AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (AP) Kevin Love scored 19 of his 29 points in the first half, Kyrie Irving had 28 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers rolled to a 114-106 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday.
LeBron James had 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, shrugging off a rare missed dunk in the third quarter. He surpassed the 26,000-point mark during that period, becoming the youngest player to do so at 31 years, 30 days.
Andre Drummond had 20 points and eight rebounds for Detroit.
Cleveland has the best record in the Eastern Conference at 33-12, but it’s hardly been a smooth ride of late for the defending conference champions. Tyronn Lue took over when coach David Blatt was fired, and Cleveland ended up with only one player (James) picked for the All-Star team.
James was one point shy of 26,000 when he breezed in on a breakaway in the third. As he went up for a dunk, the ball came loose from his right hand, and by the time he reached up with his left, he’d lost control.
James reached the milestone on a free throw with 4:04 left in the quarter.
The Cavaliers have won three straight since losing to Chicago in Lue’s first game as Cleveland’s coach.
Dwyane Wade scored 24 points and hit a long jumper with 44.5 seconds left, and the Miami Heat won their third straight road game by beating the Milwaukee Bucks 107-103.
Wade led a balanced scoring effort with all five Miami starters scoring in double figures. Chris Bosh added 20.
Wade’s step-back jumper from just inside the arc gave Miami a 103-101 lead. The Heat could have had a smoother finish if Wade hadn’t gone 2 of 4 from the foul line after his jumper.
But Wade finished off the Bucks by hitting two foul shots with 3.9 seconds left to give the Heat a four-point edge.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 28 points.
Russell Westbrook’s sixth triple-double of the season helped the Thunder defeat the Houston Rockets 116-108.
Westbrook finished with 26 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds. It was the 25th triple-double of his career.
Kevin Durant had 33 points and 12 rebounds and Enes Kanter scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half for the Thunder, who have won 10 of 11 overall and six straight at home.
James Harden had 33 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Rockets.
Chris Paul scored 27 points and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Lakers 105-93 for its franchise-record ninth straight victory over its city rivals.
Austin Rivers added 17 points off the bench for the Clippers, who improved to 14-3 without Blake Griffin. Their star forward is out for at least a month with a broken right hand after punching a team staff member on the road last weekend.
Kelly Olynyk and Marcus Smart scored 16 points apiece as the Boston Celtics won a season-high fifth straight game, beating the slumping Orlando Magic 113-94.
Carmelo Anthony had 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in his return from a two-game absence, and the New York Knicks ended a four-game losing streak with a 102-84 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Also Friday, the Portland Trail Blazers had a 109-91 victory over the Charlotte Hornets, the Utah Jazz beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 103-90 and Chandler Parsons had 19 points and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Brooklyn Nets 91-79.
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