Cavaliers 128, Spurs 125 (OT)
Kyrie Irving scored 20 of his career-high and NBA season-best 57 points in the final minute of regulation and overtime as visiting Cleveland stunned San Antonio.
Irving went 20-of-32 from the field, 7-of-7 from 3-point range and 10-of-10 from the line for the Cavaliers, who won their third straight to pull 1 1/2 games ahead of Chicago in the race for the No. 2 seed in the East. LeBron James added 31 points and seven assists while Tristan Thompson collected 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench for Cleveland.
Tony Parker scored 31 points and Kawhi Leonard recorded 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists but missed a chance to seal it at the line in regulation for the Spurs. Tim Duncan contributed 18 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and four blocks while Danny Green scored 24 for San Antonio, which dropped into a tie with Dallas for the No. 6 spot in the West.
Irving’s off-balance corner 3-pointer cut the deficit to 110-107 with 31 seconds left in regulation and Leonard missed two free throws before Irving’s 3 from the right wing at the buzzer forced overtime. Irving and James each buried two 3-pointers in the extra period, and the two combined for three free throws in the final 19 seconds to put it away.
The Spurs shot 61.4 percent in the first half but Irving’s 22 points kept Cleveland within 64-62 at the break, and San Antonio extended it to a five-point advantage heading to the fourth. Irving drove for transition layups on back-to-back possessions to pull the Cavaliers within 90-88 with 8:03 left but Green buried a 3-pointer and added a free throw after a technical foul on James to make it 105-95.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Leonard has scored 20 or more points in six straight games – doubling the previous longest streak of his career. … Spurs G Manu Ginobili (illness) returned to the lineup after a one-game absence but went scoreless in 10 minutes off the bench. … Irving, who broke James' previous franchise record of 56 points, is the first player to go for 50 or more against the Spurs since Bernard King in 1984.