Cleveland: Cleveland’s LeBron James had 25 points and 11 assists as he put in a strong second-half performance to guide the Cavaliers to a 105-91 home victory over NBA Southwest Conference leaders Memphis on Sunday.
Among other games, Washington missed a chance to build a lead in the Southeast when they were beaten at home by Phoenix, New Orleans took a tight victory at Oklahoma City, and Toronto downed New York to open a 10-game lead in the Atlantic Division.
Cleveland’s James scored 16 points in the second half and Dion Waiters scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to make it 21 for the game as the Cavaliers shot a season-best 61 percent from the field.
The Cavaliers have won eight of their past nine home games to move within one game of Chicago for the Central Division lead.
Marc Gasol had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who played without forward Zach Randolph due to a knee injury.
Phoenix won 104-92 at Washington, ending the Wizards’ six-game winning streak.
Eric Bledsoe and Markieff Morris each scored 17 points for the Suns, who completed a perfect three-game road trip, having lost their previous six games.
Rasual Butler’s 17 points led the Wizards, who dropped into a tie with Atlanta atop the Southeast.
New Orleans’ Anthony Davis scored 38 points to lead the Pelicans to a 101-99 win at Oklahoma City.
It was the third-highest point total of Davis’ career. He made 16 of 22 shots and had 12 rebounds.
Jrue Holiday had 11 points and matched a career high with 15 assists for the Pelicans.
Russell Westbrook scored 29 points for the Thunder, but he missed a 3-pointer that could have given Oklahoma City the lead in the closing seconds.
Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant missed his second straight game because of a sprained ankle.
Toronto pushed its winning streak to six with a 118-108 home win over New York.
Lou Williams and Kyle Lowry each scored 22 points for the Raptors, who led from start to finish and are already a yawning 18 games above the Knicks in the Atlantic, after having only played 28 games.
Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points for New York, which has lost 15 of its past 16 games.
Miami ended a run of five-successive home-court defeats by downing Boston 100-84.
Luol Deng had 23 points and James Ennis scored 10 of his 16 in the fourth quarter for the Heat, who for the first time in 154 games, played without any of its former Big Three. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were injured while LeBron James has returned to Cleveland.
Tyler Zeller scored 22 points for the Celtics, who had won their previous three games.
Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins had 29 points and 14 rebounds in his second start since returning from a serious illness, helping the Kings to a 108-101 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Brooklyn’s Mason Plumlee scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and had 12 rebounds to guide the Nets to a 110-105 win against Detroit.
Indiana’s C.J. Miles scored 28 points and David West bulled his way to the basket for two big points with 34 seconds to play to help the Pacers hold off Minnesota 100-96.
Philadelphia recorded only its third win of the season, rallying in the second half to win 96-88 at Orlando, with Michael Carter-Williams scoring 21 points.
