CHICAGO — Nikola Mirotic tied season highs with 28 points and six 3-pointers, Jimmy Butler scored 25, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-93 on a night when LeBron James moved into seventh place on the NBA’s career scoring list.
James moved past Shaquille O’Neal, finishing with 26 points and giving him 28,599 for his career — three more than O’Neal. But the big night by the four-time MVP couldn’t prevent the Cavaliers from matching a season high with their third straight loss.
That dropped them a half-game behind Boston for the Eastern Conference lead and left them with a 6-10 record in March.
For Mirotic, it was his second straight game with 28 points and six 3s. He also had 10 rebounds, finishing a strong March. Rajon Rondo added 15 assists, Robin Lopez had 10 points and 11 rebounds, and the ninth-place Bulls moved within a game of Miami and Indiana in the Eastern Conference standings.
They also finished 4-0 against Cleveland to complete their first sweep of the Cavaliers since they took all three games during the 2011-12 season. Kyrie Irving scored 20 for the Cavaliers, while Tristan Thompson added 15 points and nine rebounds.
Timberwolves 119, Lakers 104
Ricky Rubio scored a career-high 33 points and added 10 assists, and Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 32 points as road-weary Minnesota returned home and recorded a victory against Los Angeles. Andrew Wiggins added 27 points for Minnesota, which won for the seventh time in its past 10 home games. Gorgui Dieng finished with 11 points, a season-high 15 rebounds and six assists for the Timberwolves, who exceeded last season’s win total with No. 30.
Trail Blazers 117, Rockets 107
Surging Portland continued its drive for an NBA playoff berth with a win at home over Houston.
Damian Lillard scored 31 points and added 11 assists to lead the Blazers to their 13th victory in the last 16 outings. Portland improved to 37-38 and climbed 1 1/2 games ahead of idle Denver in their battle for the eighth and final postseason spot in the Western Conference.
Clippers 124, Suns 118 Blake Griffin and Chris
Paul combined for 60 points to lead Los Angeles to a win over slumping Phoenix.
Griffin scored 31 points, falling two points shy of becoming the first Clipper to score 10,000 points with the team.
He hit 12-of-19 shots and added seven assists.
Paul had 29 points and 10 assists for the Clippers, who moved within one game of the idle Utah Jazz for fourth place in the Western Conference.
Pistons 90, Nets 89
Marcus Morris racked up 28 points and 13 rebounds and Detroit snapped a five-game losing streak by edging Brooklyn at The Palace.
Ish Smith contributed 21 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Pistons. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 12 points, and Andre Drummond secured 11 rebounds for Detroit— Agencies
