Cavs crush Knicks in battle of East elite

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The Cleveland Cavaliers boosted their National Basketball Association (NBA)-best record with a 142-105 romp past the New York Knicks on Friday, tightening their grip on the Eastern Conference lead with an all-around dominant display.

Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points to lead six Cavs players to score in double figures, connecting on five of seven three-pointers as Cleveland drilled 19 from beyond the arc.

Cleveland out-scored the Knicks 66-38 in the paint and held a 23-6 edge in fast-break points, pushing their lead to as many as 42 on the way to a sixth straight victory.

Evan Mobley added 21 points and Jarrett Allen scored 10 before departing in the third quarter with a right hand injury.

Cleveland guard Darius Garland took a hard fall in the first half, striking his head on the court, but stayed in the game.

Jalen Brunson scored 16 of his 26 points in the first quarter for the Knicks but was held scoreless in the second period as the Cavs roared to a 77-50 halftime lead.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 23 points for New York, who are in third place in the East but fell to 0-6 this season against the three teams with the league’s best records: Cleveland, Boston and Oklahoma City.

“I think the biggest thing was just try to set the tone early,” Mitchell said, adding that the determination to dominate had nothing to do with the Knicks’ first-round playoff win over the Cavs two seasons ago and everything to do with the fact that they could yet meet in this postseason.

“For us, it’s about how do we continue to build and get better,” Mitchell said.

“So we’re trying to measure ourselves, and continue to do what we’ve been doing.”

Western Conference leaders Oklahoma City, stunned by a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves heading into the All-Star break last week, rebounded with a 130-107 victory over the Utah Jazz.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 points to lead six Thunder players in double figures. He added eight assists, two rebounds, three blocked shots and a steal in the wire-to-wire win.

It came down to the wire in Orlando, where Memphis star Ja Morant drove for a layup that tied it at 104-104 with 1:50 remaining and Desmond Bane delivered the decisive free-throw in the Grizzlies’ 105-104 victory over the Magic.

Morant scored 23 points while Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 16 apiece for the Grizzlies, with Jackson blocking a potential game-winner by Orlando’s Paolo Banchero at the buzzer.

In Houston, Jalen Green scored 35 points and Alperen Sengun added 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Rockets in a 121-115 victory over Minnesota.

Anthony Edwards scored 37 points for the Timberwolves, but was held to just three in the fourth quarter as the Rockets, who led by as many as 14 in the first quarter, clamped down defensively to win a game that featured 20 lead changes.

Kyle Kuzma, acquired by Milwaukee from the Wizards earlier this month, scored 19 points to lead the Bucks to a 104-101 victory over his former team in Washington.

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, limited by foul trouble, scored 18 points before fouling out with 3:37 left to play.

Khris Middleton, who arrived in Washington in the four-team deal that sent Kuzma to Milwaukee, scored 12 points against his former team in his Wizards debut.

Middleton’s three-pointer with 1:01 remaining pulled the Wizards within 102-101.

But Brook Lopez made a pair of free-throws and blocked a Middleton layup, and Middleton came up empty on a last-gasp three-point attempt.

The Dallas Mavericks, fueled by 35 points from Kyrie Irving, beat the New Orleans Pelicans 111-103 for a third straight victory.

Detroit’s Cade Cunningham scored 25 points and handed out 12 assists as the Pistons notched a fifth straight win, 125-110 over the San Antonio Spurs.