CHARLOTTE, N.C. — LeBron James had 32 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and the Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back from their worst defensive outing of the season with a 112-105 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.

Kyrie Irving added 26 points and Kevin Love had 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Cavaliers snapped Charlotte’s three-game winning streak and remained atop the Eastern Conference standings.

Charlotte was led by Kemba Walker, who had 28 points on five 3-pointers. Cody Zeller added 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The Cavaliers did it with defense. After allowing 73 first-half points – and 70 in the paint – in a 126-113 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night, the Cavaliers held the Hornets to 42 percent shooting from the field. It was a welcome change for Cavaliers Coach Tyronn Lue, whose team had allowed its previous four opponents to shoot better than 50 percent from the field.

WIZARDS 129, NETS 108: John Wall scored 22 points despite dealing with migraine headache symptoms earlier in the day, Bradley Beal added 19 points and host Washington cruised past Brooklyn.

Brandon Jennings had 18 points, one of three bench players to score in double-figures as the third-place Wizards moved a game ahead of idle Toronto in the Eastern Conference.

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PACERS 125, NUGGETS 117: Nikola Jokic had 31 points, 17 rebounds and a big 3-pointer to turn back a late Indiana rally, and Denver won in Indianapolis.

Wilson Chandler scored 12 of his 24 points in the opening quarter, and Danilo Gallinari added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets.

MAGIC 115, PISTONS 87: Elfrid Payton had 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in his fourth triple-double of the season, Terrence Ross scored 18 points and Orlando routed Detroit in Orlando, Florida.

It was another costly defeat for the Pistons, who entered the night just one game out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference but suffered their third straight loss and sixth in their last seven games.

76ERS 117, BULLS 107: Rookies Dario Saric and Shawn Long had career highs in scoring, leading Philadelphia to a win in Chicago

Saric scored 32 points, extending his double-digit points streak to 22 games, the longest by a rookie this season. He added 10 rebounds. Long, playing in his ninth career game, had 18 points and seven rebounds.

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BUCKS 100, HAWKS 97: Giannis Antetokounmpo picked up his second straight double-double with 34 points and 13 rebounds, and host Milwaukee held on to beat Atlanta.

The Bucks, who have won 11 of 13 games, moved into a tie with Atlanta for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

The Hawks have lost six straight.

ROCKETS 117, PELICANS 107: James Harden scored 38 points, including eight down the stretch, and tied a career high with 17 assists to help Houston pull away for a victory over New Orleans in Houston.

The Pelicans had scored seven points in a row, capped by a 3-pointer from DeMarcus Cousins, to cut the lead to two with about two minutes left. Harden scored Houston’s first points in almost 21/2 minutes after that on a driving layup to extend the lead. After a bucket by Cousins on the other end, Harden made three free throws to leave the Rockets up 110-105 with about 90 seconds left.

NOTES

76ERS: Center Joel Embiid had minor surgery on his left knee to repair a torn meniscus.

Embiid should be able to transition to full weight-bearing workouts in about two weeks, according to a statement from Dr. Neal S. ElAttrache.


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