NBA roundup: LeBron James scores 57 to help Cavaliers end four-game losing streak

LeBron James scored 57 points — the second-highest total of his career and an NBA-best this season — and the Cleveland Cavaliers stopped a four-game slide with a 130-122 victory over the Wizards on Friday night in Washington.

James hadn’t scored this much since getting a career-high 61 for the Miami Heat on March 3, 2014, against the Charlotte Hornets.

And the four-time league MVP did it efficiently Friday, making 23 of 34 shots from the field and all nine free throws, while finishing with 11 rebounds and seven assists. James did it with style, too. He hurdled over a seated Bradley Beal while dribbling, swatted a shot by John Wall off the backboard, and looked for a camera to wag both index fingers in the midst of a three-point play.

“This is the best I’m feeling in my career.” James said. “Every shot that I took, I felt like it was going in.”

Beal had 36 points for Washington, and Wall finished with 13 points and 15 assists. But Wall made only four of 13 shots from the field and five for 12 at the line.

at San Antonio 108, Charlotte 101: Bryn Forbes had 22 points and San Antonio’s reserves helped the Spurs snap a four-game skid.

San Antonio played without Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker, who are out with quadriceps injuries. Charlotte was without Nicholas Batum and Michael Carter-Williams, who also have not played this season, along with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

Each team had to find scoring elsewhere, and San Antonio’s backups responded in a big way. Rudy Gay scored 20 points and Dejounte Murray had 10, joining Forbes to help San Antonio’s reserves outscore Charlotte’s 62-16.

Boston 101, at Oklahoma City 94: Kyrie Irving scored 22 of his 25 points in the second half and the Celtics rallied from 18 down tto earn their seventh straight victory.

Al Horford scored 17 of his 20 points after halftime and Jaylen Brown added 10 points and 12 rebounds for Boston, which has allowed 94 or fewer points in every game during its winning streak.

Paul George had 25 points and 10 rebounds while Russell Westbrook finished with 19 points and 11 assists for the Thunder. Carmelo Anthony had 10 points and 14 rebounds but shot just three of 17 from the field.

at Philadelphia 121, Indiana 110: J.J. Redick scored 31 points, Ben Simmons had a triple-double and Philadelphia moved above .500 for the first time in nearly four years.

Redick was eight of 12 from three-point range, including the go-ahead shot with 2:06 left, another three-pointer to barely beat the shot clock with 1:08 remaining and a third from the left corner to make it 119-110 with 46 seconds left.

Simmons had 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his second triple-double in a rookie season delayed a year because of injury. The Sixers (5-4) hadn’t had a winning record since they were also 5-4 on Nov. 13, 2013, but their painful rebuild appears near an end as they won their fourth straight game.

Victor Oladipo had 31 points for Indiana, which had won three in a row.

Houston 119, at Atlanta 104: James Harden scored 21 of his 29 points in Houston’s high-scoring first half, and the Rockets handed the Hawks their eighth straight loss. Eric Gordon and Luc Mbah a Moute each scored 20 points for Houston, which improved to 6-1 on the road.

Kent Bazemore scored 18 points for the Hawks (1-8), who have not won since their season-opening victory at Dallas.

Houston led 69-51 at halftime with its highest-scoring half of the season. The Rockets went 11 for 22 from three-point range in the first half and 16 for 47 from beyond the arc for the game.

at New York 120, Phoenix 107: Kristaps Porzingis scored 37 points, and Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek got his first victory over his former team.Porzingis fell just shy of the career-best 38 points he scored Monday against Denver.

Devin Booker scored 34 points for the Suns, who had won four of five. Phoenix lost forward T.J. Warren to a head injury in the first half, a game after he scored a career-best 40 points.

at Detroit 105, Milwaukee 96: Andre Drummond scored 14 of his 24 points in the third quarter, powering Detroit to the win.

Avery Bradley scored 19 of his 23 points in the first half for the Pistons, who went on a 21-5 run late in the second quarter and led 59-48 at halftime.Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 29 points for Milwaukee.

Chicago 105, at Orlando 83: Justin Holiday scored 19 points, Robin Lopez had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and the Bulls earned their first road win of the season.

Chicago had seven players score in double figures. David Nwaba had 16 points, and rookie Lauri Markkanen made three three-pointers on his way to 13 points.

Evan Fournier led Orlando with 21 points, and Nikola Vucevic had 14 points. Aaron Gordon added 11 points and seven rebounds.

New Orleans 99, at Dallas 94: Anthony Davis had 30 points and 13 rebounds, DeMarcus Cousins added his second 20-20 game of the season and the Pelicans started a four-game trip with a win over the last-place Mavericks.

Harrison Barnes scored a season-high 26 points for Dallas, which is 1-9 for the first time since 1993-94. That was the second straight 1-9 start for teams that lost an average of 70 games over two seasons.

Cousins had 20 points, 22 rebounds and seven assists for the Pelicans, who were coming off two straight home losses. The 6-foot-11 center, who tied his career high with 20 defensive rebounds, had season highs of 41 points and 23 rebounds in a win at Sacramento last week.

at Denver 95, Miami 94: Paul Millsap had 27 points, including three straight free throws with 11.9 seconds left, to help the Nuggets win their second in a row on a six-game homestand. Nikola Jokic added 19 points and 14 rebounds for Denver.

Dion Waiters nearly won it for Miami with a three-pointer that rattled in and out in the final second. Goran Dragic scored 23 points for the Heat. Waiters and Johnson each had 15.

Toronto 109, at Utah 100: DeMar DeRozan scored a season-high 37 points and the Raptors finished their longest road trip of the season with a 3-3 record.

DeRozan made all 14 of his free throws and added a trio of three-pointers to complement his trademark mid-range offensive game. His 17 third-quarter points helped stake the Raptors to a lead they never relinquished in handing the Jazz their first loss in six home games.

Rookie guard Donovan Mitchell followed his career-high 28 points on Wednesday with 25 to lead the Jazz.