SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Kyrie Irving scored 30 points, and LeBron James added 25 points and 11 rebounds to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 120-111 win over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.
James, making his final appearance at Sleep Train Arena before Sacramento opens a new facility, grabbed four of his rebounds on the offensive glass, the last one leading to a four-point play when Kevin Love nailed a 3-pointer while fouled by Sacramento’s Darren Collison. That extended the Cavaliers’ lead to 115-108, and J.R. Smith put the contest away with a 3-pointer on Cleveland’s next possession.
James’ 3-pointer also kick-started a 13-4 fourth-quarter run that helped hold off the Kings in the arena where he made his NBA debut on Oct. 29, 2003. James played 37 minutes and added six assists as the Cavaliers (45-18) rebounded from an 106-103 loss to the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.
Tristan Thompson contributed 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Cleveland moved 2 1/2 games ahead of the Toronto Raptors atop the Eastern Conference.
Center DeMarcus Cousins finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds for Sacramento (25-38) but also picked up a technical foul to help fuel Cleveland’s decisive run. Cousins has a league-high 15 technical fouls, leaving him one short of an automatic one-game suspension.
Rudy Gay scored 19 points, and Darren Collison added 15 for the Kings. Sacramento lost for the third straight time overall and for the fourth consecutive time on its home floor.
The Kings scored eight straight points after falling behind 109-100, but Love’s two free throws stopped the run prior to his four-point play.
Love finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for Cleveland, which also got 15 points from J.R. Smith. Omri Casspi had 13 points for Sacramento, and guard Rajon Rondo scored 11 points and handed out six assists.
NOTES: Kings G Marco Belinelli (back spasms) missed only his third game, but all of the absences were in their past 17 games. C Kosta Koufos has missed only two games and leads Sacramento with 61 games played. … Cleveland F LeBron James will square off against Los Angeles Lakers F Kobe Bryant for the final time Thursday (if Bryant is healthy) when the two teams face off at the Staples Center. The two have gone head-to-head 22 previous times, including six times when James was in Miami, and James’ teams have won 16. James has averaged 28.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.0 assists in those meetings, while Bryant has gone for 23.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists. … C Tristan Thompson played his 351st straight game, tying G Austin Carr for the second-longest ironman streak in Cavaliers history. C/F Jim Chones (361) holds the mark. … Seven of Sacramento’s next nine games are against teams below .500.