AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Tobias Harris scored 21 points to help the Detroit Pistons snap a five-game losing streak by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-90 on Monday night while LeBron James sat out resting.
James missed his third game of the season, and Cleveland has lost all three. The Cavaliers had their five-game winning streak snapped on a night they never led.
UP next for Celtics
who: Memphis Grizzlies at Boston Celtics
when: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Television: CSN
Cleveland was playing its fifth game in seven days and coming off a thrilling win Sunday over Golden State. So James sat, and the Pistons took advantage.
Detroit scored the first eight points, led 50-44 at halftime and took control near the end of the third quarter. Harris and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made 3-pointers early in the fourth, and the Pistons led 82-65.
Kevin Love had 17 points and 14 rebounds for Cleveland.
There was some booing when James was announced as a scratch before the game. Although the crowd was certainly happy to see the Pistons play well, the atmosphere wasn’t quite as raucous as it surely would have been had Detroit routed the Cavs with Cleveland’s top player in the lineup.
The Pistons went 16 of 28 from 3-point range, and Andre Drummond had 11 points and 17 rebounds.
ROCKETS 131, SUNS 115: James Harden had 32 points and 12 assists in three quarters and Houston never trailed in a win at home. It was the 12th 30-point game this season for Harden, who made 12 of 15 free throws.
BULLS 90, PACERS 85: Dwyane Wade scored 21 points, Nikola Mirotic added a season-high 20 and Chicago survived a poor shooting performance for a victory over Indiana in Chicago to snap a three-game losing streak.
Jimmy Butler had 16 points despite making only 3 of 12 field-goal attempts. Chicago, which had dropped 9 of 12, was 32 for 83 (38.6 percent) from the field for the game.
MAGIC 112, GRIZZLIES 102: Aaron Gordon scored 30 points, and Serge Ibaka and Elfrid Payton had 16 apiece to help host Orlando beat Memphis.
Seven players reached double figures for the Magic. Nikola Vucevic had 13 points and nine rebounds, and Bismack Biyombo added 10 points and 12 rebounds.
WIZARDS 107, BUCKS 102: Otto Porter scored 32 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, John Wall had 18 points and a season-high 16 assists and Washington beat Milwaukee in Washington.
Bradley Beal scored 22 points as Washington turned the game around on a 15-2 fourth-quarter run. Markieff Morris added 18 in the Wizards’ sixth straight home win and seventh this season.
NETS 120, HORNETS 118: Randy Foye made a 3-pointer to beat the buzzer and give Brooklyn a victory over Charlotte in New York.
The Nets overcame the loss of Jeremy Lin and a 14-point deficit in the third quarter.
TIMBERWOLVES 104, HAWKS 90: Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Zach LaVine hit six 3-pointers to lead Minnesota to a win at home.
PELICANS 111, MAVERICKS 104: Anthony Davis had 28 points and 16 rebounds, and New Orleans won at home.
NOTES
OFFICIATING: The NBA said two calls were missed in the final moments of Cleveland’s win over Golden State on Sunday, and both aided the Cavaliers in what became their one-point victory.
The league said Cleveland’s James should have been assessed a technical foul for deliberately hanging on the rim after his dunk with 1:43 remaining, and that Cavaliers forward Richard Jefferson should have been called for fouling the Warriors’ Kevin Durant on the game’s final play.
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