NEW YORK: Cleveland extended its winning streak to eight straight with a 90-84 victory at the New York Knicks on Friday, with LeBron James scoring 31 points for the Cavaliers.

The game was tighter than the six-point margin suggested, with Mo Williams only putting the Cavaliers ahead with his jump shot with 41 seconds left.

Cleveland lost its first game of the season but has won every match since and is two games ahead of Central Division rival Chicago, which also had a narrow victory against Charlotte.

Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook notched his second straight triple-double to lead the Thunder over still-winless Philadelphia, while Denver beat Houston and former teammate Ty Lawson.

Cleveland’s Williams scored his team’s final six points and finished with 20.

Carmelo Anthony scored 26 for the Knicks, but 22 came in the first half and his only field goal in the second half was a follow dunk as he was kept in check by James.

Chicago held off Charlotte to win 102-97, with Jimmy Butler’s 27 points leading the scoring.

The Hornets trailed for most of the fourth quarter but Jeremy Lamb scored eight straight points to pull the visitors within a point with 5:54 left, and they were still right in the contest with 27 seconds to go when Lamb’s 3-point attempt to tie the scores missed, and Butler hit a 22-footer to seal it.

Pau Gasol had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls.

Oklahoma City’s Wesbtook stepped up in the absence of injured Kevin Durant and led the Thunder past Philadelphia 102-85.

Westbrook finished with 21 points, a career-high 17 rebounds and 11 assists for the 21st triple-double of his career. It was his third in his past four games against Philadelphia.

Dion Waiters scored 14 points for the Thunder, who won their third straight.

Christian Wood scored 15 points for the 76ers, who dropped to 0-9. Dating back to last season, the Sixers have lost 19 consecutive games.

Denver’s Danilo Gallinari had 27 points as the Nuggets beat Houston 107-98.

Will Barton scored a career-high 26 for Denver.r.

The home crowd didn’t give Lawson a warm reception despite his mostly productive six years with the Nuggets. He helped Denver reach the playoffs four straight seasons but trouble off the court, including multiple arrests, soured his reputation with the fans and preceded him being dealt to Houston in the summer.

James Harden led the Rockets with 28 points.

Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins had 30 of his season-high 40 points in the second half and added 13 rebounds to guide the Kings to a 111-109 win against Brooklyn.

Rajon Rondo had his third triple-double in four games, with 23 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.

Jarrett Jack had 21 points and 12 assists for the Nets, who have opened the season with a 1-8 record.

Memphis’ Zach Randolph had a put-back basket with less than a second left to give the Grizzlies victory over Portland 101-100.

Portland had a final shot with 0.6 of a second left, but Al-Farouq Aminu’s 17-footer was short and the Grizzlies snapped a four-game losing streak.

Marc Gasol had a season-high 31 points for Memphis while Randolph had 15.

C.J. McCollum led Portland with 26 points but the Trail Blazers fell to a fourth successive defeat.

Dallas’ Zaza Pachulia notched his sixth double-double in nine games to lead the Mavericks to a 90-82 win against the Los Angeles Lakers, who have lost four straight.

Indiana made it six wins from seven games by beating Minnesota 107-103, with Paul George scoring 29 points and Monta Ellis adding 24 in his best game this season.

Boston recovered from early inaccuracy to beat Atlanta 106-93, with Isaiah Thomas scoring 17 of his 23 points in the second half.

Toronto pulled away in the second half to record a 100-91 win against New Orleans, with Jonas Valanciunas having 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Orlando built a big early lead and held on to defeat Utah 102-93, with Evan Fournier scoring 21 points.