CLEVELAND (AP) -LeBron James scored 33 points and barely missed a triple-double as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat Boston for the second time this season, downing the Celtics 114-113 on Tuesday night.
James added 12 assists, nine rebounds and five steals to pace the Cavaliers, who improved to 15-4 since Dec. 25 and handed the NBA’s best road team just its fifth loss away from home. Cleveland also beat the Celtics in overtime on Nov. 27.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 21 points, Larry Hughes had 18 and seldom-used Ira Newble had 15 for Cleveland. Also, guard Daniel Gibson made a big steal in the final minute to help the Cavs hang on.
Ray Allen scored 24 points and Paul Pierce 19 for the Celtics, who were again without Kevin Garnett. The All-Star center missed his fourth straight game with an abdominal strain sustained on Jan. 25.
Spurs 116, Pacers 89
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Tim Duncan dominated the middle and San Antonio’s stingy second-half defense turned a close game into a rout.
Duncan had 19 points and 15 rebounds, and backup guard Jacque Vaughn scored 16 points off the bench.
Danny Granger led the Pacers with 16 points, not nearly enough to halt Indiana’s season-high seven game losing streak.
Indiana shot 67.6 percent from the field in the first half, but settled for a 59-all tie. Indiana opened the third quarter shooting 1-of-11, a lapse that allowed San Antonio to open the quarter on an 8-0 run. By the time it ended, the Spurs had outscored Indiana 18-2, building an insurmountable 77-61 lead with 4:18 to go.
Lakers 105, Nets 90
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) – Pau Gasol was a winner in his Lakers debut, without even much help from Kobe Bryant.
Gasol had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and the Lakers beat New Jersey despite a season-low six points from Bryant, his first single-digit effort in more than a year.
Derek Fisher matched a season high with 28 points to lead the Lakers, who improved to 3-1 on their nine-game road trip. Bryant shot 3-of-13 from the floor but had eight assists in his lowest-scoring effort since an eight-point game against Denver on Jan. 5, 2007.
Vince Carter scored 27 points for the Nets, who trailed by only three points midway through the fourth quarter before Gasol keyed the decisive surge.
76ers 101, Wizards 96
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Andre Iguodala scored 20 points and Philadelphia stunned the Wizards with a 17-0 run late in the fourth quarter, handing Washington its fourth straight loss.
led by 12 early in the fourth before Rodney Carney’s open dunk off a turnover tied the score at 90. Iguodala’s layup at the 4 minute mark put the 76ers ahead 92-90. They would never trail again.
DeShawn Stevenson scored 19 points and Brendan Haywood had 18 for the Wizards. Caron Butler left in the third with a strained left hip flexor, the same injury that kept him out of three games last week.
Bucks 102, Grizzlies 97
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Mo Williams scored 32 points and led a fourth quarter rally to help Milwaukee snap a three-game losing streak.
Williams, who was 14-of-22 from the field, scored all 10 Milwaukee points as the Bucks overcame a five-point deficit in the final 2 minutes.
Charlie Bell finished with 17 points for Milwaukee, while Charlie Villanueva had 16 points and 16 rebounds. Andrew Bogut added 12 points for the Bucks.
Miller had a season-high 32 points, while Gay contributed 21 for the Grizzlies, who lost their fourth in a row. Darko Milicic had 11 points and 12 rebounds, his third-straight double-double.
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