34 as Cleveland had to rally from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to edge Los Angeles.
Kevin Love had 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who needed every bit of their full lineup to withstand a surprising challenge from the Western Conference’s last-placed team and clinch a playoff spot.
James, Love and Irving all sat out the defending champions’ blowout loss to the Clippers on Saturday, angering fans and the national television audience. That night off left them with the energy to lead a 43-point fourth quarter.
SPURS 118, KINGS 102
SAN ANTONIO – Pau Gasol scored 22 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 as San Antonio rolled past Sacramento to end a two-game losing streak.
Kawhi Leonard had 12 points in 27 minutes, sitting out the fourth quarter after the Spurs led by as many as 28.
San Antonio (53-16) moved within two games of idle Golden State (55-14) for the NBA’s best record.
76ERS 105, CELTICS 99
PHILADELPHIA – Robert Covington made the go-ahead 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter to lift Philadelphia over Boston.
RAPTORS 116, PACERS 91
TORONTO – DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points in three quarters as all five Toronto starters were in double figures against Indiana.
DeRozan added four assists and three rebounds and was able to rest the entire fourth quarter as the Raptors cruised to their second straight victory. Serge Ibaka had 16 points, while Jonas Valanciunas finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds as the Raptors improved to 41-29.
MAVERICKS 111, NETS 104
NEW YORK – Dirk Nowitzki had 23 points and nine rebounds as Dallas beat Brooklyn.
J.J. Barea scored 20 points and Harrison Barnes added 19 for the Mavericks.
The Mavericks led 94-92 with more than five minutes left before Barea scored nine straight Dallas points. Barnes followed with two layups that made it 107-101 with 26.5 seconds remaining.
PISTONS 112, SUNS 95
AUBURN HILLS, Michigan – Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 23 points as Detroit overcame a sluggish performance for the much of the game, finally pulling away from short-handed Phoenix.
PELICANS 123, TIMBERWOLVES 109
NEW ORLEANS – Anthony Davis had 28 points and 12 rebounds to lead New Orleans past struggling Minnesota.