(The Sports Xchange) – – – -Forward Paul Milsap scored 10 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to help the Atlanta Hawks ease by a LeBron James-less Cleveland Cavaliers by 109 points to 101.
James missed the game with soreness in his left knee and his absence left guard Kyrie Irving to pick up the slack.
Irving, who had missed the last two games with a sore knee, scored 35 points with nine assists and six rebounds for the Cavs.
Atlanta also got 23 points and 11 assists from guard Jeff Teague and 19 points and eight rebounds from guard Kyle Korver. Forward Mike Scott came off the bench to add 12 points and five rebounds.
Cleveland got 18 points and 13 rebounds from center Tristan Thompson and 13 points from rookie guard Joe Harris.
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Grizzlies 95, Spurs 87
Mike Conley carried Memphis early, then buried San Antonio late in the Grizzlies’ victory over the Spurs before a sellout crowd at FedExForum.
The veteran point guard scored a game-high 30 points and hit a key three-pointer with 3:10 left to help Memphis close out 2014 with its second win over the Spurs in three meetings this month.
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Lakers 111, Nuggets 103
Guard Kobe Bryant had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, as Los Angeles held on to beat Denver. It was the second triple-double of the season for Bryant and 21st of his career.
Forward Carlos Boozer had 19 points and nine rebounds and guard Ronnie Price scored 18 points for the Lakers, who had lost six of seven before beating Denver.
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Pistons 109, Magic 86
Reserve guard Jodie Meeks hit nine of his 11 three-point attempts and scored a season-high 34 points to lead Detroit to a victory over Orlando.
Center Andre Drummond had 17 points and 22 rebounds and reserve guard D.J. Augustin added 11 points for Detroit, who out-rebounded Orlando, 54-42.
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Nets 96, Bulls 82
Center Brook Lopez scored 29 points as Brooklyn rolled to a win over Chicago.
Forward Joe Johnson added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets, who earned their fifth win in six games. Guards Jarrett Jack and Alan Anderson notched 11 points apiece for Brooklyn.
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Pelicans 110, Suns 106
Guard Tyreke Evans scored 24 points and forward Anthony Davis grabbed 18 rebounds to lift New Orleans to a victory over Phoenix, ending the Suns’ six-game winning streak.
The Suns were led by Goran Dragic with 22 points and Eric Bledsoe with 21.
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Mavericks 114, Wizards 87
Six Mavericks scored in double figures, led by guard Monta Ellis with 20 points, in Dallas’ third consecutive victory.
Washington, coming off a big 104-103 win at Houston on Monday, could not get anything going and was exceedingly sloppy with 23 turnovers.
The Mavs earned a 10th consecutive win in the series with the Wizards, their longest winning streak against any team.
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Jazz 100, Timberwolves 94
Forward Gordon Hayward and guard Trey Burke each scored 26 points to help Utah rally for victory over Minnesota.
Forward Derrick Favors chipped in 15 points and eight boards, while center Enes Kanter added 14 points and 12 rebounds to help the Jazz win for the fifth time in the last seven games.
