Cavs serve vengeance on Celtics, Wemby and Joker note triple-doubles

Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers avenged a heartbreaking loss with a 115-111 victory over Boston on Sunday in a matchup of the NBA's top teams. Mitchell scored 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Cavs rallied from 14 points down in the second half to defeat the reigning NBA champions. Truth be told, the Celtics were without starting guards Jaylen Brown due to illness and Derrick White with a sprained right foot.

Road to BAL: Thunder stay perfect ahead of crucial semis

The Cavaliers started the season 15-0 but suffered their first loss at Boston last month by 120-117 and dropped their two prior games, both losses to Atlanta, before staging a fightback home triumph.

"For us we've got to go out there and make a statement. They beat us in the NBA Cup. No excuse. We've got to go out there and try to build. We had two losses that really hurt. We weren't playing like ourselves. We needed this win," said the popular Spida.

The Cavs improved to 18-3 to stay atop the Eastern Conference while the Celtics fell to 16-4 as Cleveland snapped Boston's seven-game win streak. Cleveland led 51-49 at half-time but the Celtics dominated the third quarter for an 84-72 lead entering the fourth, Jayson Tatum scoring 17 of his 33 points in the third period to lead Boston.

Mitchell responded in the fourth, making a floater that gave the Cavs a 103-101 lead with 67 seconds remaining and concluded his run of 11 consecutive Cavaliers points. Darius Garland, who had 22 points, joined Mitchell in hitting key free throws late to clinch the victory.

In a battle between the Western Conference leaders, Fred VanVleet scored a season-high 38 points to lead the Houston Rockets over visiting Oklahoma City 119-116. Houston improved to 15-6 but the Thunder, led by 32 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, fell to 15-5.

French star Victor Wembanyama had a triple double with 34 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists to spark the San Antonio Spurs to a 127-125 victory at Sacramento. At Salt Lake City, Anthony Davis had 33 points and 11 rebounds while LeBron James added 27 points and 14 assists to lead the Los Angeles Lakers over Utah 105-104.

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Also with a triple double was three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic, who produced 28 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in a losing cause as James Harden had 30 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Clippers over visiting Denver 126-122.

Luka Doncic, back after missing five games with a wrist injury, had game highs of 36 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds to lead Dallas to a 137-131 victory at Portland. The Mavericks won without Kyrie Irving (sore shoulder) and Klay Thompson (left foot injury).

Road to BAL: Thunder stay perfect ahead of crucial semis

Orlando's win streak stretched to six games as Franz Wagner scored 20 points, grabbed nine rebounds and passed off eight assists to power the Magic (15-7) over host Brooklyn 100-92. Mikal Bridges scored 31 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 14 points and 19 rebounds to spark the host New York Knicks over New Orleans 118-85. Toronto's R.J. Barrett scored 37 points and Toronto beat visiting Miami 119-116 while Jaren Jackson led Memphis with 25 points as the host Grizzlies beat Indiana 136-121.

NBA RESULTS

Cleveland Cavaliers 115 - Boston Celtics 111

New York Knicks 118 - New Orleans Pelicans 85

Toronto Raptors 119 - Miami Heat 116

Houston Rockets 119 - Oklahoma City Thunder 116

Utah Jazz 104 - Los Angeles Lakers 105

Portland Trail Blazers 131 - Dallas Mavericks 137

Sacramento Kings 125 - San Antonio Spurs 127

Los Angeles Clippers 126 - Denver Nuggets 122

© Agence France-Presse