Cavs, Warriors win, Bulls thump Thunder in NBA
The NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers put a disappointing January behind them on Wednesday, delivering an overwhelming offensive performance in a 125-97 triumph over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Kyrie Irving passed for a career-high 14 assists and added 14 points, and superstar LeBron James added 27 points and 12 assists for a Cavs team that struggled to a 7-8 record in the first month of the year.
The team's 37 total assists were a season high, and they scored their most points in a game since a December 7 home victory over the New York Knicks.
"Are we going to have 37 assists every night? No. We have to make shots still, but the way Kyrie was moving the ball, myself, got guys involved, guys felt good when the ball got to them and they just locked and loaded and shot," James said. "We have to continue to do a great job and see what happens."
James said at morning shoot-around he was focused on getting the current Cavs playing like a championship team, after calling on management to add a playmaker to fill a vacant roster spot.
The Cavaliers auditioned several free agents on Wednesday afternoon, although coach Tyronn Lue declined to comment on the chances any of them would be signed.
"We're just continuing to look at ways to get better," Lue said. "Just starting the process of looking and seeing what we can find. That's it."
Tristan Thompson scored 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Channing Frye scored 18 points starting in place of Kevin Love, who again sat out with a sore back.
While the Cavs lead the Eastern Conference at 33-15, they're nowhere near as dominant as the Golden State Warriors are in the West.
The Warriors pushed their league-leading record to 42-7 with a 126-111 romp past the Charlotte Hornets.
Stephen Curry drained six three-pointers in the first quarter, setting the tone for a 39-point performance. He and teammate Klay Thompson combined for 17 three-pointers total as the Warriors set club records for threes in a quarter with nine in the first period and threes in a half, with 15 before the interval.
They totaled 21 from beyond the arc for the contest as they easily won a rematch of their narrow win over the Hornets at Charlotte last Wednesday.
- Bulls stampede -
Chicago forward Jimmy Butler scored 28 points to lead the Bulls to a 128-100 victory over the Thunder in Oklahoma City.
Butler connected on 11 of 17 shots from the field and added five assists and four rebounds as the Bulls opened a six-game road trip with a win.
Dwyane Wade added 18 points with seven assists and Robin Lopez scored 14 as Chicago connected on 60.5 percent of their shots from the field -- 68.4 percent in the second half.
Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 28 points, but for the second straight game had to do without a triple-double, finishing with eight assists and five rebounds.
- Heat wave continues -
The Miami Heat notched their ninth straight victory, Goran Dragic leading the way with a game-high 27 points in a 116-93 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
"We just got better," Dragic said in explaining the sizzling form of a Heat team that despite the longest active winning streak in the league is still straggling at 20-30 for the season.
Tempers flared in the fourth quarter when Miami center Hassan Whiteside, trying to rise for a put-back basket after seizing an offensive rebound, was fouled by Taurean Prince.
Miami's James Johnson raced over and shoved Prince and both were ejected. After rising slowly, Whiteside stayed in the game, finishing with 18 points.
"I think (Whiteside) responded great," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He gathered himself emotionally and controlled what he could control, which was to beat them on the court."