Donovan Mitchell scored 18 of his season-high 37 points in the fourth quarter as the unbeaten Cleveland Cavaliers pulled away for a 144-126 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday to achieve the longest winning streak in franchise history.
Cleveland has now won its first 14 games of the 2004-05 campaign, tied for the fourth-longest undefeated run to begin a season in NBA history.
Mitchell led the way in this latest victory by making 7 of 13 shots from 3-point range, though the Cavs also received big performances from other core players to stay perfect. Darius Garland added 29 points and nine assists, Jarrett Allen amassed 24 points on 11-of-15 shooting along with 10 rebounds and Caris LeVert contributed 22 points off the bench.
Chicago got 29 points from Coby White, who went 6 of 11 on 3-point tries in the Bulls' sixth loss in eight games. Leading scorer Zach LaVine was kept squarely in check, however, as the two-time All-Star was held to eight points on 4-of-16 shooting.
Nikola Vucevic finished with 25 points and eight rebounds for Chicago, while Patrick Williams totalled 17 points and a career-high nine assists.
Cleveland came out on fire, making good on 19 of 22 field goal attempts in the first quarter to build a 49-34 lead after 12 minutes. The Cavs were up by as many as 19 points in the second, though the Bulls finished the quarter strongly and closed the gap to 77-73 at intermission behind Vucevic's 18 first-half points.
Chicago carried the momentum into the third quarter and took a 90-89 advantage on White's 3-pointer midway through the period. Cleveland responded with a 16-5 run, however, to go up 105-95 with under two minutes left in the quarter.
The Cavs later put the game out of reach with a 21-7 run over the game's final 2:40, with Mitchell tallying nine points during the spurt and LeVert recording eight.
Timberwolves overcome Fox's 60 points to top Kings in overtime
Julius Randle scored the tie-breaking basket in the final minute of overtime as the Minnesota Timberwolves recorded a 130-126 win over Sacramento despite a franchise-record 60 points from the Kings' De'Aaron Fox.
Fox finished 22 of 35 from the field and 6 of 10 from 3-point range to break the club record of 59 points set by Jack Twyman in 1960, when the franchise was then known as the Cincinnati Royals. The star point guard also rallied the Kings from a 20-point second-half deficit and forced overtime with a short jumper with 38.6 seconds left in regulation.
The Timberwolves were still able to end a three-game losing streak as Anthony Edwards put up 36 points and Randle added 26.
Sacramento also received 23 points and 12 rebounds from Domantas Sabonis while playing without two key players, DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk, due to injuries.
Minnesota appeared on the way to an easy win after beginning the second half with a 12-0 run to stretch an eight-point half-time lead into a 74–54 advantage just over 3 1/2 minutes into the third quarter.
The Timberwolves entered the fourth up 98-82 before Fox, who amassed 20 points for the quarter, led the Kings back. He scored 14 of those points during a 19-2 run to start the period that gave Sacramento a 101-100 edge with seven minutes left in regulation.
Fox later forged a 126-126 tie with a 3-pointer with 1:15 remaining in overtime, but Randle quickly put Minnesota back ahead with a short jumper on the next possession. After Fox missed a 3-pointer on the other end, Edwards sealed the victory by knocking down a 21-foot shot with 14.3 seconds on the clock.
Thunder shut down injury-plagued Suns
The Oklahoma City Thunder got 28 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a stout defensive effort to come away with a 99-83 win over the short-handed Phoenix Suns.
Oklahoma City prevailed in this matchup of two of the Western Conference's top teams by limiting Phoenix to 29.3 per cent shooting, the Suns' lowest field goal percentage in a game since shooting 26.8 per cent in a loss to the then-New Jersey Nets on March 27, 2006.
Phoenix was without two of its main scorers, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, due to injuries. The Suns are now 1-3 since Durant was forced out of action with a strained calf after starting the season 8-1.
The Thunder, on the other hand, have won three straight since starting center Chet Holmgren fractured his pelvis in a loss to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday.
Luguentz Dort added 15 points and nine rebounds for Oklahoma City, which also received 14 points and eight boards from Jalen Williams.
Josh Okogie paced the Suns with 15 points and nine rebounds on a night where their other All-Star, Devin Booker, managed just 12 points on 2-of-10 shooting.
The Suns missed 18 of 21 shot attempts in the first quarter as the Thunder built a 29-14 lead after one period. Oklahoma City took a 48-36 advantage into half-time and maintained a double-digit margin throughout the second half, with its lead getting as large as 25 points.
Doncic 'misunderstanding' paved way for Jazz win
Luka Doncic says the defensive mishap that led to the Utah Jazz's winning dunk was a "misunderstanding" and shouldered the blame for the Dallas Mavericks' loss on Thursday.
The Jazz recorded their first home win of the season with their 115-113 victory, but it looked like they might have thrown it away after blowing a third-quarter lead.
However, with just 6.4 seconds remaining, Doncic left John Collins wide open to give him an easy dunk that settled the game in Utah's favour.
The Slovenian had 37 points, seven rebounds and nine assists for Dallas in an otherwise impressive showing, especially without Kyrie Irving, who missed the game with a shoulder injury.
"It was a misunderstanding," Doncic said.
"I thought I was going to go hit, and [Quentin] Grimes thought he was going to go hit. And it was a lob, so we misunderstood the bench. That's on me."
Collins scored 28 points for the Jazz in their win, also getting nine rebounds, while Jordan Clarkson added 20 points to end a five-game losing streak at home.
They rallied back after letting a 12-point lead slip, something which particularly impressed head coach Will Hardy.
"Tonight isn't about the Xs & Os piece, it was about the mental and physical toughness that the team showed," Hardy said.
"It felt really, really good to battle through a tough moment and pull out a win here at home."
Collins echoed his coach's praise: "Man, I wanted this one so bad. We knew it was going to be a battle in the second half, it's all about staying mentally strong."
NBA: Jazz blow big lead but edge Mavericks on late dunk
John Collins scored the last of his 28 points on a tiebreaking dunk with 6.4 seconds left to give the Utah Jazz their first home victory of the season, 115-113 over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night.
Collins also had nine rebounds and Jordan Clarkson added 20 points for the Jazz, who had lost their first five home games.
Luka Dončić had 37 points, seven rebounds and nine assists for Dallas. Quentin Grimes added 15 points and five assists while filling in for Kyrie Irving, who missed the game because of a right shoulder sprain. Klay Thompson had 17 points.
The Mavericks erased a 16-point deficit and tied it on Thompson’s 3-pointer in the final minute before Collins answered with his winner.
Dallas led at halftime and got six third-quarter baskets from Doncic. It wasn’t enough to keep the Jazz from surging ahead as the quarter progressed. Utah ripped off a 9-0 run following back-to-back baskets from Doncic and went up 90-78 on Collins’ tip-in layup.
Utah scored baskets on six straight third-quarter possessions to take an 81-73 lead. Lauri Markkanen scored three baskets himself, culminating in a step-back 3-pointer.
Bahamian VJ Edgecombe records near triple double to help Baylor Bears demolish Sam Houston Bearcats
Bahamian freshman VJ Edgecombe recorded a neat triple double as the Baylor Bears defeated the Sam Houston Bearcats in NCAA Men’s Division 1 Basketball action at Baylor’s Foster Pavilion on Tuesday.
Edgecombe recorded 13 points on 6-9 shooting, 10 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and a block in 29 minutes of action as the Bears improved their record this season to 3-1 with a comprehensive 104-67 win over the Bearcats who are now 1-3 on the year.
Senior guard Jayden Nunn led the Bears in scoring with 19 points while Nicaraguan 5th year senior forward Norchad Omier had 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Lamar Wilkerson had 19 points for Sam Houston.
The Bears will next host the Tarleton State Texans on Sunday.
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