LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� D鈥橝ngelo Russell scored 28 points, LeBron James added 24 and the Los Angeles Lakers extended their winning streak to four with a 116-97 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, moving into eighth place in the Western Conference.
Anthony Davis added 22 points and 13 rebounds in the Lakers鈥� (45-33) ninth win in 10 games.
Darius Garland scored 26 points for Cleveland and Caris LeVert had 21 off the bench. The Cavaliers (46-32) remained in third place in the East but have dropped two straight and three of their last four.
Russell had six 3-pointers, including five in the first half, when his 23 points helped the Lakers take a nine-point lead.
James improved to 18-4 against his former team, where he played for 11 seasons in two different stints. He had a pair of alley-oop dunks against the team he led to its lone NBA title in 2016.
Davis scored 11 points in the third quarter, including nine during a 19-0 run. Cleveland led 71-67 before the Lakers regained control during a four-minute span.
NETS 113, PISTON 103
NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Cam Thomas scored 32 points and Brooklyn rallied with a big fourth quarter for a victory over Detroit.
Dennis Schroder added 24 points and Noah Clowney had 17 off the bench for the Nets, who their second straight game. Mikal Bridges chipped in with 13 and Jalen Wilson finished with 10.
Detroit dropped to 13-65 with its fourth straight loss. Chimezie Metu led the Pistons with 20 points. Marcus Sasser finished with 18 and Jaden Ivey added 16.
Troy Brown Jr. had 15 and Jaylen Nowell contributed 12 off the bench for the Pistons, who led by 19 and were still ahead 83-75 after three before the Nets outscored them 38-20 over the final 12 minutes.
Trailing 99-91 after Schroder knocked down a jumper with 6:28 remaining, the Nets used a 22-4 run to clinch the win.
76ERS 116, GRIZZLIES 96
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) 鈥� Joel Embiid had 30 points and 12 rebounds in just 23 minutes, Kelly Oubre Jr. added 17 points and Philadelphia pulled within a half-game of seventh place in the Eastern Conference by beating short-handed Memphis.
Embiid was 9 of 13 from the floor, making both of his 3-point attempts. He checked out with seven minutes left in the third quarter and coach Nick Nurse saw no reason for him to return as Philadelphia maintained a comfortable lead in the second half en route to its fourth consecutive win.
Scotty Pippen Jr. led the Grizzlies with 24 points, while GG Jackson finished with 17. Jordan Goodwin added 15 for Memphis, which had its three-game winning streak snapped. Maozinha Pereira had 13 points and 11 rebounds.
The Grizzlies had little answer for Embiid in the first half. The Philadelphia center collected 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor, plus 10 rebounds as the 76ers built a 62-42 halftime advantage. Memphis was just 2 of 12 from outside the arc, part of the Grizzlies shooting 37%.
Philadelphia outscored Memphis 34-19 in the second quarter and the Grizzlies could make little headway to start the second half, never cutting the deficit into single digits.
NUGGETS 142, HAWKS 110
DENVER (AP) 鈥� returned to Denver's lineup after missing seven games with a strained right knee and scored 16 points over 21 minutes in a clobbering of.
Nikola Jokic recorded his 25th triple-double of the season even as he took the fourth quarter off and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added a season-high 24 points, propelling the Nuggets (54-24) into sole possession of first place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of the idle Minnesota Timberwolves, who visit Denver on Wednesday night.
Clint Capela led Atlanta with 19 points.
The showdown between the Wolves and Nuggets could decide the top seed in the West, although Oklahoma City is just a game back. Nuggets coach Michael Malone has insisted he鈥檚 more concerned with his team鈥檚 health than its seeding, but Denver did parley the No. 1 seed a year ago into a 10-1 home record in the playoffs on its way to winning the franchise鈥檚 first NBA championship.
Jokic had 19 points, 14 boards and 11 assists, while Murray added six assists in his first appearance since getting hurt March 21 in a game against the New York Knicks.
The Associated Press
