nba roundup | Monday’s games

Cavaliers 119, Bulls 112

CLEVELAND

LeBron James scored 34 points in a rare start at point guard and the Cleveland Cavaliers, using another early season lineup, awakened after a sluggish first half and beat the Chicago Bulls. He added 13 assists, including a no-look, behind-the-back dish to Jae Crowder for a 3-pointer during Cleveland’s 15-3 spurt in the third quarter. Kevin Love had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Dwyane Wade, who asked Cavs coach Tyronn Lue to take him out of the starting lineup, came off the bench and added 11 points. Justin Holiday scored 25 and rookie Lauri Markkanen 19 for Chicago, which made a season-high 17 3-pointers. The Bulls ran to a 14-point lead before the second group — led by Wade and Jeff Green — got the Cavs back in it. Green finished with 16 points.

Celtics 110, Knicks 89

BOSTON

Jaylen Brown scored 23 points, Jayson Tatum added 22 and the Boston Celtics beat the New York Knicks. Kyrie Irving added 20 points and seven assists. Al Horford finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Enes Kanter led New York with 16 points and 19 rebounds. They shot just 42 percent and went 1 of 12 from the 3-point line. The Celtics played like a team coming off four days’ rest, taking as much as a 25-point lead late in the second quarter. New York never recovered. Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said before the game that Tim Hardaway Jr. had been playing through an ankle injury. He finished with six points, connecting on just 2 of his 11 shots.

Magic 125, Nets 121

ORLANDO, FLA.

Aaron Gordon scored a career-high 41 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 35 seconds remaining, and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic to a victory over the Brooklyn Nets. Evan Fournier added 28 points in game that went back and forth late in the fourth quarter. He finished the scoring with two free throws with 15.5 seconds to play. D’Angelo Russell scored 27 points for the Nets, while DeMarre Carroll had 19 and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 18. But Gordon, who sat out with an injury when the Nets beat Orlando in Brooklyn last week, and Fournier responded in the final three minutes of the third quarter to pull the Magic to 96-87 going into the fourth quarter.

Pacers 130, Timberwolves 107

MINNEAPOLIS

Victor Oladipo scored 28 points and Cory Joseph added 21 to lead the hot-shooting Indiana Pacers past the Minnesota Timberwolves. Darren Collison had 15 points and 16 assists, Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points and Domantas Sabonis had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who shot 67 percent from the floor. Karl-Anthony Towns had 28 points and seven rebounds for the Timberwolves, who came out flat after a thrilling last-second win at Oklahoma City on Sunday. Minnesota was missing forward Jimmy Butler, who sat out with an upper respiratory infection. The Pacers ended the third quarter on a 24-5 run to pull ahead 98-84. Then they buried Minnesota with a 14-2 run early in the fourth.

Associated Press