Nov 15, 2017; Charlotte, NC, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives to the basket and scores against Charlotte Hornets forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (14) during the first half of the game at the Spectrum Center. Photo Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — LeBron James scored 31 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers continued their mastery of the Charlotte Hornets with a 115-107 victory Wednesday night at the Spectrum Center.
Cleveland has won the past seven meetings and 11 of the last 12. James has a career record of 44-6 over the Hornets and Bobcats in his 15 seasons in the NBA. The Cavaliers won their third straight.
Cleveland also got 22 points and 10 rebounds from Kevin Love. Jeff Green scored 13, Kyle Korver 11 and J.R. Smith 10.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist led Charlotte with 22 points and Kemba Walker scored 20. Nicolas Batum finished with 16 in his first game of the season after missing the first 12 because of elbow surgery as the Hornets dropped their fifth straight.
Timberwolves 98, Spurs 86
MINNEAPOLIS — Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 16 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season, and Jeff Teague added 16 points and six assists as Minnesota defeated San Antonio.
Nemanja Bjelica added 11 points off the Timberwolves’ bench, which outscored the Spurs’ reserves 29-26 and keyed a second-quarter run to give Minnesota the lead after a sluggish start.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 15 points and 10 rebounds for San Antonio, which had won five of their previous six games. Pau Gasol added 13 points as the Spurs continue without injured Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker.
Wizards 102, Heat 93
MIAMI — John Wall provided 27 points and Bradley Beal added 26 to lead Washington over Miami.
Washington made 29 of 31 from the free throw line, breaking a string of five consecutive losses to the Heat. Miami made 16 of 19 free throws.
Hassan Whiteside had 14 points and 21 rebounds to lead the Heat. It was his third 20-plus rebound game of the season. Goran Dragic (21 points) and Dion Waiters (19) led Miami in scoring.
Bucks 99, Pistons 95
MILWAUKEE — Eric Bledsoe scored eight of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, including four in the final minute, as Milwaukee won its fourth straight.
Bledsoe added six rebounds, eight assists, three steals and two blocks. All five Bucks starters scored in double figures, led by 27 from Khris Middleton. Giannis Antetokounmpo added 21.
Avery Bradley scored 28 points to pace the Pistons, whose five-game winning streak was snapped.
Pacers 116, Grizzlies 113
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Darren Collison scored a season-high 30 points as Indiana held on to defeat Memphis.
Victor Oladipo had 21 points with six rebounds, three assists and two blocks for Indiana. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 16 points and Domantas Sabonis contributed 13 points, six rebounds and four assists off the bench for the Pacers.
Pao Gasol finished with 35 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks and five assists for the Grizzlies. Tyreke Evans contributed 18 points, nine assists, six rebounds, and Chandler Parsons scored 13 for Memphis.
Raptors 125, Pelicans 116
NEW ORLEANS — DeMar DeRozan scored 17 of his team-high 25 points in the third quarter and Toronto placed six other players in double figures in defeating New Orleans.
The Raptors won their sixth consecutive game over the Pelicans. Toronto also has defeated New Orleans in 14 of its last 17 meetings. Kyle Lowry scored 22 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 21 points for the Raptors.
The Pelicans were led by DeMarcus Cousins with 25 points and Anthony Davis with 19.
Knicks 106, Jazz 101
NEW YORK — Tim Hardaway Jr. had 26 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 22 as New York rallied to defeat Utah.
Two days after squandering a 23-point lead to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Knicks came back from a 12-point deficit against a Jazz squad missing its top post player in injured Rudy Gobert. Hardaway had 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Rodney Hood scored 27 points to lead the Jazz, who have lost for the fifth time in the last six games. Hood has been consistent in his new sixth-man role, with at least 16 points and three 3-pointers in each of his last three games.
Hawks 126, Kings 80
ATLANTA — Dennis Schroder had 21 points and eight assists, and Dewayne Dedmon scored a career-high 20 points to go with 14 rebounds as the Hawks handed Sacramento its 11th straight loss in Atlanta.
It was the largest victory margin for Atlanta since a 141-97 victory over Detroit in March 1994. The Hawks, who have lost their first four home games, shot 63.3 percent overall and made 16 of 32 3-point attempts.
Zach Randolph scored 16 points and George Hill had 12 points as the Kings lost their eighth straight road game after winning their first away from Sacramento this season. The Kings have lost 16 of the past 18 games against Atlanta.
Thunder 92, Bulls 79
OKLAHOMA CITY — Russell Westbrook had 21 points, five rebounds and seven assists as Oklahoma City won its third straight game.
Carmelo Anthony added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Thunder, who led 58-34 at halftime.
Rookie Lauri Markkanen led the Bulls with 16 points and six rebounds. Chicago scored only seven points in the first quarter — one from tying a franchise record for fewest points in a quarter — while committing five turnovers.
