Kevin Love scored 27 points, Collin Sexton was 25 and host Cleveland Cavaliers stunned the Denver Nuggets 104-102 on Saturday night.
March 7, 2020; Cleveland, Ohio, United States; Denver Nuggets guard Gary Harris (14) drives to basket against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton (2) during the first half at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Cedi Osman added 20 points, Tristan Thompson had nine points and 13 rebounds, and Matthew Dellavedova had seven points and 14 assists for Cleveland, who swept the series streak against the Nuggets and ended a four-game skid.
Will Barton scored 22 points, Gary Harris had 18 and Jamal Murray added 17 for Denver. Nikola Jokic only collected eight points but added eight rebounds and eight assists.
The Cavaliers led by five at the start of the fourth inning, but remained cold for almost five minutes, allowing Denver to climb 93-90. Sexton ended the drought with a pair of free throws with 5:50 left, and it started a 10-0 run that put Cleveland in the lead for good.
Charlotte Hornets 108 – Houston Rockets 99
The Hornets scored the first 20 points of the game, Terry Rozier scored 24 points in the first three quarters and Charlotte dominated Houston.
Devonte ‘Graham added 23 points, PJ Washington contributed 22 points, Cody Zeller collected 13 points and Miles Bridges collected 10 points for Charlotte, who closed a four-game home game with his only win in that streak .
James Harden scored 30 points for the Rockets, but was charged with 10 of the team’s 20 turnovers. Harden also had 10 rebounds and 14 assists. Houston played without goalkeeper Russell Westbrook (rest).
Sacramento Kings 123 – Portland Trail Blazers 111
Bogdan Bogdanovic tied his career high of seven points to 3 points and recorded 27 points and eight assists, while Sacramento stopped a streak of 12 consecutive defeats in Portland with a dominant victory.
Buddy Hield scored 22 points, and Harrison Barnes added 20 points as the Kings won in Portland for the first time since December 8, 2012. They also tied the franchise record of 21 3 points (in 39 attempts) , with Hield killing six and Barnes making five.
Aaron Fox has 14 points and 11 assists for the Kings, who have won seven of their last nine games. Sacramento is 3 1/2 games behind the eighth Memphis Grizzlies for last place in the Western Conference playoffs.
Utah Jazz 111 – Detroit Pistons 105
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 32 points and Utah extended its winning streak to five games with a win in Detroit.
The Jazz, which closed a four-game road trip, have won the last eight meetings between the clubs. They were competing for the second consecutive end after winning in Boston on Friday.
Donovan Mitchell provided 25 points, Jordan Clarkson contributed 14 points and Mike Conley added 12. Christian Wood led the Pistons with a career high of 30 points and 11 rebounds. Langston Galloway and Jordan McRae each had 14 points on the bench.
Memphis Grizzlies 118 – Atlanta Hawks 101
Jonas Valanciunas scored 12 of his 27 points in the first quarter to help Memphis get off to a quick start and get them past the Atlanta Hawks.
Valanciunas had 17 rebounds for his 32nd double-double of the season. It was the second time in a week that the Grizzlies had beaten the Hawks. Memphis won 127-88 in Atlanta Monday.
Atlanta picked up top scorer Trae Young in training after missing Friday’s game with flu-like symptoms. Young, however, was not at full power, played only 29 minutes and was limited to 16 points – 13 less than his season average – and four assists.
Golden State Warriors 118 – Philadelphia Warriors 114
Villanova’s product, Eric Paschall, concluded a 23-point performance with a pair of free throws with 51.7 seconds remaining as Golden State defeated Philadelphia in San Francisco in a national game show that featured more star power on the sidelines only in the field.
The Warriors learned during the day that Stephen Curry would join former All-Star teammates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green without action due to illness. Curry returned from a 58 game absence due to a broken left hand on Thursday.
Tobias Harris scored a 24-point high for the 76ers, who were also without three injured starters – Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Josh Richardson.
—Media at field level
