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No Headband, No Problem: James Helps Cavs Rout Mavs

Even without his trademark headband, LeBron James had 27 points and took over sole possession of the Cavaliers' career assists record as Cleveland beat the Dallas Mavericks 127-94 on Tuesday.

James was one of four players with more than 20 points for the Central Division-leading Cavaliers, who have won 12 of their last 13 games against Western Conference opponents and broke a 14-game losing streak in Texas.

Kyrie Irving scored 22 points, while Kevin Love had 21 points and 14 rebounds. J.R. Smith also scored 21 points and Timofey Mozgov, the other starter, had 17.

Chandler Parsons led Dallas with 18 points, while Monta Ellis had 17 and Amare Stoudemire 15. Dirk Nowitzki scored 13 points on only 3-of-10 shooting.

San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard had 24 points, 11 rebounds and matched a career high with five steals, as the Spurs withstood a second-half letdown to beat the Toronto Raptors 117-107 for their sixth straight victory.

Tony Parker added 23 points and nine assists, and Danny Green was 5 for 6 on 3-pointers in scoring 19 points for San Antonio.

Toronto lost its fourth straight despite 32 points from Kyle Lowry and 21 for DeMar DeRozan. Amir Johnson had 16 points and 14 rebounds.

In Indianapolis, reserve Rodney Stuckey had 34 points, six rebounds and seven assists as the Indiana Pacers beat the Orlando Magic 118-86 for their sixth straight victory.

Damjan Rudez scored 17 points, and Luis Scola added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the surging Pacers (29-34), who moved into sole possession of seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

Tobias Harris had 22 points and six rebounds, and Elfrid Payton finished with 14 points for the Magic, who have lost five of seven games.

New Orleans Pelicans moved within percentage points of eighth place in the Western Conference after Alexis Ajinca and Quincy Pondexter each scored 17 points in a 111-91 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Omer Asik had 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Pelicans in their third straight victory. Anthony Davis scored 15 points, a night after tying his career high with 43 in a win at Milwaukee.

Brook Lopez had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Nets, who broke to an early double-digit lead before losing their fourth straight.

In other games, Derrick Favors had 29 points and 12 rebounds as the Utah Jazz beat the New York Knicks 87-82, while the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Detroit Pistons 93-85 to end a five-game losing streak.

Source: Associated Press


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