James leads Cavs past Boston for third straight win

NBA Roundup…..

(The Sports Xchange) – Highlights of Tuesday’s National Basketball Association games:

-Cavaliers 89, Celtics 77

LeBron James scored 24 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers won their third straight game, 89-77 over the Boston Celtics.

James capped a 12-0 third-quarter run with a reverse slam dunk as Cleveland (16-7) established a lead they would never relinquish.

Forward Kevin Love, whose 2015 postseason ended when he was injured by Boston forward Kelly Olynyk, scored 20 points and added eight rebounds and five assists.

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Nuggets 112, Timberwolves 100

Kenneth Faried had 19 points and 10 rebounds and backup guard Randy Foye added 19 points off the bench as the Denver Nuggets found their shooting range to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-100.

The Nuggets came into the game shooting just 42.8 percent from the floor, 25th in the league. But against the Timberwolves, Denver shot 56.2 percent — and 55.6 percent from 3-point range.

Foye was particularly lethal, going 5-of-6 from behind the arc.

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Lakers 113, Bucks 95

Kobe Bryant scored 22 points in three quarters, allowing the Los Angeles Lakers to snap a six-game losing streak by defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 113-95 at Staples Center.

Rookie D’Angelo Russell came off the bench to score 19 points and record seven assists as seven Lakers reached double figures in scoring.

Guard Lou Williams scored 16 points, forward Julius Randle finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds and center Roy Hibbert added 12 points and a season-high 11 rebounds for Los Angeles, which won for only the second time at home this season.

Michael Carter-Williams had 19 points and Khris Middleton chipped in 16 to lead Milwaukee.

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Kings 107, Rockets 97

DeMarcus Cousins scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and point guard Darren Collison made up for the absence of team mate Rajon Rondo with 14 points and 13 assists.

Collison started for only the third time all season and played 41 minutes after Rondo was suspended for one game for hurling gay slurs at referee Bill Kennedy during a game against Boston in Mexico City on Dec. 3.

Omri Casspi scored 19 points and added six assists and the Kings won their third straight to match the longest win streak of the season.