Washington makes Cavaliers disappear in 91-78 points win

(The Sports Xchange) —-John Wall had 17 of his 28 points in the third quarter and Washington’s reserves finished with a 40-9 scoring advantage as the Wizards downed the Cleveland Cavaliers 91-78.

LeBron James and guard Kyrie Irving each had 22 points for the Cavaliers (5-6), who scored their fewest points this season to drop a third straight game.

Washington (8-3) scored 50 points in the paint and turned 19 Cleveland turnovers into 24 points before the sellout crowd of 20,356.

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 Nuggets 117, Pelicans 97

Arron Afflalo and Kenneth Faried scored 19 points each, Wilson Chandler had 18 and the surging Denver Nuggets beat the New Orleans Pelicans.

Anthony Davis had 18 points, nine rebounds and two blocks for the Pelicans.

Denver moved to 5-7 with the win.

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 Spurs 121, Timberwolves 92

Tony Parker led all scorers with 28 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a win over the short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves.

Minnesota (3-8) played without leading scorer Kevin Martin, point guard Ricky Rubio, center Nikola Pekovic and forward Thaddeus Young.

San Antonio (8-4) finished with six players in double-figures scoring.

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 Mavericks 140, Lakers 106

Led by Dirk Nowitzki’s 19-first half points, endless scoring options all whirring in high-scoring harmony and a 42-point third-quarter shellacking, Dallas routed the Lakers for their sixth consecutive victory.

The Mavs (10-3) haven’t won as many as six in a row since 2012.

Kobe Bryant made just 6 of 22 shots for the Lakers (3-10) who had won two straight.

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 Suns 122, 76ers 96

Isaiah Thomas scored 23 points off the bench, matching his season high, as the Suns blitzed the Sixers.

The Suns (8-5) placed eight players in double figures while winning their third straight.

The Sixers, who were led by guard Michael Carter-Williams with 18 points, fell to 0-12. It is their worst start since they opened the 1972-73 season with 15 straight losses.

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 Raptors 124, Bucks 83

Lou Williams scored 22 points and the Toronto Raptors defeated the Milwaukee Bucks.

The margin of victory was one short of the largest in franchise history for the Raptors (10-2) who lead the Eastern Conference.

The Bucks (7-6) had won three in a row before meeting the Raptors.

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 Nets 94, Thunder 92

Jarrett Jack scored 23 points off the bench to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder and snap a five-game losing streak.

The Thunder (3-11) had a chance to win on their final possession but Reggie Jackson’s three-pointer misfired at the buzzer.

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 Magic 105, Hornets 100

Evan Fournier scored 21 points, and the Orlando Magic rallied from a 23-point deficit in the second half to stun the Charlotte Hornets.

The Magic trailed 70-47 with 6:41 left in the third quarter but made a stunning turnaround to improve to 6-8.

The Hornets (4-9) lost their fourth straight and lost for the sixth time in their last seven games.

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 Hawks 99, Pistons 89

Jeff Teague had a season-high 28 points and forward Paul Millsap had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Hawks beat Detroit.

Atlanta improved to 6-5 while the Pistons fell to 3-10.

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 Grizzlies 117, Celtics 100

Marc Gasol scored 32 points to tie his career-high, forward Zach Randolph added 16 points and 16 rebounds and reserve forward Jon Leuer scored a season-high 19 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a victory over the Boston Celtics.

The Grizzlies moved to a Western Conference-leading 11-2.

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 Warriors 101, Jazz 88

The Golden State Warriors opened the game on a 12-0 flurry and never looked back, thumping the Utah Jazz for their fourth straight victory.

Four Warriors starters scored in double figures and the fifth, point guard Stephen Curry, contributed 10 assists as Golden State improved their record to 9-2, their best season-opening mark since 1972-73.

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 Trail Blazers 105, Bulls 87

Damian Lillard scored 21 points, dished out nine assists and grabbed six rebounds despite sitting out the fourth quarter in Portland’s rout of Chicago.

LaMarcus Aldridge added 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists for the Trail Blazers (9-3), who won their sixth straight game while ailing Chicago fell to 8-5.