BOSTON — LeBron James scored 36 points and pulled down 10 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers dominated Boston and pulled one game ahead of the Celtics at the top of the Eastern Conference standings with a 114-91 victory Wednesday night.
Kevin Love finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds, and Kyrie Irving added 19 points for Cleveland, which dominated the highly anticipated showdown for the No. 1 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.
The blowout clinched the season series 3-1 for the Cavaliers, who hold the head-to-head tiebreaker if Boston catches Cleveland again over the final four games.
The Cavaliers outscored the Celtics inside 58-48 and pulled down 51 rebounds to Boston’s 38. Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics with 26 points.
Thunder 103, Grizzlies 100
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Russell Westbrook finished a rebound shy of setting an NBA record for most triple-doubles in season, but his 45 points and 10 assists paced Oklahoma City to victory over Memphis.
Westbrook had his streak of seven consecutive triple-doubles snapped a night after tying Oscar Robertson’s single-season record of 41 triple-doubles in a season. Westbrook needs six assists in the Thunder’s remaining four games to average a triple-double for the season.
The Grizzlies lost their third straight to fall 3 1/2 games behind sixth-place Oklahoma City in the Western Conference. Marc Gasol led Memphis with 23 points, and Zach Randolph added 20 points and nine rebounds.
Rockets 110, Nuggets 104
HOUSTON — James Harden recorded his 61st double-double and delivered a scoring flurry down the stretch to carry Houston to victory and a season sweep of Denver.
Harden finished with 31 points and 10 assists and scored 15 consecutive points for the Rockets to keep them afloat in a tense fourth quarter. Houston clinched the third seed in the Western Conference.
Danilo Gallinari led the Nuggets with 23 points. Nikola Jokic tallied 12 points, 19 rebounds, nine assists and five steals for Denver, which dropped one game behind Portland for the eighth and final postseason slot in the West.
Heat 112, Hornets 99
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Goran Dragic had 33 points on 13-of-21 shooting as Miami remained in the hunt for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot with a victory over Charlotte.
James Johnson added 26 points, hitting 6 of 7 3-point attempts for the Heat while Hassan Whiteside had 13 points and 20 rebounds. The Heat are in a three-way tie for seventh with Chicago and Indiana in the East, but eighth because of tiebreakers.
Nicolas Batum scored 24 points for the Hornets, who have all but lost hope for the playoffs now that they are 2 1/2 games behind those three teams.
Raptors 105, Pistons 102
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Kyle Lowry erupted for 27 points and 10 assists in his first game since the All-Star break, and Toronto erased a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter to down Detroit.
The All-Star point guard missed 21 games because of a right wrist injury that required surgery. Jonas Valanciunas had 19 points, Cory Joseph supplied 15 and DeMar DeRozan contributed 12 points and 10 assists despite 5-for-17 shooting from the field.
The Raptors moved a half-game ahead of the Washington Wizards for the third-best record in the Eastern Conference. Ish Smith and Tobias Harris had 16 points apiece for the Pistons, who lost for the 10th time in 12 games.
Lakers 102, Spurs 95
SAN ANTONIO — Tyler Ennis scored 19 points to lead five Los Angeles players in double figures as the Lakers rolled past San Antonio.
Jordan Clarkson added 16 and Larry Nance Jr. hit for 15 for Los Angeles, which won for the second straight game against a team that clinched a playoff berth. Julius Randle scored 11 points and David Nwaba hit for 10 for the Lakers.
Tony Parker and Davis Bertans led the Spurs with 14 points apiece. Kawhi Leonard and Pau Gasol added 11 each for San Antonio, which was outrebounded 47-37.