Cavaliers extend win streak to eight: LeBron saves day in overtime

DALLAS – LeBron James had 27 points and the go-ahead layup in overtime, Kyrie Irving added 22 points and some big 3-pointers and the Cleveland Cavaliers extended their winning streak to eight games with a 110-107 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.

James’ layup with a minute left in overtime pushed the Cavs ahead 106-105. After an attempted 3 by Deron Williams rattled out for Dallas, Irving beat the shot clock with a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

Cleveland never led until Irving made a 3-pointer with 10 minutes left in regulation to make it 75-74. That was the first of nine lead changes over a span of less than 4 minutes that Irving capped with another 3 to put the Cavs up 85-83.

Chandler Parsons led Dallas with a season-high 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting.

The game was tied at 95 after James made a drive through the Mavs for an emphatic two-handed slam with 20 seconds left in regulation, though he didn’t get the foul he wanted.

Dallas then had the ball in Dirk Nowitzki’s hands for a possible final shot to win in regulation, but Iman Shumpert stripped the ball free and the Cavs had less than a second after a timeout.

Shumpert had another similar play late in overtime, getting the ball away from Williams, who finished with 16 points and 10 assists.

Seven Cleveland players scored in double figures, while six Mavericks did.

James also had 10 rebounds, while Kevin Love finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds but shot just 5 of 19. Matthew Dellavedova had 12 points while JR Smith, Timofey Mozgov and Shumpert had 10 apiece for the Cavs.

Nowitzki had 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Zaza Pachulia had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Dallas scored the game’s first 10 points and went out to a 23-7 lead before Cleveland had a 15-0 run. But the Cavs never went ahead until the fourth quarter.

In New York, rookie forward Kristaps Porzingis poured in 26 points to lead the New York Knicks to a gritty 120-114 win over the Boston Celtics at the Madison Square Garden.

In other results, Indiana crushed Phoenix, 116-97; San Antonio repulsed Detroit, 109-99; Houston streaked past Memphis, 107-91; Milwaukee upended Chicago, 106-101; Oklahoma subdued Minnesota, 101-96; and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New Orleans Pelicans, 95-91.

Back in New York, the Knicks (20-20) won for the fifth time in their last seven games despite the loss of Carmelo Anthony, their leading scorer, who left the game with a sprained right ankle after a collision late in the first half with a referee.

The veteran small forward was having a good offensive night, finishing with 17 points, four rebounds and three assists in almost 18 minutes.