NBA News Wire
NBA game roundup: Mavs rout ailing Cavs
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
CLEVELAND — Guard Monta Ellis scored 20 points, and the Dallas Mavericks won their fifth straight, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-90 Sunday to spoil forward Kevin Love’s best game with his new team.
Love scored a season-high 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who were again without forward LeBron James (back, knee) and lost guard Kyrie Irving in the third quarter due to a tight lower back.
The Cavs lost for the fifth time in seven games while injuries pile up, but general manager David Griffin emphatically insisted before the game that coach David Blatt’s future is safe and his job security was never in question.
Dallas took the lead for good late in the first quarter and was never challenged. Forward Dirk Nowitzki scored 15 points, center Tyson Chandler had 14 points and eight rebounds, and forward Chandler Parsons had 14 points for the Mavericks, who improved to 6-2 since acquiring guard Rajon Rondo.
Pistons 114, Kings 95
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Guard Brandon Jennings poured in a season-high 35 points and Detroit collected its fifth consecutive victory by defeating Sacramento.
Jennings reached the 25-point mark for the third time in four games. Center Andre Drummond notched his 18th double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Power forward Greg Monroe supplied 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Pistons, and guard Jodie Meeks had 13 points.
Center DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 18 points and 15 rebounds but shot 5-for-17 from the field. Point guard Darren Collison added 17 points and six assists, while forwards Rudy Gay and Derrick Williams chipped in 12 points apiece.
Heat 88, Nets 84
MIAMI — Dwyane Wade scored 10 of Miami’s last 12 points as the Heat snapped a four-game losing streak.
Wade finished with 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Heat forward Chris Bosh had a game-high 26 points. Shooting guard Joe Johnson led the Nets with 19 points.
Brooklyn had its three-game win streak snapped and fell to 0-3 this season against Miami.
Bucks 85, Knicks 82
NEW YORK — Milwaukee earned a fourth consecutive road win for the first time in almost three years. The Bucks ended last season 0-14 on the road, but they are 11-10 away from home this season.
Point guard Brandon Knight led the Bucks with 17 points, and center Zaza Pachulia chipped in with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Shooting guard Giannis Antetokounmpo added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
The Knicks, who were without leading scorer Carmelo Anthony for the second straight game due to a sore left knee, absorbed their 11th straight loss. New York hadn’t lost 11 straight in a single season since the 1984-85 season. Guard Tim Hardaway Jr., playing in his first game since suffering a concussion on Dec. 31 against the Clippers, led the Knicks with 17 points.
Suns 125, Raptors 109
PHOENIX — Guards Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas combined for 56 points and 14 assists, and Phoenix scored a season-high 43 points in the second quarter in a rout of Toronto.
The Suns shot 62 percent from the floor over the first three quarters — and a blistering 78 percent in the second quarter — to win for the eighth time in 10 games. Bledsoe topped Phoenix with 20 points, and Dragic and Thomas scored 18 apiece.
Center Jonas Valanciunas scored 21 points and guard Kyle Lowry added 19 points and seven assists for the Raptors, who lost three straight games for the first time this season and finished 2-3 on a five-game Western road trip.
Lakers 88, Pacers 87
LOS ANGELES — Guard Kobe Bryant scored the game-winning basket with 12.4 seconds remaining, lifting Los Angeles over Indiana.
Bryant finished with 20 points, six assists and six rebounds as the Lakers ended a three-game losing streak. Guard Nick Young scored a game-high 22 points for Los Angeles, while guard C.J. Miles topped Indiana with 19 points.
Bryant scored on a jump hook to clinch it for Los Angeles. Indiana had one last shot, but the Lakers forced center Roy Hibbert to take a contested shot near the top of the key that missed badly at the final horn.
