Cavs rock lowly 76ers

CLEVELAND — Kyrie Irving returned from knee surgery to score 12 points in 17 minutes and the Cleveland Cavaliers easily handled the Philadelphia 76ers 108-86 for their fifth straight win Sunday. Irving missed his first five shots in his debut following June surgery to repair a fractured kneecap. He missed the first 24 games and showed rust early, although he made four of five shots during one stretch. James had 23 points for Cleveland against the 76ers, who lost their 10th straight and fell to 1-28. Back on the floor for the first time since breaking his left kneecap in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Irving showed some rust but that didn’t matter. “Kind of been a long, long road, but finally getting out there with my teammates was a pleasure,” Irving said. The Cavs managed to open the season 17-7 without Irving. But Cleveland is more complete with the All-Star point guard running its offense and being a headache for opposing defenses. Now that Irving’s back, the Cavs are as healthy as they’ve been since early in the playoffs last season. Heat 116, Trail Blazers 109 Chris Bosh scored 29 points and Hassan Whiteside added 22 points and 11 rebounds as Miami Heat recorded the victory over Portland. The Heat matched a season high for points and 3-pointers made with 12 to secure their fourth win in their past five games. Dwyane Wade added 18 points and Luol Deng and Gerald Green scored 17 apiece. Timberwolves 100, Nets 85 Rookie Karl-Anthony Towns scored 22 of his 24 points after the first quarter as Minnesota rolled past Brooklyn. Ricky Rubio tied a season high with 15 assists for the Timberwolves. Andrew Wiggins and Kevin Martin added 16 points apiece for the Timberwolves. Bucks 101, Suns 95 Kris Middleton scored nine of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and Milwaukee rallied from a 15-point third-quarter deficit to beat Phoenix. Michael Carter-Williams had 20 points for the Bucks and Greg Monroe added 13, including the layup with 20.6 seconds left that gave the Bucks the lead for good at 97-95. Hawks 103, Magic 100 Kyle Korver scored 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter to lead Atlanta to its third consecutive victory. Mike Scott tallied 15 points and Al Horford and Jeff Teague each scored 14 for the Hawks. Paul Millsap had 13 points and 13 rebounds. Kings 104, Raptors 94 Rajon Rondo scored 19 points and had 13 assists as Sacramento defeated Toronto. The Kings (11-16) also received 19 points from Rudy Gay, who grabbed nine rebounds. Omri Casspi added 15 points and 11 rebounds and center DeMarcus Cousins had 15 points and taking nine rebounds. Pelicans 130, Nuggets 125 Anthony Davis shook off illness to score 27 points to help the New Orleans Pelicans rally to beat the Denver Nuggets 130-125. Tyreke Evans had 21 points and 10 assists, Jrue Holiday had 21 points off the bench, and Eric Gordon scored 20 for the Pelicans (8-19). — Reuters