CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell set a Cleveland record with 71 points, most by an NBA player in 17 years, and the Cavaliers rallied from 21 down to beat the Chicago Bulls 145-134 in overtime.
Mitchell’s total matched the eighth-highest in league history and marked the most points by any player since Lakers great Kobe Bryant had 81 against Toronto on Jan. 22, 2006. Wilt Chamberlain owns the NBA record with 100 for Philadelphia against New York in March 1962.
Mitchell scored 13 points in the extra period. He forced OT by grabbing his own intentionally missed free throw and making a circus shot with three seconds left in regulation, tying the game at 130.
The star guard went 22 of 34 from the field and 7 for 15 on 3-pointers in carrying the Cavaliers, who were without All-Star guard Darius Garland (right thumb sprain) and forward Evan Mobley (right ankle soreness) for the second consecutive game.
Mitchell also equaled a career high with 11 assists and added eight rebounds in 50 minutes. He set career bests with 20 free throws made and 25 attempted. He scored five points in the first quarter, 11 in the second, 24 in the third and 18 in the fourth.
He became the seventh player in the 70-point club. Chamberlain did it six times, while Bryant, David Thompson, Elgin Baylor, David Robinson and Devin Booker reached the plateau once apiece.
DeMar DeRozan scored 44 points, Zach LaVine had 26 and Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and 13 rebounds for Chicago, which did not trail in regulation.
Jarrett Allen added 21 points for the Cavs, and Cedi Osman scored 19.
NETS 139, SPURS 103
NEW YORK (AP) — Kyrie Irving made his first seven shots, sparked a big bench celebration with a one-handed follow slam after he finally missed and scored 27 points as Brooklyn earned a 12th straight victory.
Kevin Durant added 25 points and 11 assists for the Nets (25-12), who have ridden the longest winning in the NBA this season to within a game of Boston for the best record in the league. Brooklyn has won 16 of its last 17 games.
Irving shot 11 for 14, Durant was 10 for 14 and neither played in the fourth quarter for the Nets, who are 23-7 under Jacque Vaughn. T.J. Warren finished with 18 points and Brooklyn shot 62% from the field.
Keldon Johnson scored 22 points for the Spurs.
WARRIORS 143, HAWKS 141, 2 OT
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Klay Thompson scored a season-best 54 points and Kevon Looney tipped in his own miss at the buzzer in the second overtime as Golden State outlasted Atlanta.
Trae Young tied the score for the Hawks on a layup with 8.2 seconds remaining before the Warriors won it. Young made four crucial free throws late in the first OT and finished with 30 points and 14 assists.
Looney had a career-high 21 rebounds to go with 14 points and five assists. Draymond Green hit his only 3-point attempt of the game with 43.8 seconds left in the second OT and finished with 13 rebounds and 11 assists.
Thompson shot 21 for 39 and his 10 3-pointers matched a season high. He drained a go-ahead 3 with 18 seconds left in the first overtime after his tying 3 with 1:55 to go in the initial extra period.
Donte DiVincenzo knocked down a tying 3 for the Warriors with 0.6 seconds remaining in regulation.
76ERS 120, PELICANS 111
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid had 42 points and 11 rebounds, James Harden scored 27 and Philadelphia beat a New Orleans team that lost Zion Williamson to a strained right hamstring.
Williamson scored 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting through three quarters before he left for the locker room in the fourth. Williamson pulled up on a fastbreak and handed off the ball late in the third. Williamson, averaging 26 points, gingerly ran to the corner and lingered on the court for a bit before he was lifted from the game.
CJ McCollum scored 26 points for the Pelicans.
LAKERS 121, HORNETS 115
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — LeBron James scored 43 points to pull within 500 of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA career scoring record, and Los Angeles avenged last month’s home loss to Charlotte.
James had two dunks on alley-oops, including a high-flying reverse slam off a feed from Dennis Schroder, to push his career total to 37,903 points, leaving him 484 behind Abdul-Jabbar’s long-standing record of 38,387.
Thomas Bryant had 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Austin Reaves and Schroder each had 15 points as the Lakers finished a 3-2 road trip.
Terry Rozier had 27 points to lead the Hornets, who have lost 13 of their last 16 games. LaMelo Ball added 24 points and Mason Plumlee had 18 points and 14 rebounds for Charlotte.
HEAT 110, CLIPPERS 100
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bam Adebayo had 31 points and 13 rebounds, and Miami recovered from blowing a 21-point lead to beat Los Angeles.
Tyler Herro added 23 points and Victor Oladipo scored 15 off the bench for the Heat, who have won four of five. They swept the two-game season series for the first time since 2017-18.
Paul George had 25 points and seven assists to lead the Clippers, who were without Kawhi Leonard in dropping their third straight. He sat out with a non-COVID-19 illness.
KNICKS 102, SUNS 83
NEW YORK (AP) — Julius Randle had 28 points and 16 rebounds to lead New York over Phoenix.
Jalen Brunson scored 24 points after missing three games with a sore right hip. Immanuel Quickley added 15, Quentin Grimes had 12 and Mitchell Robinson finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks.
Deandre Ayton led Phoenix with 12 points, and Chris Paul had 11.
The Suns, who lost for the sixth time in seven games, scored the first four points. The Knicks followed with the next 14 and led the rest of the way to snap a three-game home losing streak.
PACERS 122, RAPTORS 114
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Bennedict Mathurin scored 21 points and Buddy Hield added 19 to lead Indiana to their fourth consecutive victory.
Myles Turner had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Tyrese Haliburton added 16 points and eight assists for the Pacers. T.J. McConnell scored 15 off the bench.
Gary Trent Jr. scored 32 points and Pascal Siakam had 26 for Toronto. Scottie Barnes added 23.
MAVERICKS 111, ROCKETS 106
HOUSTON (AP) — Luka Doncic had 39 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists as Dallas rallied from an 18-point second half deficit to beat Houston for the Mavericks’ seventh straight win.
Doncic scored 29 of his points in the second half to lead the comeback. Doncic has scored at least 32 points in each of the last six games, including three 50-point games during that span.
Christian Wood added 21 points, and Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 21 points for Dallas, which has their longest winning streak since the 2010-11 season.
Kevin Porter Jr. had 25 points, Jalen Green added 20 points and Eric Gordon scored 19 points for the Rockets, who lost their fourth straight and seventh straight at home.
TIMBERWOLVES 124, NUGGETS 111
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 29 points, including 15 in the third quarter, to help Minnesota withstand a push by Denver.
Jaden McDaniels had 21 points and Kyle Anderson added 19 for Minnesota, which snapped a six-game losing streak and won its fourth in a row against Denver.
Nikola Jokic finished with 24 points, seven rebounds and nine assists for the Nuggets, and Jamal Murray added 14 points after a scoreless first half. Bones Hyland added 18 points off the bench, but Denver was undone by its sluggish start on the second game of a back-to-back following Sunday’s home win against Boston.
The Nuggets had won 10 of their previous 12 games.
TRAIL BLAZERS 135, PISTONS 106
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Jerami Grant scored 36 points against his former team, Anfernee Simons added 30 and Portland cruised past Detroit.
Gary Payton II played 14 minutes in his Portland debut, finishing with seven points, four assists and two steals. The son of Hall of Fame guard Gary Payton missed the first 35 games this season following surgery for a core muscle injury. He signed with the Trail Blazers as a free agent after winning an NBA championship with Golden State last June.
Grant was 12 for 17 from the field, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range, and Payton’s debut buoyed a Blazers team that had lost four of five.
Damian Lillard had 19 points, 10 assists and four steals.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 21 points to lead the Pistons.
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