The San Antonio Spurs claimed their third straight win in the NBA by defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-111 at the AT&T Center.
Josh Richardson led the Spurs in scoring with 24 points off the bench, while Keldon Johnson (21 points), Tre Jones (15 points), and Devin Vassell (16 points) all contributed to the Spurs’ ninth win of the season.
The first quarter was mostly end-to-end, with the Spurs only leading by two points. However, the young team were out of the blocks early in the second quarter, racing to a 28-12 score to finish with a sixteen-point lead.
The lead increased to 19 early in the third quarter, but the Cavaliers rallied, closing the quarter with a 13-point deficit.
Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers’ fourth quarter fightback after missing the last two games with a lower leg injury. The Eastern Conference team reduced the lead to just 2 points with less than a minute to go.
Mitchell’s 28 points, however, were insufficient, as the Spurs finished the match with a one-point lead thanks to a clutch time block by Keldon Johnson and a missed corner three by Cavaliers guard Darius Garland.
Garland ended the game with 18 points, while Caris LeVert came on as a substitute to supply 23 points, but the Cavaliers slumped to their eleventh defeat of the season.
In the other games, the Boston Celtics lost two games in a row for just the second time this season in their 113-93 blowout defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers at the Crypto Arena.
Kawhi Leonard’s season-high 25 points and Paul George’s 26 points were sufficient to hand the Clippers their sixteenth win of the season, placing them seventh in the Western Conference standings.
The Celtics duo of Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown could only muster 41 points, while Marcus Brogdon came off the bench with 18 points.
The Boston Celtics still remain atop the Eastern Conference with 21 wins and will face their famous rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, in their next game.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tied his season high with 42 points in the OKC Thunders’ 121-114 loss to the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Arena.
Luka Doncic led the Mavericks in scoring with his 14th double-double of the season, finishing the game with 38 points and 11 rebounds along with 8 assists.
Spencer Dinwiddie (20 points) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (20 points) were also instrumental in the Mavericks’ fourteenth win of the season.
Other Results:
Indiana Pacers 82 – 87 Miami Heat
Washington Wizards 100 – 112 Brooklyn Nets
Memphis Grizzlies 128 – 103 Atlanta Hawks
