(The Sports Xchange) – Kyrie Irving scored 32 points to allow the Cleveland Cavaliers to hold on for a 124-118 victory on Thursday against the Boston Celtics.
The Cavaliers nearly blew an 18-point lead entering the fourth. A driving basket by Isaiah Thomas pulled Boston within 117-116 with about a minute left before Irving countered with a drive of his own.
Thomas was then fouled on the Celtics’ next possession and sank both free throws as Irving, grabbing at his right hamstring on his way off the floor, was subbed out of the game with 47 seconds left.
Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said he thought Irving would be fine to play today when the Cavs visit Charlotte, but Irving would not commit to anything.
Irving’s absence left the ball in James’ turnover-prone hands on the Cavs’ final possession.
James was fouled with 21 seconds left and split the free throws to give the Cavs a 120-118 lead, but left the Celtics with a chance to send the game to overtime or win it at the buzzer with a three-pointer.
Jae Crowder’s open look with 10 seconds remaining, however, clanked off the rim and Cleveland’s Richard Jefferson grabbed the rebound.
“I thought it was good,” Crowder said. “I had a good look at it. My coaches had confidence in me to make that. I’ll step into it a 100 more times.”
Thomas scored 31 points and Avery Bradley added 23 points for the Celtics, who scored 35 points in the fourth.
Grizzlies 114, Thunder 80
Marc Gasol scored 25 points, Troy Daniels had 22 and Zach Randolph added 21 to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 114-80 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, who lost Russell Westbrook in the third quarter to an ejection.
Westbrook was kicked out of the game with 6:41 remaining in the third quarter after arguing with officials and receiving his second technical foul. The Grizzlies led 61-45 when he departed.
Westbrook, who has 15 triple-doubles this season, left with 21 points, five rebounds and no assists. He finished as the Thunder’s leading scorer. Enes Kanter had 19 points, while Steven Adams grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.
Hornets 91, Heat 82
Nicolas Batum narrowly missed a triple-double, while the Charlotte Hornets controlled the second half for a 91-82 victory over the Miami Heat.
Batum finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, going without an assist in the fourth quarter largely because team mates kept missing open shots.
The Hornets trailed by seven at halftime but scored the first eight points of the third quarter and went on to outscore the Heat 31-17 in the period.
Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 22 points.
Jazz 100, 76ers 32
George Hill scored 21 points, collected eight rebounds and dished out six assists to help the Utah Jazz defeat the Philadelphia 76ers.
Gordon Hayward and Rodney Hood added 20 points apiece for the Jazz.
Trailing by four points after three quarters, Utah raced away by outscoring the Sixers 21-2 over the first six minutes of the fourth period.
Hood ignited the run with back-to-back baskets and Hill finished it off with a pull-up jumper, putting Utah up 91-76 with 5:57 remaining.
Ersan Ilyasova had 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead Philadelphia.
Suns 99, Raptors 91
Eric Bledsoe had 22 points and 10 assists and Devin Booker added 19 points in the Phoenix Suns’ victory over the Toronto Raptors.
Forward P.J. Tucker had 14 points and center Tyson Chandler had 13 rebounds for the Suns.Guards Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan had 24 points apiece for the Raptors (22-10), who shot 40.0 percent from the field and made 7-of-27 three-point field goal attempts while tying a season low in points.
DeRozan scored five points in 28 seconds when the Raptors cut the lead to 90-85 with 3:25 remaining, but Booker scored the next six points on a three-point play and a three-pointer to make it 96-85.
Mavericks 101, Lakers 89
Wesley Matthews scored 20 points, Harrison Barnes added 17, and Dwight Powell came off the bench to contribute 14 points and six rebounds for the Mavericks, who beat the Lakers for the 12th consecutive time.
Devin Harris also scored 14 points, while Dorian Finney-Smith had 12 points.
