James scores 25 to lead Cavs over Hornets

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — LeBron James had 25 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 95-90 victory against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday.

Kevin Love had a double-double at halftime and finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds as the Cavaliers ended Charlotte’s seven-game home winning streak and improved to 4-4 on the road.

Richard Jefferson added 13 points and Tristan Thompson pulled down 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers.

Kemba Walker had 18 points and Nicolas Batum added 17 points and eight rebounds to lead Charlotte.

The Hornets led most of the way and took a 76-72 advantage into the fourth quarter, but the Cavaliers rallied to take the lead with a little more than 6 minutes to play behind a 3-pointer and a driving layup by Matthew Dellavedova.

Charlotte stayed close and Batum missed a contested 3-pointer from the top of the key with 20 seconds left, as the Cavs put the game away.

Stephen Curry scored 41 points in three quarters, Draymond Green had a triple-double and the Golden State Warriors beat Phoenix 135-116, extending their NBA-record start to 17-0.

The Warriors set a franchise mark for 3-pointers with 22, one shy of the league record.

Curry made a season-high nine of his 16 attempts from long range in his 14th career 40-point game, five of them this season. Green had 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his third career triple-double, two this season.

The Warriors, in their highest-scoring game of the season, set another NBA mark by making 15 3-pointers (in 20 attempts) in the first half. Leandro Barbosa added 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting, including 5 for 5 on 3-points.

Kevin Durant had 34 points and 13 rebounds to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Detroit Pistons 103-87 for their fourth straight win.

Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and Enes Kanter added 14 points apiece for the Thunder. In a matchup of the NBA’s top two rebounding teams, the No. 2 Thunder out-rebounded the No. 1 Pistons 58-38. Detroit centre Andre Drummond, who was leading the league with 17.8 rebounds per game, finished with seven.

James Harden had 50 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and the Houston Rockets beat the winless Philadelphia 76ers 116-114.

Harden was 14 for 28 from the field and 16 for 20 at the line in his third career game with 50 or more points.

Philadelphia moved one loss away from matching the New Jersey Nets’ NBA-worst mark of 18 losses to open a season. The Sixers have dropped 27 in a row dating to last season for the longest losing streak in major US professional sports history, passing the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1976 to ‘77. The previous record was also matched by the 76ers in 2013-14.

Robert Covington had 28 points for Philadelphia, which made a franchise-record 16 3-pointers in 35 attempts.

Gerald Green scored a season-high 25 points while starting in place of Luol Deng, and the Miami Heat beat New York 97-78.

Chris Bosh added 20 points and Dwyane Wade had 17 for the Heat.

Jared Sullinger had 18 points and 15 rebounds in three quarters and Isaiah Thomas scored 21 points, leading the Boston Celtics to a 111-78 rout of the Washington Wizards.

Also Friday, the Atlanta Hawks had a 116-101 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, the Orlando Magic cruised to a 114-90 win over the Milwaukee Bucks and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Denver Nuggets 91-80.