Russell Westbrook came off the bench in the loss. David Berding/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP“For me, the most glaring stat is the turnovers,” he said. “When you give them 22 turnovers, 25 points, it’s very hard to win in this league. We have to do a better job of valuing possessions.”
Russell Westbrook also started off the bench in the loss, finishing the game with 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
Caris LeVert scored Cleveland’s last 10 points in overtime and sparked the Cavaliers to a 132-123 NBA victory at Boston on Friday.
LeVert and Donovan Mitchell each scored a game-high 41 points as the Cavaliers improved to 4-1 while Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum each had 32 to lead the Celtics.
“I knew it was coming,” LeVert said of his big night.
“I put in a lot of work. I was due for this. We’re having so much fun out here. We can’t wait to keep doing it.”
Simmons receives foul in Nets loss | 01:16
It was only the second time the Cavs had two 40-point scorers in a game, the other time by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in game five of the 2016 NBA Finals, which Cleveland won in seven games.
Brown’s overtime dunk lifted Boston level at 121-121, but LeVert answered with a 3-pointer and two free throws and, after Brown sank two free throws, LeVert added two free throws of his own and closed out matters on a 4-point play with 32.2 seconds to go, making a free throw after a flagrant foul by Malcolm Brogdon.
“He did it all. He literally carried us,” Mitchell said.
“He led us from the start. We fed off that.”
After trailing by as many as 15 points, LeVert’s 3-pointer put Cleveland ahead 113-112 in regulation. A Brown basket put Boston ahead 114-113 with 28 seconds remaining, only for Jarrett Allen to sink a free throw that led to overtime.
“For us to have the perseverance as a group… that was big time,” said Mitchell.
“For us to have a collective solidarity this early in the season as a group, that’s going to take us far. Wins like this are huge.”
LeVert said referee calls in the first half disrupted the Cavs’ rhythm.
“We kind of let the refs get in our heads,” LeVert said.
“We stopped playing Cavs basketball. In the second half we were a lot more physical. We lived with some of the foul calls and we just fought.”
Mitchell and LeVert went off. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFPHe also credited pre-season workouts for the fitness to fight to the end.
“We did crazy conditioning this training camp and I think it really paid off tonight,” LeVert said. “We were super energised.”
The Milwaukee Bucks remained the NBA’s only undefeated team, improving to 4-0 with a 119-108 home victory over the New York Knicks.
Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo had game highs of 30 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Bucks, who had seven scorers in double figures.
Lakers losses continue in Denver defeat | 01:04
Tyrese Maxey scored a career-high 44 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 112-90 triumph at Toronto.
Maxey had two more points than the Raptors managed in the entire second half, propelling the Sixers to victory despite the absence of star center Joel Embiid because of a sore knee.
Meanwhile, Australian Matisse Thybulle was given a season-high 22 minutes as he put up six points to go with a steal and a block.
Thybulle had played just five minutes in the first five games of the season, with Sixers coach Doc Rivers explaining the decision to keep him out of the rotation.
“We talked to Matisse yesterday about it,” Rivers said.
“Again, at the start of the season, we thought we liked the rotation we’re going to have, and honestly, it wasn’t working for us and so we decided as a staff, we need to add a defensive guy to our group. Really, two defensive guys we’re going to add. We actually didn’t want other guys and so it worked out for us.
“The key for him is there’s going to be teams that try to game plan him and not guard him. He’s worked on his shot, and it just got to keep shooting it, and really, I was really proud of them because that first play where you get stuck with the ball. Usually, you don’t come back and shoot the next one, but we told him ‘You have to shoot those’.”
Matisse Thybulle got big minutes. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)Source: Getty ImagesAtlanta’s Trae Young scored 36 points and passed out 12 assists to spark the Hawks to a 136-112 victory at Detroit. Cade Cunningham scored a career-high 35 points in a losing cause.
Keldon Johnson’s 33 points led San Antonio over visiting Chicago 129-124 despite 33 by the Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan, who became the 50th NBA player to score 20,000 points in his career.
Myles Turner scored 27 points while Buddy Hield and Tyrese Haliburton each added 25 to lead Indiana over host Washington 127-117 despite 31 points by Wizards guard Bradley Beal.
The Orlando Magic won for the first time in six games this season as 19-year-old Paolo Banchero, the top pick in this year’s NBA Draft, had 21 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists and reserve Mo Bamba added 19 points in a 113-93 home victory over Charlotte.
