CLEVELAND, Sporting Alert – NBA scores and results from the games that were played on Thursday night, December 17. The Cavaliers defeated the Thunder in a thriller in Cleveland.
CAVALIERS 104, THUNDER 100
LeBron James flirted with a double-double — scoring 33 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and the Cleveland Cavaliers hold out for a 104-100 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night.
LBJ with a behind-the-back dime to Tristan Thompson! ? #NBAVine https://t.co/Gi9SBAQAVm
— NBA (@NBA) December 18, 2015
The star forward also made the headlines after he toppled over Ellie Day, the wife of golfer Jason Day, as she sat close to the sidelines and he scrambled to recover a loose ball.
The game was paused while the medical staff strapped Ellie on a stretcher and wheeled her away to a local hospital. At this time of reporting sources say she was up and responding to questions.
The force is strong with this one. @cavs 104 | @okcthunder 100 #OKCatCLE pic.twitter.com/vDFsQEAk2W
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) December 18, 2015
Meanwhile, the Cavs (17-7) played without guards Kyrie Irving, Mo Williams and Iman Shumpert.
The hosts trailed going into the fourth quarter, but used a 20-2 run to help setup the win and improved to 11-1 at Quicken Loans Arena this season — the best home record in the Eastern Conference this term.
Tristan Thompson scored 12 points and pulled down 15 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive side, while Richard Jefferson scored 13 points for the Cavaliers, who are now 31-2 in Cleveland since Jan. 19.
Russell Westbrook scored 27 points and 10 assists for Oklahoma (17-9), which had its six-game winning streak snapped.
ICYMI: KD glides in for a smooth reverse lay-in! #NBAVine https://t.co/EuLNcWxJjw
— NBA (@NBA) December 18, 2015
Kevin Durant finished with 25 points and five assists and Serge Ibaka ended with 23 points and nine rebounds for the Thunder, who were outscored 30-22 in the fourth quarter.
Starting point guard Matthew Dellavedova had 11 points, 10 assists and five rebounds, Kevin Love ended with 11 points, seven boards, five assists and two steals and J.R. Smith scored 11 points for Cleveland which won four straight.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will remain at home to play against Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, while Oklahoma City Thunder will play their next game at home against Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.
HORNETS 109, RAPTORS 99 (OT)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jeremy Lin piled up a season-high 35 points and got solid support from his teammates, and the Charlotte Hornets defeated the Toronto Raptors 109-99 in overtime on Thursday night.
Point guard Kemba Walker added 27 points, seven assists, six rebounds and two blocks, P.J. Hairston scored 14 points and Marvin Williams ended with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets (15-10) who snap a two-game skid.
DeMar DeRozan scored 31 points and Kyle Lowry added 20 and seven assists for the Raptors in the defeat.
Terrence Ross finished with 17 points and Bismack Biyombo collected a career-best 18 rebounds and blocked seven shots for Toronto, which dropped two in a row.
NBA SCORES ON DECEMBER 17
BOX SCORES AND GAME SCOREBOARD
HORNETS 109, RAPTORS 99 (OT)
CAVALIERS 104, THUNDER 100
ROCKETS 107, LA LAKERS 87
