The Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday erased an 18-point deficit to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 133-129 in an overtime thriller and boost their league-best record with a 10th straight victory, as Boston defeated Denver in a clash of the past two champions.
De’Andre Hunter, getting a starting nod as Cavs star Donovan Mitchell rested, scored 18 of his game-high 32 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as Cleveland poured it on late to grab their 50th win of the season against 10 defeats.
“Made open shots, tried to get to the rim and get fouled,” Hunter said of his late-game heroics, which saw him give Cleveland the lead for good with a three-pointer that put them up 131-129 with 30.8 seconds remaining in overtime.
Photo: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Hunter, acquired from Atlanta at the trade deadline, then came up with a steal and grabbed a rebound when Portland’s Deni Avdija missed a three-pointer.
Finally Hunter drilled a pair of free-throws to seal the win.
“He carried us in every way,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “No way we get this win without him.”
Avdija led Portland with 30 points, and added 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double. Anfernee Simons scored 27 points for the Blazers, who led most of the first half in pursuit of a fifth straight win.
After Cleveland edged ahead 42-39 on Darius Garland’s jump shot, Portland closed the first half on a 15-0 scoring run that sent them to the locker room leading 54-42.
The Cavs pulled level at 101-101 with 5 minutes, 43 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and they traded the lead three more times before Simons made a pair of free throws that tied it at 119-119 to send it to overtime.
In Boston, the Celtics let a big lead get away before holding off the Nuggets 110-103.
Jaylen Brown scored 22 points and handed out eight assists to lead the reigning champions, who led by as many as 20 points in the third quarter only for Denver to pull within three points in the waning minutes.
Jamal Murray scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to key the comeback, his driving layup off a rebound pulling the Nuggets within 102-99 with 1:15 remaining.
NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic scored 20 points with 14 rebounds and nine assists for the 2023 champions the Nuggets, but the Celtics came up with the shots when they needed them to snap a two-game skid.
The Los Angeles Lakers led all the way in a 108-102 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, their sixth straight victory pushing them a hair ahead of the Nuggets for second place in the Western Conference.
Luka Doncic scored 29 points and Lakers superstar LeBron James, the league’s all-time leading scorer and the first to reach 40,000 regular-season points, scored 17 and is one point shy of becoming the first to score 50,000 points in the regular season and playoffs combined.
Jalen Williams scored a career-high 41 points to fuel Western Conference leaders Oklahoma City in a 146-132 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
Rookie Stephon Castle scored 32 points to lead the Spurs, who led at halftime, but could not keep pace after the break.
Williams said Oklahoma City’s defensive resolve was fortified by a third-quarter altercation between reserve Kenrich Williams and San Antonio’s Julian Champagnie that saw both players ejected along with the Thunder’s Luguentz Dort.
New York’s Jalen Brunson scored 31 points — including the go-ahead three-pointer with 2:27 left in overtime — to help the Knicks erase a 19-point deficit and beat the Heat 116-112 in Miami.
Elsewhere, the Raptors edged the Magic 104-102, the Pacers beat the Bulls 127-112, the Pelicans silenced the Jazz 128-121 and the Timberwolves eclipsed the Suns 116-98.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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