Cavaliers win on a longshot

Anderson Varejao made his first career three-point basket with 17.2 seconds left -- a 25th-birthday present to teammate LeBron James -- to give Cleveland a 106-101 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night, the Cavaliers’ 11th victory in 12 games.

James scored a season-high 48 points with 10 rebounds, but with the score tied at 101-101 and the shot clock down to its final tick, the ball wound up in the hands of Varejao, who had missed his first 18 career three-pointers. But he drilled his long shot before James rushed into his arms.

-- associated press