CLEVELAND (AP) Cleveland beat Atlanta 109-97 on Saturday in a reprise of last season’s NBA Eastern Conference finals, and Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer was ejected for making contact with an official.
The Cavaliers took control midway through the first quarter and quickly built a double-digit lead en route to a victory that built their lead in the Central Division while dropping the Hawks out of top spot in the Southeast.
Among other games, San Antonio continued its strong home form by beating Memphis and New York ended its long run of losses to Houston by beating the slumping Rockets.
Cleveland’s Kevin Love scored a season-high 25 points and LeBron James added 19 in the first game against Atlanta since the Cavaliers swept the Hawks in the East finals last season.
Hawks coach Budenholzer was given a technical for arguing a call in the second quarter, and stepped onto the floor where he bumped referee Ben Taylor and was ejected.
San Antonio made it six straight home wins by downing Memphis 92-82, with Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker scoring 19 and 18 points respectively.
After conceding the opening score of the game, the Spurs led throughout.
Neither team had its starting power forward. LaMarcus Aldridge was a late scratch with a sprained left ankle, his first missed game with San Antonio. Memphis’ Zach Randolph was in uniform, but did not play in his second straight game due to right knee soreness.
New York ended a run of 11 consecutive losses to Houston – and ten straight defeats in the Texan city – with a 107-102 victory.
Kristaps Porzingis had 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks who have eight wins before the end of November, whereas last season they didn’t get their eighth win until late January.
James Harden had 24 points and 10 assists for the Rockets, who have lost six of seven.
Detroit’s Marcus Morris missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer, and that allowed Washington to hang on for a 97-95 road victory.
The Wizards had the ball and a two-point lead with 9.2 seconds left, but Otto Porter was called for a five-second violation on the inbound attempt. That gave Detroit a last chance, but Morris missed.
Nene scored 18 points and Porter added 17 for Washington, which got 51 points from bench players compared to just 15 by Detroit’s reserves.
Reggie Jackson led the Pistons with 20 points and nine assists.
Indiana made it five wins from six by routing Milwaukee 123-86, with C.J. Miles scoring a season-high 21 points for the Pacers.
Sacramento went on a 22-2 scoring run late in the third quarter to take over the game and set up a 97-91 win at Orlando, with DeMarcus Cousins having 29 points and 12 rebounds.
Miami survived a major scare from winless Philadelphia, needing a 19-2 run in the fourth quarter to escape with a 96-91 victory against a 76ers team that dropped to 0-14 and which has lost 24 straight dating back to last season.
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