Bulls hand Cavs 3rd straight defeat

[caption id="attachment_103196" align="alignleft"] Dwyane Wade of the Chicago Bulls shoots between Channing Frye (L) and Richard Jefferson of the Cleveland Cavaliers at the United Center in Chicago Friday. — AFP
[/caption] CHICAGO — Dwyane Wade and the Chicago Bulls handed the Cleveland Cavaliers a third straight defeat Friday, and superstar LeBron James said it should serve as a wakeup call to the defending NBA champions. “It’s a new season and everyone is gunning for us every night,” James told reporters after his Cavs fell 111-105. “We have to understand that. “The honeymoon stage is over,” James added. “It’s time to play some real ball.” Jimmy Butler scored 26 points, Wade added 24 and Taj Gibson finished with 23 for the Bulls, who bounced back from a disappointing defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers Wednesday. Rajon Rondo produced a triple-double of 15 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds as all Chicago starters scored in double figures. There was no redemption for the Cavaliers a day after they were humbled 113-94 by the Los Angeles Clippers in Cleveland. That setback followed an upset loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. James scored a game-high 27 points for the Cavaliers. Kyrie Irving scored 20 points to go along with 15 from Kevin Love. Raptors 113, Lakers 80: Kyle Lowry scored 24 points and dished out seven assists, DeMar DeRozan added 16 points with six assists and the Toronto Raptors defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 113-80 to extend their winning streak to five games. Spurs 107, Wizards 105: Kawhi Leonard capped his 23-point performance by drilling a game-winning 17-foot jumper with 6.1 seconds to play as San Antonio outlasted Washington in a furious finish at the AT&T Center. The Spurs ruled the final minute of the third quarter, stretched a six-point lead to as many as 10 in the first half of the fourth and weathered a final Washington run in the last two minutes. The Wizards’ Bradley Beal poured in a 3-pointer to give Washington a 103-102 lead with 53.4 seconds remaining. San Antonio’s Patty Mills missed a 3-pointer with 28.9 to play but LaMarcus Aldridge corralled the rebound to give the Spurs another chance. Clippers 114, Hornets 96: Blake Griffin overcame a chilly offensive start to score 13 of his game-high 27 points in the decisive third quarter to lift Los Angeles to a victory over New Orleans at the Smoothie King Center. Griffin missed six of his first eight shots but wound up 12 of 22 from the field. He also grabbed 10 rebounds. Reserve guard Jamal Crawford added 21 points for the Clippers, who culminated their six-game road trip with a 3-3 record. Chris Paul added 17 points and 13 assists, including back-to-back passes that led to 3-pointers by Crawford and Luc Mbah a Moute that put the Clippers up 104-90. Pistons 121, Hawks 85: Detroit, which started the season 1-8 on the road, completed a 3-0 trip by handing slumping Atlanta its fifth consecutive loss. Former University of Georgia standout Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had a big homecoming with 23 points. Tobias Harris had 18 points and Leuer scored 16 as the Pistons. Knicks 118, Timberwolves 114: Carmelo Anthony popped in 29 points and Kyle O’Quinn posted his first double-double of the season to lead New York to a win over Minnesota at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks swept the home-and-home series. New York claimed a 106-104 win at Minnesota Wednesday. Celtics 97, Kings 92: Al Horford scored a season-high 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help lead Boston past Sacramento at TD Garden. Isaiah Thomas had 20 points and seven assists, Jae Crowder added 16 points and Avery Bradley contributed 15 points and nine boards for Boston (11-8), which had lost two of three coming in. DeMarcus Cousins totaled a game-high 28 points and nine rebounds, Rudy Gay added 13 points and eight boards and Matt Barnes chipped in 12 points and 16 rebounds off the bench for Sacramento. Magic 105, Sixers 88: Orlando was coming off a difficult loss. Philadelphia was coming off three days of rest. The Magic nonetheless beat the Sixers as Aaron Gordon scored a season-high 20 points to lead six players in double figures. Orlando also nailed a season-high 13 3-pointers in 26 attempts and limited Philadelphia to 37.9 percent shooting from the field. Rockets 128, Nuggets 110: James Harden had 20 points and seven assists, Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson scored 18 each, and Houston never trailed in beating Denver. — Agencies