CLEVELAND – Darius Garland equaled his best record of the season with 21 points and rookie power forward Evan Mobley added 16 and seven rebounds to guide the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 98-78 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday.
Mobley, the third overall pick in the draft, also added three caps, two steals and a pair of triples to win his first game against point guard Cade Cunningham, who was drafted in the first overall shift.
Cunningham had nine points, six rebounds and his best record of the season with seven steals.
Cedi Osman scored 17 points, while Jarrett Allen had 11 and seven rebounds for the Cavaliers. Cleveland held a 27-point lead early in the fourth quarter to return home with their loosest victory of the season.
Cleveland won five of six to improve to 8-5.
Mobley is averaging 15.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks, while Cunningham is averaging 12 points and 2.8 assists shooting 30.5%. They will meet again three more times this season.
THUNDER 105
KINGS 103
OKLAHOMA CITY.- Lu Dort stole the ball from De’Aaron Fox, advanced and scored on a layup with 1.7 seconds remaining, for the Oklahoma Thunder to beat the Sacaramento Kings 105-103 this Friday.
Former University of Oklahoma star Buddy Hield missed a triple just as the buzzer sounded, which could have given Sacramento the win.
The Thunder overcame an 18-point deficit in the second half to win their fourth straight game.
Dort and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 22 points, while Darius Bazley added 15 and grabbed eight rebounds for the Thunder.
Harrison Barnes had 21 points, while Richaun Holmes added 16 and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Kings, who have lost four in a row.
PHOENIX 119
MEMPHIS 94
MEMPHIS, Tennessee.- Devin Booker and Jae Crowder scored 17 points per head, and the Phoenix Suns dominated the Memphis Grizzlies from start to finish, to crush them this Friday 119-94.
Chris Paul added 15 points and 12 assists for Phoenix to spin off his seventh win.
Mikal Bridges added 13 points to the cause of the reigning Western Conference champions, who controlled the game and were never at a disadvantage. The Suns have a double-digit lead from late in the first quarter to the final honk.
Ja Morant led Memphis with 26 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, while Jaren Jackson Jr. had 19 points. The Grizzlies made 38% of their shots, including seven of 33 3-pointers.
Phoenix’s defense was the main cause of Memphis’s lousy first half on the shot.
CHARLOTTE 104
NEW YORK 96
CHARLOTTE, NC – Miles Bridges scored 24 points with some spectacular dunks and spins, and the Charlotte Hornets erased an 18-point deficit to beat the New York Knicks 104-96 on Friday.
Point guard LaMelo Ball had the best record of his career with 17 rebounds, accompanied by 12 points and nine assists.
Gordon Hayward added 22 points and seven assists and Terry Rozier contributed 18 for the Hornets, who edged the Knicks 34-21 in the third quarter for their second win in the most recent seven games.
Kemba Walker ended his offensive slump against his former team, scoring 26 points on 9-of-19 shooting for the Knicks, who lost five of the last seven.
It seemed like Walker, the Hornets’ leading scorer, was going back in time with a night to remember at the Spectrum Center after scoring 17 points in the first quarter with four 3-pointers. The Knicks thus took a 34-18 lead.
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