NEW YORK — Point guard John Wall had 21 points and 13 assists as the Washington Wizards took advantage of LeBron James resting to record a 113-99 home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers Sunday.
James missed his second game of the season and the Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers (41-17) missed their leading man. The Wizards (28-30) led after each quarter and by as many as 30 points in the second half en route to handing Cleveland its second straight loss and third in four games.
Forward Otto Porter also scored 21 points and matched his career-high with four 3-pointers for the Wizards, winners of two straight. Guard Bradley Beal had 17 points.
James scored 25 points in 40 minutes in Cleveland’s 99-97 loss at the Toronto Raptors Friday.
“We have three games in four nights,” Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue told reporters before Sunday’s 1PM start. “An early game. We just played in Toronto. I just felt today was a good game to give (James) some rest.”
Guard Kyrie Irving led the Cavaliers with 28 points against the Wizards. Forward Kevin Love added 12 points, but didn’t score in the second half. Cleveland shot 40 percent from the field.
All of Porter’s 3-pointers came in the third quarter and he scored 15 points in the period, one less than the Cavaliers. Washington is 5-2 since returning from the All-Star break.
Trail Blazers 111, Pacers 102: Guard Damian Leonard scored a game-high 33 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers used 3-point shooting as the catalyst in a 111-102 victory against the struggling Indiana Pacers in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Portland (32-28), which has won 13 of its last 15 and 18 of 25, made 14 of 24 shots from 3-point range to sweep the two-game series with Indiana (31-28), which has lost three of its last four home games.
Hawks 87, Hornets 76: The Charlotte Hornets have been better on the road of late, but the Hawks still have their number in Atlanta.
Center Al Horford had his 200th career double-double and the Hawks took advantage of Charlotte’s early shooting woes for an 87-76 victory.
Pistons 114, Raptors 101: Reggie Jackson led a balanced attack with 19 points and eight assists and the streaking Detroit Pistons shot a season-high 57.7 percent from the field to overwhelm the Toronto Raptors 114-101 Sunday at The Palace.
Center Andre Drummond recorded his NBA-high 51st double-double with 15 points and 18 rebounds as Detroit won its fourth straight.
Magic 130, 76ers 116: Center Nikola Vucevic and guard Victor Oladipo each scored 28 points while leading the Orlando Magic to a 130-116 victory over the lowly Philadelphia 76ers.
The Magic (26-23) led from start to finish in snapping a two-game losing streak. The Sixers (8-51) lost their eighth consecutive game. They never got close than eight points in the final period.
Mavericks 128, Timberwolves 101: The Dallas Mavericks understand that a big part of finishing among the top teams is taking care of the bottom-feeders.
The Minnesota Timberwolves qualify as the latter.
Small forward Chandler Parsons scored 29, and the Mavericks pulled away early and pounded the Wolves 128-101.
Heat 98, Knicks 81: Heat guard Dwyane Wade continued his dominance over the New York Knicks, pouring in 26 points in Miami’s 98-81 win Sunday at Madison Square Garden. — Agencies
