CLEVELAND — LeBron James couldn't get to 30,000 career points and he and his Cleveland teammates couldn't stop Paul George, Russell Westbrook or Carmelo Anthony as the Oklahoma City Thunder thumped the Cavaliers 148-124 on Saturday for their fourth straight win.
Oklahoma City tied the record for the most points scored against Cleveland in a regulation game. Philadelphia scored 148 back in 1972.
George scored 36, Westbrook had 23 and 20 assists and Anthony scored a season-high 29 as the Thunder embarrassed the Eastern Conference champions, whose defensive issues aren't improving. Cleveland has lost 10 of 14.
James finished with 18 points and is seven shy of becoming the seventh player in NBA history to reach the 30,000-point plateau. His next chance is Tuesday when the Cavs visit San Antonio.
James entered the fourth within reach of 30,000. But after he missed two shots, James was replaced with 6:37 remaining and the Cavs trailing 128-101. The 33-year-old wanted to make history in front of his home fans and family, but it wasn't to be and he dejectedly took a seat on the bench as the Thunder finished off the rout.
James will eventually get to 30,000 and join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points), Karl Malone (36,928), Kobe Bryant (33,643), Michael Jordan (32,292), Wilt Chamberlain (31,419) and Dirk Nowitzki (30,808) on the select list.
The Thunder wanted no part of seeing that ceremony and tore up the Cavaliers, whose rollercoaster season is on a steady, accelerating descent.
Oklahoma City center Steven Adams scored 25 on 12 of 13 shooting and the Thunder's starters combined for 121 points.
Cavaliers center Kevin Love only played three minutes because he was sick.
The Thunder had their way with Cleveland in the first half. They scored 76 — the most given up in any half by the Cavs this season — and took the air out of the Quicken Loans Arena crowd. Before the second half began, the arena's in-game emcee told the fans, "The first half is over. Forget about it."
That was impossible as the Thunder extended its lead to 24 when Anthony drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key, sapping whatever energy Clevelanders had left.
The Cavs made one last push with James making a layup to cut the Thunder's lead to 12. But Oklahoma City didn't let up and eventually pushed the lead to 31.
BULLS 113, HAWKS 97 Robin Lopez scored 20 points, Lauri Markkanen added 19 and the Chicago Bulls easily beat the Atlanta Hawks. The Bulls, coming off a 7-point home loss to defending NBA champion Golden State three days ago, have won four of five. They never trailed, taking an 11-pont lead midway through the first quarter on Lopez’s dunk and going up 17 on Markkanen’s dunk in the closing seconds of the first half. The closest Atlanta got in the third was 10 points on John Collins’ dunk. The lead swelled to 25 midway through the fourth on Portis’ 3. Dennis Schroder scored 18 points and Dewayne Dedmon had 11 for Atlanta, which showed why it’s spent the season at or near the bottom of the NBA standings. The Hawks began the game ranked seventh in 3-point shooting, but they had little chance of competing after missing 34 of their first 38 shots beyond the arc. Atlanta, coming off a dramatic late victory over New Orleans, was attempting to win three straight for the first time this season.
PELICANS 111, GRIZZLIES 104
Jrue Holiday scored 13 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, DeMarcus Cousins had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Memphis Grizzlies. Anthony Davis had 21 points and 12 rebounds but did not score his first points of the second half until he dunked with 1:15 to go in the game, giving the Pelicans a 108-102 lead. Darius Miller added 12 points in a reserve role for New Orleans, which never trailed but very nearly blew a 21-point lead. Trailing by 15 at halftime, Memphis scored the first 13 points of the third quarter, part of a 16-2 run to open the half that trimmed New Orleans’ lead to a single point with most of the third quarter remaining. The Pelicans briefly rebuilt their lead to 12, but it was back to a single possession by the end of the third quarter after Wayne Selden, who scored a career-high 31 points, hit a 3 to make it 83-81.
HEAT 106, HORNETS 105 Kelly Olynyk scored 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, including a free throw with 0.2 seconds left, to help the Miami Heat erase a five-point deficit in the final 34 seconds and stun the Charlotte Hornets. Wayne Ellington had 26 points on six 3-pointers, Joe Johnson had 22 points and Olynyk was brilliant down the stretch. Nic Batum scored a season-high 26 points and Kemba Walker had 22 for Charlotte, which had a two-game winning streak snapped. Charlotte led 105-100 when Johnson got free for a dunk. The Hornets inbounded the ball to Batum, but Josh Richardson ripped it from his hands and passed to Johnson, who knocked down a 3-pointer from the wing to tie.
76ers 116, BUCKS 94 Joel Embiid had 29 points and nine rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers pulled away from the undermanned Milwaukee Bucks for their seventh win in eight games. Ben Simmons added 16 points and nine assists, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot added 16 points in a rare start as the Sixers (22-20) moved past Milwaukee (23-22) for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Khris Middleton had 23 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for the Bucks in their second straight loss. They were without top scorer Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was sitting out the first of two games to rest a sore right knee. Fellow starter Malcolm Brogdon (family matter) also wasn’t available. Tony Snell (15 points) and Sterling Brown (14 points) moved into the lineup, and the Bucks rallied from 16 points down to tie it before fading in the fourth quarter. Antetokounmpo practiced Friday, but the Bucks announced Saturday morning that the two-time All-Star would be out until Friday against Brooklyn to “manage” his ailment.
ROCKETS 116, WARRIORS 108
Chris Paul scored 33 points and 11 rebounds, James Harden had 22 points and the Houston Rockets held off the Golden State Warriors to snap their 14-game road winning streak. Harden stepped back from Stephen Curry for a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to make it 114-108 with 1:10 left. Harden then blocked Curry’s 3-point attempt after a timeout, and Paul made two free throws with 28 seconds left. Golden State lost away from home for the first time since Nov. 22. The Warriors had won seven straight in Houston. Kevin Durant led Golden State with 26 points, Draymond Green had 21 and Curry added 19 on a night he went 5 of 15 on 3-point attempts. The Warriors were wrapping up a five-game road trip and had won the first four games to tie a franchise record for consecutive road wins. But they struggled from the outset Saturday and trailed by double digits for most of the first half.
THUNDER 148, CAVALIERS 124