Golden State Warrior Kevin Durant and Boston Celtic Gerald Green look on. Photo / Getty Images
Golden State cruised to victory over the Celtics, while Phoenix stunned Indiana with another road win and Memphis crushed Dallas. All the latest news and results are in the NBA Wrap.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 104 - DETROIT PISTONS 81
Kyrie Irving scored 25 points and LeBron James, returning to the line-up after sitting out a game, added 21 as the Cleveland Cavaliers rolled past the Detroit Pistons 104-81 on Friday night.
Irving was 11 of 15 from the field with 11 assists, one short of his career high, in 29 minutes.
James, who rested Wednesday in a loss to Indiana, made 9 of 14 shots and played only 28 minutes.
Following a slow start that saw Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue call time-out less than two minutes into the game, the Cavaliers took over. Cleveland led by 11 at the end of the first quarter, took a 56-39 lead into halftime and continued to dominate.
Cleveland built the lead to 33 points in the fourth quarter, allowing Lue to rest his starters for the entire final period. The defending NBA champions don't play again until Wednesday.
PHOENIX SUNS 116 - INDIANA PACERS 96
Brandon Knight scored 17 points and the Phoenix Suns beat the Indiana Pacers 116-96 on Friday night.
Jared Dudley added 16 points for the Suns, Alan Williams had 15 points, and Devin Booker and Leandro Barbosa 13 each. The Suns improved to 4-9 with their second road victory.
Myles Turner led the Pacers with 22 points, and Jeff Teague had 21 points and seven assists.
The Pacers rallied to take their first lead with 7:46 left in the third quarter on a Turner's basket. But the Suns pulled ahead again, with Knight scoring 12 points in the period. Phoenix outscored Indiana 27-14 in the fourth.
Pacers All-Star Paul George did not play for the second time in three games. He is battling soreness in his left ankle after turning his ankle in Indiana's overtime loss at Philadelphia on Nov. 11.
CHARLOTTE HORNETS 100 - ATLANTA HAWKS 96
Nic Batum had 24 points and 10 rebounds, Cody Zeller matched his career high with 23 points and the Charlotte Hornets came from behind to snap the Atlanta Hawks' six-game winning streak with a 100-96 victory Friday night.
Zeller was 9 of 10 from the field. Kemba Walker overcame a slow start and scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half for his 10th straight 20-point game.
The Hornets improved to 8-3 with their first victory against one of the upper-echelon teams in the Eastern Conference.
Paul Millsap led the Hawks with 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Kent Bazemore had 19 points.
Dwight Howard had 10 points and 18 rebounds before being ejected in the fourth quarter.
The game turned with 5:38 left when Howard delivered an intentional elbow to Zeller's face. Howard had been a key factor up until that point, but the Hawks seemed to collapse without him. He appeared to get frustrated with Zeller at the other end of the court when he got boxed out on a free throw.
The ejection revved up the crowd - and apparently Walker, too.
A few minutes later, the 6-foot point guard drove baseline and made a reverse layup to give the Hornets the lead for good at 90-89. Walker added another layup off a hesitation dribble and then connected on a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to push the lead to six.
The Hawks cut it to one on a 3 by Kyle Korver with about a minute to play, but Zeller came streaming down the lane for a dunk and drew a foul.
Walker, who came in averaging 25.8 points per game - the third-best mark in the Eastern Conference - missed all seven of his shots from the field in the first half but was 8 of 13 the rest of the way.
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS 113 - PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS 101
Anthony Davis had 38 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, Jrue Holiday added 21 points in his first action this season, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Portland Trail Blazers 113-101 on Friday night.
Holiday made his season debut after missing the first 12 games to care for his wife, retired soccer star Lauren Holiday, who had brain surgery last month only weeks after giving birth to the couple's first child.
Terrence Jones added 15 points, and Tim Frazier had 12 for the Pelicans. They've won three of five after an 0-8 start.
Damian Lillard scored 27 points, and CJ McCollum 24 had for Portland, which has lost three straight. Mason Plumlee added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who never got closer than eight points in the second half.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS 104 - BOSTON CELTICS 88
Klay Thompson scored 28 points, Kevin Durant had 23 points and 10 rebounds against the team he spurned this summer and the Golden State Warriors scored 18 points in a row in the third quarter to pull away and beat the Boston Celtics 104-88 on Friday night.
Stephen Curry had just 16 points - his second-fewest of the season - while sitting out much of the fourth quarter as the Warriors cruised to their sixth straight victory. Zaza Pachulia had 12 rebounds and Draymond Green had eight rebounds and eight assists for Golden State in its only visit to Boston this season.
Avery Bradley had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Boston and Isaiah Thomas scored a season-low 18. Thomas hit a 3-pointer early in the third quarter to make it a 10-point game, but the Warriors scored the next 18 points. They made it 86-57 at the end of the third and opened a 30-point lead in the fourth before Boston chipped it down to 11 in the final 90 seconds.
But Curry, who had re-entered the game midway through the fourth as the Celtics threatened to come back, hit a 3-pointer, Jaylen Brown missed one for Boston, and then Curry added a finger roll to clinch it.
Curry shot 7 for 20 in all, making just 2 of 10 attempts from 3-point range. It was the second time this season he has been held under 20 points.
Boston challenged the Warriors last season while they were on their way to a record-breaking 73-9 regular season. After losing in double overtime in Boston, the Celtics beat the Warriors on April 1 to hand them their first home loss of the season.
TORONTO RAPTORS 113 - DENVER NUGGETS 111 (OT)
DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points, including four in overtime, and the Toronto Raptors held off the Denver Nuggets for a 113-111 victory Friday night.
It was the 10th time in 12 games this season that DeRozan, the NBA's leading scorer, has reached 30 points.
Terrence Ross hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 37.6 seconds left in the extra period, putting Toronto up by two. Denver's Emmanuel Mudiay was short with a desperation heave from halfcourt at the final buzzer.
Kyle Lowry added 18 points and 13 assists for Toronto, which swept the two-game season series.
Mudiay and Wilson Chandler each scored 25 points to lead the Nuggets, who have lost five of six.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES 80 - DALLAS MAVERICKS 64
Chandler Parsons scored 12 points in his return to Dallas, helping the Memphis Grizzlies to an 80-64 victory Friday night over the injury-plagued Mavericks, who flirted with franchise worsts for scoring and shooting percentage.
Parsons is still on a minutes restriction after both his seasons with the Mavericks ended in knee surgery, which played a role in him landing with Memphis on a max contract. But he didn't need to play much to be the Grizzlies' leading scorer in this game.
Dallas was without Dirk Nowitzki (strained Achilles tendon) and the top three options at point guard in Deron Williams (left calf strain), J.J. Barea (torn left leg muscle) and Devin Harris (right toe sprain).
The Mavericks avoided the franchise-record low of 62 points from 1997 when Argentine rookie Nicolas Brussino made a 3-pointer with 24 seconds remaining. Dallas (2-9) matched its worst start since going 2-9 during Nowitzki's rookie season in 1998-99.
The Mavericks were shooting 25.4 percent through three quarters -- the franchise-record low is 27.4 percent from the expansion season of 1980-81 -- after going 8 1/2 minutes without a field goal in the second quarter and adding a 6 1/2-minute drought in the third. Dallas finished at 28.8 percent.
Harrison Barnes led the Mavericks with 15 points on 5-of-17 shooting. Seth Curry, the starting point guard because of the injuries, scored 11 while shooting 4 of 14 from the field.
The Grizzlies were flat two nights after handing the Los Angeles Clippers their second loss, but it didn't matter against the anemic Mavericks, who were held under 80 points for the second time in three games. Marc Gasol scored 11 for Memphis, as did Tony Allen after missing four games with a right groin injury.
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 124 - BROOKLYN NETS 105
Russell Westbrook had 30 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds in his fourth triple-double of the season, and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Brooklyn Nets 124-105 on Friday night.
Westbrook made 13 of 21 shots and had just three turnovers. It was the 41st triple-double of his career.
Victor Oladipo scored 26 points and Steven Adams added 15 for the Thunder, who won their second straight after a four-game losing streak. Oklahoma City shot 55.1 per cent from the field and outrebounded the Nets 46-30.
Brook Lopez scored 22 points, and Bojan Bogdanovic and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson each added 13 for the Nets, who lost their third straight. Brooklyn scored 40 points in the first quarter but never managed more than 23 in a period the rest of the way.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS 116 - LA LAKERS 107
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 23 points, Kawhi Leonard added 23 points and 12 rebounds, and San Antonio beat Los Angeles for its fifth straight victory.
Tony Parker had 16 points and seven assists for the Spurs, who improved to 7-0 on the road this season with their sixth consecutive win over the Lakers. Lou Williams had 24 points for the Lakers, who played without injured leading scorer D'Angelo Russell (left knee) for the first time this season. Los Angeles still kept it close until the final minutes, when Aldridge and Leonard took turns hitting big shots before Parker buried a clinching 17-footer with 33.6 seconds left.
Pau Gasol scored 16 points in his first trip to Staples Center with the Spurs.
LA CLIPPERS 121 - SACRAMENTO KINGS 115
Blake Griffin had 29 points, seven rebounds and six assists to lead Los Angeles over Sacramento.
The Clippers (11-2) have won eight of nine and own the NBA's best record. They led by as many as 26 points in the opening half and are unbeaten in six road games this season.
J.J. Redick made six 3-pointers and scored 22 of his 26 points in the first half for the Clippers. DeAndre Jordan had 16 points and 12 rebounds. Chris Paul added 11 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.
Redick, who connected on his first six 3-point attempts, has made a 3 in 69 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NBA.
DeMarcus Cousins had 38 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for the Kings, who have lost four straight.
Mark Walter, already a minority owner, will buy the controlling interest.