NBA Capsules: LeBron James, Cavs begin reboot with win over Hawks

ATLANTA – LeBron James had a triple-double and Kyle Korver scored a season-high 30 points, including four straight 3-pointers to close the third period, as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Atlanta Hawks 123-107 on Friday night for a successful start to their reboot.

One day after unloading six players, including guards Isaiah Thomas and Dwyane Wade, in three trades, the Cavaliers were in a state of transition. They had only nine available players against the Hawks, but Korver more than made up for a short bench.

Korver, the former Hawks fan favorite, made 7 of 13 from 3-point range and finished two points from matching his career high of 32.

James had 22 points, 17 assists and 12 rebounds. Jeff Green, also coming off the bench, had 24 points.

Newcomers George Hill, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr. and Rodney Hood joined the Cavs, but remained in the locker room during the game. They are expected to make their debuts with Cleveland on Sunday in Boston.

Trail Blazers 118, Kings 100

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Damian Lillard scored 22 of his season-high 50 points in the third quarter, and Portland beat Sacramento.

Lillard scored at will, making 16 of 26 shots – including eight 3-pointers – and all 10 of his free-throw attempts. He reached the half-century mark by the end of the third period and sat the entire fourth.

Lillard, who also had six assists, joined teammate CJ McCollum and Houston’s James Harden as the only players to score 50 points through three quarters this season.

Willie Cauley-Stein had 19 points and six rebounds, and Zach Randolph added 17 points and nine boards for Sacramento.

Heat 91, Bucks 85

MIAMI – Dwyane Wade returned with a quiet game, but his mere presence got a rise out of Heat fans, and teammates Hassan Whiteside and Tyler Johnson led the way as Miami snapped a five-game losing streak and capped a celebratory night.

Wade came off the bench to score three points on 1-of-6 shooting with two assists, one rebound, a key late block, and four turnovers in 22 minutes in his first game since being acquired in a trade from Cleveland on Thursday. Wade played 13 seasons and won three NBA championships with the Heat before leaving as a free agent for Chicago in 2016.

Johnson scored 19 points and Whiteside scored 12 points and had 16 rebounds. Bam Adebayo added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Josh Richardson chipped in 16 points for Miami.

All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a game-high 23 points to lead the Bucks, who lost for just the second time in nine games under interim head coach Joe Prunty.

Clippers 108, Pistons 95

DETROIT – Lou Williams scored 26 points, and Los Angeles handed former teammate Blake Griffin his first loss with Detroit.

It was a bit of an off night for Griffin, who scored 19 points but shot 7 of 19 from the field. The whole Detroit team faded down the stretch. The Pistons led 80-77 after three quarters but scored only 15 points in the fourth.

Detroit had won five in a row, with Griffin playing in four of those games.

Tobias Harris scored 12 points and Avery Bradley had 10. They were the key players the Clippers acquired in last week’s deal that sent Griffin to Detroit.

Austin Rivers scored 16 points for Los Angeles in his first game back from a right ankle injury.

Jazz 106, Hornets 94

SALT LAKE CITY – Donovan Mitchell scored 25 points, and Utah extended its league-best winning streak to eight.

The streak is Utah’s longest since winning nine in a row in 2010.

Joe Ingles scored a career-high 23 points with six assists and five rebounds for the Jazz. Rudy Gobert added 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Kemba Walker scored 19 points for the Hornets, who lost three straight to conclude their four-game Western Conference trip.

Bulls 114, Timberwolves 113

CHICAGO – Zach LaVine scored 35 points against his former team, and the Bulls spoiled Jimmy Butler’s return to Chicago.

Butler scored 38 to finish one shy of a season high. But the Bulls rallied from 17 down to snap a seven-game losing streak.

LaVine came up big down the stretch, scoring eight in the final 1:11. He nailed three free throws after getting fouled by Butler to put Chicago ahead with 18.4 seconds left.

Andrew Wiggins scored 18, Karl-Anthony Towns added 14 points and 10 rebounds and Gibson scored 10 for the Timberwolves, who came up short again after losing in overtime to Cleveland on Wednesday.

Rockets 130, Nuggets 104

HOUSTON – James Harden scored 28 points, Clint Capela added 23 points with a career-high 25 rebounds and Houston never trailed in a lopsided win over Denver.

Harden had 11 assists and seven rebounds as Houston won its seventh straight and 11th of 12.

The Rockets had a double-digit lead for most of the game and held an advantage of 20 points or more throughout most of the second half. Harden didn’t play in the third quarter, and Capela and the rest of the starters sat down for good with about nine minutes left and the game out of hand.

Trey Lyles scored 24 points off the bench to lead the Nuggets, who had a three-game winning streak snapped.

Pacers 97, Celtics 91

BOSTON – Victor Oladipo scored 35 points and helped Indiana recover after blowing a 26-point lead to beat Boston.

Miles Turner scored 19 and the Pacers got 13 points each from Bojan Bogdanovic and Thaddeus Young while ending a five-game losing streak against the Celtics, who could not sustain a furious comeback in the second half.

Kyrie Irving led Boston with 21 points. Jaylen Brown added 16 points and Al Horford scored all 10 of his points in the second half and pulled down eight rebounds for the Celtics.

Boston had won five of six, but struggled from outside most of the night and finished 7 for 27 from 3-point range.

76ers 100, Pelicans 82

PHILADELPHIA – Joel Embiid scored 24 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, and Dario Saric had 24 points and four 3s as Philadelphia rolled over New Orleans.

Embiid, a game-time decision with a sore ankle, hit his first six shots from the floor and scored 16 points in the first quarter, two more than the Pelicans.

Embiid recorded his 27th double-double of the season by halftime, with 20 points on 9-for-11 shooting and 10 rebounds. He now has a double-double in seven straight games, matching his season high.

Anthony Davis led New Orleans with 14 points on 6-for-19 shooting.