CLEVELAND (AP) — Ty Lawson scored 24 points, Arron Afflalo added 23 and the struggling Denver Nuggets ended Cleveland’s four-game winning streak with a 106-97 victory over the Cavaliers on Monday night.
Denver took the lead for good early in the third quarter and was up by as many as 14 midway through the fourth.
LeBron James, who missed the morning shootaround because of a cold, led Cleveland with 22 points.
The Nuggets limped into the game having lost seven of eight and were coming off Sunday’s defeat at New York in which they made one field goal in the second quarter.
Denver looked like a different team Monday, placing five players in double figures. Leading 90-84, the Nuggets scored eight straight points and went ahead 98-84 on Lawson’s layup with 6:01 to play.
Cleveland, which hit its first 11 3-pointers Saturday against Atlanta, failed to reach 100 points for the first time in six games.
Timofey Mozgov had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Denver.
Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters each scored 20 points for the Cavaliers.
GRIZZLIES 119, ROCKETS 93
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Mike Conley scored 19 points and Memphis easily defeated Houston in a matchup of the teams with the NBA’s two best records.
Whatever showdown was expected from two 9-1 teams and among the best defensive squads in the league never materialized as the Grizzlies took a 16-point lead in the first quarter and extended it in each of the remaining periods, until it reached 36 points in the fourth frame.
Seven players finished in double figures for Memphis, which won its fourth straight overall. Courtney Lee had 15 points, and Zach Randolph added 14.
Trevor Ariza led the Rockets with 16 points. Dwight Howard had 15 points and nine rebounds.
James Harden scored only six points, going 1 of 8 from the field.
The Rockets, who entered allowing a league-low 89 points per game, had given up that many by the end of the third quarter.
BULLS 105, CLIPPERS 89
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jimmy Butler led six players in double figures with 22 points, and Chicago beat Los Angeles to improve to 6-0 on the road for the first time since 1996-97.
Taj Gibson had 20 points starting in place of injured Pau Gasol. Mike Dunleavy Jr. added 19 points and Joakim Noah had 11 points and 16 rebounds. The Bulls remained the NBA’s only undefeated road team while opening a season-long, seven-game trip without injured star Derrick Rose.
Jamal Crawford led the Clippers with 24 points off the bench, and Blake Griffin added 19 points and 10 rebounds. DeAndre Jordan had 10 points and 17 rebounds. Griffin was just 5 of 10 from the free throw line, where the Clippers were 10 of 22.
Butler was coming off a career-high 32 points in a loss to Indiana. He shot 9 of 10 on free throws, had eight assists and six rebounds.
TRAIL BLAZERS 102, PELICANS 93
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Damian Lillard scored 24 points, including a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:14 left, and Portland rallied past New Orleans.
LaMarcus Aldridge, back after missing one game with an illness, had 22 points and nine rebounds to help the Trail Blazers win their fifth straight.
Anthony Davis had 31 points and 11 rebounds for the Pelicans, who couldn’t hold a 16-point, third-quarter lead.
Wesley Matthews hit a 3 to tie it at 91, and Robin Lopez’s layup gave Portland its first lead of the second half with 2:23 left. Lillard’s 3-pointer put the Blazers in front 96-93, and they made free throws the rest of the way.
SPURS 100, 76ERS 75
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Matt Bonner had 18 points and San Antonio’s Big Three got some rest as the Spurs handed Philadelphia its 10th straight loss to open the season.
Tim Duncan had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Kawhi Leonard had five points and 11 rebounds in limited action. Cory Joseph added 14 points for the defending NBA champions, who never trailed.
Duncan played 16 minutes and Tony Parker 18. Both sat out the entire fourth quarter after playing just 5 minutes in the third.
San Antonio won its 10th straight at home over Philadelphia and seventh overall against the 76ers.
Michael Carter-Williams had 16 points and four assists for the Sixers. Last season’s NBA Rookie of the Year was playing in just his third game after missing the entire preseason and the first seven games of the season with a right shoulder injury.
Philadelphia is losing by an average of 15.5 points this season.
MAVERICKS 107, HORNETS 80
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Monta Ellis scored 18 points, Chandler Parsons had 17 and Dallas defeated Charlotte for its fourth straight victory.
Dirk Nowitzki had 13 points to become the fourth player in NBA history to eclipse 27,000 with one franchise, joining a prestigious group that includes current Hornets owner Michael Jordan, Karl Malone and Kobe Bryant.
The Mavericks came in leading the NBA in scoring, averaging more than 109 points. Charlotte offered little resistance as Dallas routinely scored on uncontested alley-oops, dunks, layups and 3-pointers.
Tyson Chandler was 7 of 7 from the field for 14 points, and Jameer Nelson had 11 points and eight assists for Dallas.
Gerald Henderson had 18 points for Charlotte (4-7). Al Jefferson was limited to six on 3-of-12 shooting.
HEAT 95, NETS 83
NEW YORK (AP) — Mario Chalmers scored 22 points, Chris Bosh ended his shooting slump and added 15 points and nine rebounds, and Miami snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Brooklyn.
With Dwyane Wade out for a third straight game due to a strained left hamstring, Chalmers remained in the starting lineup for the second consecutive night and keyed the finishing spurt for the Heat. He converted a three-point play, added another free throw and then set up Bosh for a 3-pointer that turned a four-point lead into a 91-80 advantage with 1:23 left.
Bosh finished 5 for 11 after shooting 12 for 49 during the losing streak, including 2 for 17 in a loss to Milwaukee on Sunday.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 22 points for the Nets, who were held to their lowest point total of the season and lost their fourth straight. Deron Williams added 14 but shot 4 of 13.
SUNS 118, CELTICS 114
BOSTON (AP) — Markieff Morris scored a career-high 30 points and Eric Bledsoe had a key steal and breakaway dunk in the closing minute to lift Phoenix over Boston.
Goran Dragic had 22 points, Alex Len scored 19 with seven rebounds and Bledsoe finished with 15 points and seven assists for the Suns, who lost their previous two games.
Jeff Green led Boston with 28 points, and Jared Sullinger had 18 points with eight rebounds. Rajon Rondo fell one assist shy of a triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Tyler Zeller added 19 points and seven rebounds for the Celtics, who lost their third straight.
Bledsoe stole Avery Bradley’s crosscourt pass and went in alone for a dunk, pushing the Suns ahead 116-114 with 29.5 seconds to play.
MAGIC 107, PISTONS 93
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Tobias Harris scored 14 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter as Orlando pulled away late to beat Detroit.
Nikola Vucevic finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Magic, who had all five starters in double figures.
The Pistons, playing their fifth game in seven nights, were led by Caron Butler, who had 20 points, and Brandon Jennings, who scored 18. But their frontcourt trio of Josh Smith, Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe combined for only 25 points on 10-of-28 shooting.
