CLEVELAND: LeBron James had 25 points and 11 assists, Dion Waiters scored 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and the Cleveland Cavaliers handled one of the Western Conference’s best teams, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 105-91 on Sunday.
James scored 16 in the second half and the Cavs shot a season-best 61 percent from the field to improve to just 3-6 against West teams. Anderson Varejao scored 18 and Kyrie Irving had 17 points and 12 assists for the Cavs, who are 11-3 since their sluggish 5-7 start.
Cleveland, which has won eight of nine at home, is 9-2 when James has at least nine assists.
Marc Gasol scored 23 and added 11 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who played without forward Zach Randolph. He’s nursing a sore and swollen right knee he injured in Friday’s loss at Chicago.
Raptors 118, Knicks 108: Guards Lou Williams and Kyle Lowry each scored 22 points as Toronto defeated the New York Knicks 118-108.
Lowry added nine assists as the Raptors extended their winning streak to six games to equal a season-high and gave the Knicks their fifth loss in a row.
Reserve guard Greivis Vasquez added 21 points for the Raptors who, also got 18 points from guard Terrence Ross and 10 each from forward James Johnson and center Jonas Valanciunas. Forward Amir Johnson had nine points and nine rebounds.
Heat 100, Celtics 84: Forward Luol Deng had 23 points as Miami snapped its five-game home losing streak, defeating Boston at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The skid at home was the Heat’s longest since March of 2008. Even with the win, the Heat are just 5-9 at home this season. That’s in contrast to last season, when the Heat went 32-9 at home.
Nets 110, Pistons 105: Center Mason Plumlee collected 21 points and 12 rebounds and Brooklyn held on for a victory over Detroit at Barclays Center.
Making his seventh straight start in place of Brook Lopez (back), Plumlee shot 9-of-10, had four dunks and posted his fourth double-double, equaling his total in 70 games from his rookie season.
Suns 104, Wizards 92: Forward Markieff Morris and guard Eric Bledsoe each scored 17 points, guard Goran Dragic tallied 12 of his 16 points in the decisive third quarter as Phoenix beat Washington.
After the game was tied 50-50 at halftime, the Suns heated up quickly in the third quarter, exploding for a 77-64 lead following back-to-back three-pointers by Dragic.
76ers 96, Magic 88: Guard Michael Carter Williams scored 21 points and Philadelphia won just its third game of the season by pounding hapless Orlando at the Amway Center.
Center Nerlens Noel had 13 points and 12 rebounds for Philadelphia. Reserve center Henry Sims had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and forward Robert Covington had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Kings 108, Lakers 101: The Kings used hot shooting, including 29 points from DeMarcus Cousins and 23 points from Ben McLemore to beat the Lakers at Sleep Train Arena.
The game featured a tug of war, as both teams seized momentum several times throughout the contest.
Pelicans 101, Thunder 99: Anthony Davis posted 38 points and 12 rebounds to lead New Orleans to victory over Oklahoma City at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
The win pushed the Pelicans to 14-13 on the season as they held on to eighth place in the Western Conference standings.
Pacers 100, Timberwolves 96: Forward David West hit a jumper with 34.3 seconds left, snapping a 94-94 tie and helping Indiana win for just the second time in its past 12 games, as it beat Minnesota.
C.J. Miles came off the bench to lead all scorers with 28 for Indiana (9-19), which was playing the second of back-to-back road games, after a loss in Denver on Saturday.
LeBron scores 25 as Cavaliers tame Grizzlies
LeBron scores 25 as Cavaliers tame Grizzlies
