CLEVELAND — LeBron James shook off a blow to the face and scored 23 points in the fourth quarter Wednesday night – including 18 straight for Cleveland – as the Cavaliers won their sixth straight, 119-109 against the Brooklyn Nets.

James needed stitches in the third quarter to close a gash above his lip that drew blood. He punched back at the Nets in the fourth and finished with 33 points.

With the Cavs up 100-99, James began his one-man show with a pair of free throws. He dropped in a couple of left-handed shots and then drained two 3-pointers – the last a step-back with 55 seconds left to give Cleveland a 118-107 lead.

James’ solo performance enabled the Cavs to avenge a 112-107 loss in Brooklyn last month.

Kevin Love and Dwyane Wade added 18 points apiece for Cleveland.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 20 and Joe Harris 18 for the Nets, who could do nothing in the final 12 minutes to stop James.

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James went to the locker room with the laceration to his face in the third after he appeared to take an elbow from Tyler Zeller in the lane. While James was off the floor, the Nets extended their lead to six on a 3-pointer by Allen Crabbe.

But shortly after James returned with some stitches and puffiness around his mouth, Cleveland went on an 8-0 run and headed to the fourth quarter tied at 77-all.

James took over from there, delivering another tour de force performance that didn’t seem likely when he was being treated by the medical staff and the Cavs playing sluggishly.

Cleveland built a nine-point lead in the first quarter and seemed ready to build on it when James made a surprising mistake.

Alone in the frontcourt for an uncontested dunk, James tried to showboat and rocketed the ball off the back of the rim, a miss that stunned the three-time champion and the crowd of 20,000-plus fans. James then forced a long 3-pointer on Cleveland’s next possession and before long the Nets were even at 20-all when Zeller made his first 3 of the season.

76ERS 101, TRAIL BLAZERS 81: Joel Embiid had 28 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks, and Philadelphia handled another Western Conference opponent with relative ease at home.

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Coming off a 21-point victory over Utah on Monday night, the 76ers scored the game’s first 16 points and held a double-digit lead most of the way.

Portland missed its first 13 shots before reserve Shabazz Napier hit a jumper with 5:01 left in the first quarter. The Blazers never got closer than eight. It was the Blazers’ lowest points total of the season, and the fewest that Philadelphia has allowed.

Damian Lillard had 30 points for Portland. He hit four of his six 3-pointers in less than four minutes, but three times the Sixers answered with a 3-pointer of their own.

THUNDER 109, WARRIORS 91: Russell Westbrook scored a season-high 34 points and added 10 rebounds and nine assists to help Oklahoma City roll past visiting Golden State.

It was Oklahoma City’s first win over the Warriors since Kevin Durant left the Thunder to join the Warriors after the 2015-16 season. Golden State won all four meetings last season by an average of nearly 20 points.

PELICANS 109, SPURS 90: Anthony Davis had 29 points and 11 rebounds, Demarcus Cousins added 24 points and 15 rebounds, and New Orleans beat visiting San Antonio.

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ROCKETS 125, NUGGETS 95: Trevor Ariza had a season-high 25 points as Houston won at home.

Ariza was 7 of 10 from 3-point range. Chris Paul had 23 points and 12 assists, and James Harden added 21 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in limited action.
The Rockets have won 9 of 10, and beat Denver for the fifth straight time after sweeping the series 4-0 last season.

KNICKS 108, RAPTORS 100: Tim Hardaway Jr. scored a career-high 38 points, including 12 during a 28-0 run in the third quarter that sent New York to a win at home.

Kristaps Porzingis added 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, who outscored the Raptors 41-10 in the third.

CLIPPERS 116, HAWKS 103: Blake Griffin had 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, Wesley Johnson scored a season-high 24 points and visiting Los Angeles snapped a nine-game skid.

HORNETS 129, WIZARDS 124: Dwight Howard had 26 points and 13 rebounds, including a key block at the end of regulation and a crucial offensive rebound in overtime, in the Charlotte’s home win.

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Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb each had 24 points for the Hornets, who overcame a nine-point fourth quarter deficit. The Hornets wrapped up a perfect three-game homestand.
John Wall had 31 points and 11 assists, and Bradley Beal added 22 points for the Wizards.

TIMBERWOLVES 124, MAGIC 118: Jimmy Butler tied a season high with 26 points, Taj Gibson scored a season-high 24, and Minnesota held off visiting Orlando.

NOTES

CLIPPERS: Guard Patrick Beverley is expected to miss the rest of the season after arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

The Clippers said Beverley had surgery in Houston to repair a lateral meniscus.

Acquired in the offseason deal that sent Chris Paul to Houston, Beverley, 29, appeared in 11 games for the Clippers, averaging 12.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.73 steals and 30.3 minutes. He averaged 9.5 points and 4.2 assists last season for the Rockets.

NUGGETS: Denver is exploring options to repair All-Star Paul Millsap’s torn ligament in his left wrist amid concerns he’ll need surgery that will sideline him until late February.

Coach Mike Malone said the Nuggets were unsure how bad Millsap’s injury was and Millsap is “going to talk to some other doctors, get some other opinions before we make a decision on what the best course of action is.”

But Malone appears to be bracing for an extended absence.


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