Cavaliers 95, 76ers 85
PHILADELPHIA -- Forward LeBron James scored 12 of his 37 points in a decisive 14-0 fourth-quarter run as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 95-85 on Sunday night.
James also finished with nine assists and seven rebounds for Cleveland, which improved its Eastern Conference-leading record to 26-9 with its seventh straight victory. The Cavaliers also won their fifth straight on the road and their sixth straight over Philadelphia, and completed their first four-game season sweep of the 76ers since 1995-96.
Forward Kevin Love added 15 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists for Cleveland, and guard J.R. Smith scored 14 points. Forward Tristan Thompson had 10 points and 10 boards.
Center Jahlil Okafor had 21 points to lead Philadelphia, which dropped its third straight and saw its NBA-worst record fall to 4-36. Guard Ish Smith had 18 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, and forward Nerlens Noel contributed 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
The 76ers cut a 12-point deficit to 81-79 early in the fourth quarter, but James returned to the game with 7:32 remaining, after resting early in the period.
He made a jumper, then a free throw, then a fast-break layup off Love's outlet pass. James' 3-pointer with 6:05 remaining increased the Cleveland lead to 89-79, and after a stick-back by Thompson James capped the flurry with a dunk on the break, again off a feed from Love.
That put Cleveland ahead 95-79 with 3:21 left.
Cleveland led by as many as nine early in the second quarter, and as many as eight later in that period, but Okafor crammed seven of his 12 first-half points in the last 1:12 of the quarter, all while guarded by Timofey Mozgov, a 7-1 reserve center.
That allowed the 76ers to cut the gap at halftime to 48-47.
James had 14 points and five assists in the half for the Cavs, who shot just 32.7 percent from the floor. Smith added 11.
Ish Smith backed Okafor with 11 points and six assists.
James scored nine points in a two-minute, 40-second span of the third quarter, including a reverse fast-break dunk after a 70-foot outlet pass from Love and a 3-pointer, giving Cleveland a 72-60 lead.
Philadelphia closed the gap to 75-69 by the end of the period, on a 3-pointer by forward Robert Covington in the final minute, the continued to charge early in the fourth quarter. Ish Smith's 3-pointer with 8:22 drew the 76ers within two, 81-79.
NOTES: 76ers coach Brett Brown said before the game that he will continue to play C Jahlil Okafor and F Nerlens Noel in tandem, even though Noel is more comfortable playing in the middle, as was the case last season. "I can't quit on that now," Brown said. "(Noel is) just 21. ... I feel like Nerlens Noel has made the most sacrifices out of anybody. ... To think we're going to say, 'You're never going to play a (power forward) spot at 21 years old isn't really fair to anybody, especially you.'" ... Brown also said that it is difficult for his young team not to be in awe of a player like Cleveland F LeBron James. "How can it not be?" he said. ... Cavs G Kyrie Irving played his ninth game since returning from offseason knee surgery, having scored 70 points in the previous three. "Just like his minutes have progressively gone up, I think also his comfort level and his performance have improved," coach David Blatt said, "and it's great to see. ... It's good news for us going forward."