NBA game roundup: Hot start carries Cavs

CLEVELAND — After racing out to a 21-0 lead over the stumbling Charlotte Hornets, the Cavaliers held on for a 97-88 victory Monday night, Cleveland’s ninth consecutive win within the Eastern Conference.

The Cavaliers became the first team in more than 10 years to score the first 21 points of a game. The last team to do it was the Portland Trail Blazers, who began a game with a 22-0 lead on the Boston Celtics on Feb. 21, 2004.

Cleveland forward LeBron James had 27 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds, and forward Kevin Love had 22 points and a season-high 18 rebounds.

The Hornets missed their first 10 shots and didn’t score until center Al Jefferson hit a long jumper with 5:34 left in the first quarter, drawing heavy boos from a home crowd that was enjoying the shutout.

Celtics 105, 76ers 87

PHILADELPHIA — Kelly Olynyk scored a career-high 30 points off the bench as Boston blasted Philadelphia.

Guard Avery Bradley added 15 points for Boston, which snapped a three-game losing streak with its most one-sided victory of the season. Celtics forwards Brandon Bass and Jeff Green had 14 apiece.

Philadelphia, now 0-13 at home and 2-22 overall, was led by rookie center Nerlens Noel, who posted a career-high 19 points. The Sixers’ home start is the worst for an NBA team since Dallas dropped its first 19 in 1993-94.

Pacers 110, Lakers 91

INDIANAPOLIS — Guard/forward C.J. Miles came off the bench to score 16 of his 20 points during a dominating first half, and Indiana crushed Los Angeles to end an eight-game losing streak.

Guard Rodney Stuckey had 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for Indiana. Guard Donald Sloan added 17 for the Pacers, who scored 100 points or more for only the fifth time this season. The Pacers’ skid was their longest since an 11-game run during the 2006-2007 season.

The Lakers, who were playing their third road game in four nights, missed 17 of their first 20 field-goal attempts, and the Pacers built a 34-15 lead after 12 minutes. Guard Kobe Bryant paced Los Angeles with 21 points.

Hawks 93, Bulls 86

ATLANTA — Center Al Horford did a little bit of everything, scoring, rebounding and even leading fast breaks, to lift Atlanta to an exciting win over Chicago at Philips Arena.

Horford finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and point guard Jeff Teague made two free throws with 10.8 seconds to play to seal the Hawks’ 10th win in 11 games.

Guard Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 22 points, and Derrick Rose added 14 points and eight assists as Chicago saw its three-game winning streak snapped.

Raptors 95, Magic 82

TORONTO — Guard Lou Williams came off the bench to score 18 points, and Toronto defeated Orlando.

It was the third win in a row for the Raptors, who defeated the Magic in a 10th consecutive meeting.

Guard Kyle Lowry added 17 points and eight assists for the Raptors. Forward Amir Johnson scored 11 points, and reserve forward Patrick Patterson added 10.

Toronto center Jonas Valanciunas had a team-high eight rebounds and scored six points.

Bucks 96, Suns 94

PHOENIX — Milwaukee forward Khris Middleton hit an off-balance, 25-foot bank shot just before the final buzzer and the Bucks rallied from 10 points down in the final eight minutes to hand Phoenix its sixth straight loss.

Forward Markieff Morris scored 25 points and put the Suns ahead 94-93 on a 15-footer with 3.5 seconds left.

The Bucks lost forward Jabari Parker to a sprained left knee in the third period. Parker’s knee buckled inward as he drove to the basket in transition, and he fell to the ground in pain before being carried off the floor by his teammates.

The Suns had won 20 of 21 meetings with Milwaukee in Phoenix, and had won 39 of the last 46 games against the Bucks overall.

Trail Blazers 108, Spurs 95

PORTLAND, Ore. — Guard Damian Lillard and forward LaMarcus Aldridge scored 23 points apiece, and Portland downed San Antonio at the Moda Center.

Lillard grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds to go with six assists. Aldridge grabbed 14 boards for the Trail Blazers, who led almost the entire way.

Forward Kawhi Leonard collected 21 points and nine rebounds for the Spurs (17-8), who played without three starters. Center Aron Baynes and guard Kyle Anderson each added 15 points for the losers.

Clippers 113, Pistons 91

LOS ANGELES — Forward Blake Griffin scored 18 points and center DeAndre Jordan added 16 points and 15 rebounds, and Los Angeles hammered Detroit at Staples Center.

Reserve guard Jordan Farmar finished with 15 points and five assists, shooting guard J.J. Redick had 14 points and point guard Chris Paul finished with 11 points and eight assists for Los Angeles (17-7), which had six players score in double figures. The Clippers, who snapped a two-game losing streak, also defeated the Pistons (5-20) for the eighth consecutive time and 10 in the past 11 meetings.

Reserve guard Jodie Meeks scored 20 points to lead Detroit, which had its two-game winning streak end. Center Andre Drummond finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Center Greg Monroe came off the bench to score 15 points and pull down eight rebounds, but he committed five turnovers.

Griffin, who also had seven rebounds and seven assists in three quarters, passed Danny Manning for fifth on the franchise’s all-time scoring list with a 3-pointer with 27.8 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Griffin has 7,122 career points.