Cavaliers beat Spurs 113-101 behind Allen's 27 points
- - Cavaliers beat Spurs 113-101 behind Allen's 27 points
The December 30, 2025 at 6:20 AM
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San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) is fouled by Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (4) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Jarrett Allen had 27 points and 10 rebounds and the Cleveland Cavaliers held on to beat Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs 113-101 on Monday night.
Cleveland had seven players score in double figures. Evan Mobley scored 16 points and Darius Garland added 15 points and 11 assists.
Wembanyama had 26 points and 14 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season for the Spurs, who have lost two straight after winning eight consecutive games.
Stephon Castle scored 15 points for the Spurs and De’Aaron Fox 14 added points after a one-game absence due to tightness in his left adductor.
Both teams were coming off disappointing losses on Saturday, but the Cavaliers responded by snapping a two-game skid.
San Antonio had an eight-game winning streak ended in a 127-114 loss to Utah. Cleveland fell behind by 37 points on the way to a 117-100 loss to Houston.
The Cavaliers trailed by eight points in the third quarter before rallying in the fourth quarter against the Spurs.
Jaylen Tyson hit consecutive 3-pointers to give Cleveland an 87-82 lead two minutes into the final quarter. The lead swelled to 94-84 and the Spurs failed to rally as they did in the first half.
Cleveland took its first double-digit lead at 22-12 on a four-point play by De’Andre Hunter following a Luke Kornet foul on his 3-pointer in the right corner.
Hunter finished with 11 points and Kornet had 10.
Allen shot 6 for 12 while scoring 12 points in the first half, including a pair of buckets he blindly tossed behind him and off the backboard.
SUNS 115, WIZARDS 101
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dillon Brooks scored 26 points and Collin Gillespie added 25 to help Phoenix win its fourth game in a row beating Washington.
Devin Booker added 22 points for the Suns, who have won five of their last six and the first three on a four-game road trip.
Phoenix sank 17 of 40 3-pointers (42.5%) and led Washington 20-9 in offensive rebounds while moving six games above .500 (19-13) for the first time this season.
This victory came without center Mark Williams, who served a one-game suspension for his role in an on-court altercation in Saturday’s 129-114 win at New Orleans.
Rookie Tre Johnson scored a career-high 24 points for Washington, which failed in its bid to win three straight for the first time since Feb 1-5.
CJ McCollum added 17 points for the rebuilding Wizards, who entered Monday with the NBA’s second-worst record, but are 4-4 in their last eight.
BUCKS 123, HORNETS 113
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Bobby Portis shot 8 of 12 from the field and scored 25 points off the bench, Giannis Antetokounmpo added 24 points and seven assists and Milwaukee defeated Charlotte to earn back-to-back wins for the first time since late October.
Myles Turner added 23 points and Kevin Porter Jr. finished with 15 points and 11 assists for the Bucks, who last won consecutive games Oct. 28-30, against New York and Golden State.
Brandon Miller had 31 points and eight rebounds and LaMelo Ball added 26 points for the injury-riddled Hornets, who fell short in a bid for their first three-game win streak of the season.
Milwaukee won despite being outrebounded 47-31 by the smaller Hornets.
The Bucks trailed 66-63 at halftime before taking control in the third quarter by outscoring the Hornets 32-23. Charlotte closed within five points with three minutes to go before the Bucks took advantage of their size advantageand dumped the ball down low to Turner and Antetokounmpo for easy baskets.
Doc Rivers moved past George Karl into sole possession of sixth place with 1,176 career wins as a head coach.
HEAT 147, NUGGETS 123
MIAMI (AP) — Norman Powell scored 25 points and Miami pulled away in the second half to beat Denver in a game where the Nuggets saw superstar Nikola Jokic limp off the court with a knee injury.
The teams were tied at 63 at halftime, with Jokic getting hurt with about three seconds left before the intermission. Miami then scored 47 third-quarter points to take full control.
Nikola Jovic scored 22 points, Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 20 and Bam Adebayo returned from a two-game absence to grab 10 rebounds for the Heat, who had gone 1-15 in their last 16 games against Denver — the one win coming in five-game defeat to the Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals.
Denver had also won the last 11 regular-season matchups between the clubs and hadn’t lost a game in Miami since 2018.
But everything changed after halftime, with Jokic remaining in the locker room areas for evaluation.
Jokic still led the Nuggets in scoring with 21 points, along with eight assists and five rebounds. Jamal Murray scored 20 for Denver and Spencer Jones — who stepped on Jokic’s left foot on the play where the three-time MVP was injured — scored 16 for the Nuggets, as did Tim Hardaway Jr.
RAPTORS 107, MAGIC 106
TORONTO (AP) — Jamal Shead scored 19 points, Brandon Ingram added 17 and Toronto overcame a 21-point, second-quarter deficit to beat Orlando.
Gradey Dick scored 15 points and Scottie Barnes had 13 points and 11 rebounds as the Raptors rallied for the second straight day. Toronto beat Golden State in overtime on Sunday.
Orlando’s Anthony Black scored 16 of his 27 points in the third quarter. Paolo Banchero had 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for his fourth career triple-double but the Magic couldn’t win back-to-back games for the first time in almost a month.
Toronto fell behind by 21 points in the second and trailed by 10 after three before battling back in the fourth. The Raptors used 13-0 run to take a 105-102 lead with 3:26 remaining.
Banchero had a chance to win it for Orlando but couldn’t connect on a step-back 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 13 points, and Ochai Agbaji and Ja’Kobe Walter each had 10 for Toronto.
Banchero made nine of 19 shot attempts in his second triple-double of the season, including three of four from 3-point range.
WARRIORS 120, NETS 107
NEW YORK (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 27 points and Jimmy Butler finished with 21 as Golden State beat Brooklyn.
Curry shot 8 for 15 from the field while Butler went 11 for 12 from the free throw line for the Warriors, who bounced back from an overtime loss in Toronto in Sunday to win for the fourth time in five games.
Trayce Jackson-Davis added 11 points and Gary Payton II, De’Anthony Melton and Will Richard each chipped in 10.
Michael Porter Jr. had 27 points and rookie Egor Demin added 23 for the Nets, who had their three-game winning streak stopped.
Golden State was sluggish in the first quarter and trailed by as many as 13 points. The Warriors recovered to lead by two at halftime before Curry, who struggled to find his shot in the first half, scored 10 points to lead Golden State to an 89-85 lead at the end of the third quarter.
ROCKETS 126, PACERS 119
HOUSTON (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 30 points to lead Houston to a win over Indiana.
It’s the second straight 30-point game for Durant and his 10th this season, his first in Houston since a blockbuster summer trade from Phoenix.
Jabari Smith Jr. had 21 points with 10 rebounds and Amen Thompson added 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Rockets, who have won three in a row after dropping four of their previous five games during a tough road trip.
It’s the ninth consecutive loss for the Pacers, who have the NBA’s worst record at 6-27 with Tyrese Haliburton out all season with an Achilles injury.
The Rockets led by 27 to start the fourth and were up by 16 when coach Ime Udoka cleared the bench with 2 1/2 minutes to go.
Pascal Siakam had 23 points to lead the Pacers and Aaron Nesmith added 14 with four 3-pointers.
TIMBERWOLVES 136, BULLS 101
CHICAGO (AP) — Naz Reid scored a season-high 33 points off the bench, Anthony Edwards added 23, and Minnesota routed Chicago, which lost top scorers Coby White and Josh Giddey to injuries.
Julius Randle had 17 points as Minnesota pulled away in the third quarter in the opener of a four-game trip. Donte DiVincenzo and Bones Hyland scored 12 each as Minnesota shot 53.7% after a cold start.
Nikola Vucevic led Chicago with 23 points, but the depleted Bulls couldn’t keep pace and lost a second straight following a five-game winning streak that had lifted them back to .500. Chicago shot just 40.9%, and committed 16 turnovers compared to three by Minnesota.
White, Chicago’s leading scorer, exited with a right calf strain in the first quarter.
Giddey, Chicago’s second-leading scorer, walked off the court gingerly with an apparent left hamstring injury in the first minute of the second half after scoring 11 points.
KNICKS 130, PELICANS 125
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jalen Brunson capped a 28-point, 10-assist performance with a driving floater and a layup in the final 1:06, and New York surged in front late to beat New Orleans.
OG Anunoby had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Mohamed Diawara scored a career-high 18 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, who’ve won three straight.
Zion Williamson scored a season-high 32 points for the Pelicans, who lost their fourth straight. Saddiq Bey and Jordan Poole each scored 26 for New Orleans and Trey Murphy III added 21 points.
Neither team led by more than 10 in a game characterized by a lot of scoring in the first half before defensive play intensified in the second.
The Pelicans led 75-72 at halftime, when both teams were shooting 50% or better. With 3:36 left in the game, the score was tied at 117 after Poole and Brunson had exchanged 3s.
Brunson rebounded his own missed 3 and hit a running floater just inside the baseline to give New York a 124-121 lead with 1:06 to go.
THUNDER 140, HAWKS 129
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 39 points and Oklahoma City used a big third quarter to beat skidding Atlanta.
Chet Holmgren had 24 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, and Jalen Williams added 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the NBA-leading Thunder (28-5).
Gilgeous-Alexander scored the Thunder’s first eight points. He made 15 of 24 field goals and all seven of his foul shots. He scored at least 20 points for the 104th consecutive game.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 30 points and Onyeka Okongwu had 26 points and 14 rebounds for Atlanta (15-19), which has lost seven straight. The short-handed Hawks played without starters Trae Young (quad), Jalen Johnson (illness) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness).
The teams combined to shoot 86 3-pointers. The Hawks were 25 of 54 (46.3%), while the Thunder made 12 of 32 (37.5%). Oklahoma City scored 70 points in the paint compared to 36 for Atlanta.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 of the Thunder’s 35 first-quarter points. His three-point play with 3.4 seconds remaining pulled Oklahoma City even. But first cousin Alexander-Walker swished a 45-footer as time expired to put the Hawks in front 38-35.
TRAIL BLAZERS 125, MAVERICKS 122
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Deni Avdija had 27 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and Shaedon Sharpe added 24 points as Portland defeated Dallas.
Caleb Love also scored 24 for the Trail Blazers off the bench, including six 3-pointers.
Klay Thompson’s 3-point attempt to tie the game at the buzzer missed as Portland avoided blowing a 17-point lead.
Max Christie led the Mavericks with 25 points and Brandon Williams scored 22. Cooper Flagg had 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Portland led 95-84 with 1:30 left in the third quarter before the Mavericks went on a 9-2 run, capped by a running 3 with 0.7 seconds left by Thompson to make it 97-93.
Thompson then tied the game at 99 on a 3 with 9:35 remaining. With 6:56 to play, Christie gave the Mavericks their first lead of the second half at 106-105 on a 3-pointer.
The teams exchanged the lead eight times in the fourth quarter.
Source: “AOL Sports”
