CHICAGO: LeBron James says the reigning NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers are “in a bad spot” after losing their third consecutive game, falling 99-93 Thursday at Chicago.
The Bulls completed a 4-0 regular-season sweep of Cleveland, boosting their chances of reaching the playoffs and dropping the Cavaliers (47-27) behind Boston (48-27) at the top of the Eastern Conference.
The Bulls (36-39) moved within one game of Miami and Indiana for the last two play-off spots in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining over the next two weeks.
Nikola Mirotic, a Montenegrin-born Spaniard, scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Chicago.
Butler added 25 points for the Bulls, who used defensive effort to close the third quarter on a crucial 11-3 run.
“We got back in transition,” Butler said. “It always helps to make shots but we guarded. That’s how we’ve got to play. We’ve got to rely on our defense.”
James sparked Cleveland with 26 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists while Kyrie Irving added 20 for the Cavaliers, who were without forward Kyle Korver and Richard Jefferson due to sore left knees.
James passed Shaquille O’Neal for seventh on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, ending the game with 28,599 career points, three more than “Shaq.”
TIMBERWOLVES 119, LAKERS 104: Ricky Rubio had a career-high 33 points, 10 assists and five rebounds and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 32 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves past the Los Angeles Lakers.
Rubio shot 4 of 5 on 3-pointers and Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points for the Timberwolves (30-44), who have now won more games than they did last season. Minnesota had 30 assists and only 11 turnovers.
Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points and D’Angelo Russell had 14 points and seven assists for the Lakers (21-54), who have lost 17 of their last 19 games. Brandon Ingram missed his third straight game with patellar tendinitis in his right knee.
CLIPPERS 124, SUNS 118: Blake Griffin scored 31 points, Chris Paul added 29 points and 10 assists and the Los Angeles Clippers held on to hand the Phoenix Suns their 10th loss in a row.
Devin Booker returned to the Suns’ lineup and scored 33 while playing in front of his former college coach, Kentucky’s John Calipari, and matched his season high with nine assists, but fouled out with 4:45 to play.
The Clippers (46-31), coming off a home win over Washington on Wednesday night, pulled within a game of Utah (46-29) for the No. 4 playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Booker, three games removed from his 70-point outburst in Boston, missed Tuesday’s game in Atlanta with a sore right ankle.
Rookie Tyler Ulis, who also played for Calipari, had 16 points and matched his career best with 12 assists. Marquese Chriss scored 20 for the Suns and Jamal Crawford had 19 for the Clippers.
PISTONS 90, NETS 89: Marcus Morris had 28 points and 13 rebounds, and Ish Smith hit the go-ahead 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, helping the Detroit Pistons beat the Brooklyn Nets.
Smith, who finished with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists, gave the Pistons an 87-86 lead with 30 seconds left. Brook Lopez missed a 3-pointer on the Nets’ ensuing possession, and Detroit sealed it at the free-throw line.
Sean Kilpatrick scored 15 and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Jeremy Lin each had 14 points for the Nets. Lopez added 11 points and nine rebounds.
Detroit, the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference, kept its dwindling playoff hopes alive.
TRAIL BLAZERS 117, ROCKETS 107: Damian Lillard had 31 points and 11 assists, leading the Portland Trail Blazers past the Houston Rockets.
Jusuf Nurkic had a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with 19 points for the Trail Blazers, who have a season-high five-game winning streak and a 1 ½-game lead over the Denver Nuggets for the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
James Harden finished with 30 points and eight rebounds to lead the Rockets. Harden’s 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter gave the Rockets 1,078 3s, an NBA single-season record.
Portland held a 96-85 lead into the fourth, but Houston made a run early in the quarter. Trevor Ariza’s dunk tied the game at 105 with 2:29 left, but Nurkic’s post-up gave Portland the lead right back with 2:05 remaining.
Allen Crabbe sealed the win with steal on Harden, taking it coast-to-coast to give the Blazers a 113-105 lead with 1:12 left.
The Bulls completed a 4-0 regular-season sweep of Cleveland, boosting their chances of reaching the playoffs and dropping the Cavaliers (47-27) behind Boston (48-27) at the top of the Eastern Conference.
The Bulls (36-39) moved within one game of Miami and Indiana for the last two play-off spots in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining over the next two weeks.
Nikola Mirotic, a Montenegrin-born Spaniard, scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Chicago.
Butler added 25 points for the Bulls, who used defensive effort to close the third quarter on a crucial 11-3 run.
“We got back in transition,” Butler said. “It always helps to make shots but we guarded. That’s how we’ve got to play. We’ve got to rely on our defense.”
James sparked Cleveland with 26 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists while Kyrie Irving added 20 for the Cavaliers, who were without forward Kyle Korver and Richard Jefferson due to sore left knees.
James passed Shaquille O’Neal for seventh on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, ending the game with 28,599 career points, three more than “Shaq.”
TIMBERWOLVES 119, LAKERS 104: Ricky Rubio had a career-high 33 points, 10 assists and five rebounds and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 32 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves past the Los Angeles Lakers.
Rubio shot 4 of 5 on 3-pointers and Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points for the Timberwolves (30-44), who have now won more games than they did last season. Minnesota had 30 assists and only 11 turnovers.
Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points and D’Angelo Russell had 14 points and seven assists for the Lakers (21-54), who have lost 17 of their last 19 games. Brandon Ingram missed his third straight game with patellar tendinitis in his right knee.
CLIPPERS 124, SUNS 118: Blake Griffin scored 31 points, Chris Paul added 29 points and 10 assists and the Los Angeles Clippers held on to hand the Phoenix Suns their 10th loss in a row.
Devin Booker returned to the Suns’ lineup and scored 33 while playing in front of his former college coach, Kentucky’s John Calipari, and matched his season high with nine assists, but fouled out with 4:45 to play.
The Clippers (46-31), coming off a home win over Washington on Wednesday night, pulled within a game of Utah (46-29) for the No. 4 playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Booker, three games removed from his 70-point outburst in Boston, missed Tuesday’s game in Atlanta with a sore right ankle.
Rookie Tyler Ulis, who also played for Calipari, had 16 points and matched his career best with 12 assists. Marquese Chriss scored 20 for the Suns and Jamal Crawford had 19 for the Clippers.
PISTONS 90, NETS 89: Marcus Morris had 28 points and 13 rebounds, and Ish Smith hit the go-ahead 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, helping the Detroit Pistons beat the Brooklyn Nets.
Smith, who finished with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists, gave the Pistons an 87-86 lead with 30 seconds left. Brook Lopez missed a 3-pointer on the Nets’ ensuing possession, and Detroit sealed it at the free-throw line.
Sean Kilpatrick scored 15 and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Jeremy Lin each had 14 points for the Nets. Lopez added 11 points and nine rebounds.
Detroit, the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference, kept its dwindling playoff hopes alive.
TRAIL BLAZERS 117, ROCKETS 107: Damian Lillard had 31 points and 11 assists, leading the Portland Trail Blazers past the Houston Rockets.
Jusuf Nurkic had a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with 19 points for the Trail Blazers, who have a season-high five-game winning streak and a 1 ½-game lead over the Denver Nuggets for the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
James Harden finished with 30 points and eight rebounds to lead the Rockets. Harden’s 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter gave the Rockets 1,078 3s, an NBA single-season record.
Portland held a 96-85 lead into the fourth, but Houston made a run early in the quarter. Trevor Ariza’s dunk tied the game at 105 with 2:29 left, but Nurkic’s post-up gave Portland the lead right back with 2:05 remaining.
Allen Crabbe sealed the win with steal on Harden, taking it coast-to-coast to give the Blazers a 113-105 lead with 1:12 left.
