Nets 106, Cavaliers 98
Joe Johnson collected 20 points and a season-high nine assists as Brooklyn held off visiting Cleveland to keep the pressure on in the playoff race.
Brook Lopez added 20 points and nine rebounds and Bojan Bogdanovic scored 18 points off the bench for the Nets, who stayed within a half-game of the Celtics for the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference. Jarrett Jack scored 16 points and Alan Anderson had 13 as the Brooklyn reserves combined for 54 points.
Kyrie Irving scored 26 points and LeBron James recorded 24 points, nine assists and five steals as the Cavaliers had a four-game winning streak come to an end. Kevin Love contributed 18 points and seven rebounds before fouling out late for Cleveland.
Irving’s free throws pulled the Cavaliers within 98-93 with 3:17 left but Johnson responded with a 3-pointer from well beyond the arc on the right side as the shot clock was winding down. Love found James for a one-handed alley-oop with 40 seconds left to cut it to 105-98 but Brooklyn held off the charge and closed Cleveland out.
The Nets took a 57-56 lead into the half and neither team managed to gain any separation in the third quarter before Jack’s free throw sent the game into the fourth knotted at 79. Bogdanovic’s 3-pointer with 9:44 left put Brooklyn in front 86-81, and the advantage reached six points on Johnson’s step-back jumper just in front of the midway point of the quarter.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Lopez has scored at least 20 points in five straight games and is averaging 28.6 in that span. … Nets F Thaddeus Young (knee) sat out the game and C Mason Plumlee totaled two points and eight rebounds while starting in his place. … Cleveland went 8-of-30 from 3-point range after hitting 14-of-34 in a win at Memphis on Wednesday.