LeBron-less Cavs lose Pistons, Harden stars
The LeBron James-less Cleveland Cavaliers were beaten in the NBA as James Harden continued his strong form.
A day after edging the Golden State Warriors, the Cavs went down to the Detroit Pistons 106-90 on Monday.
Harden had a double-double for the Houston Rockets, who recorded a 131-115 win against the Phoenix Suns.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets ended their losing run in thrilling fashion.
LEBRON RESTED
James was rested by the Cavs, who saw their five-game winning streak snapped.
The Pistons had six players in double digits for points, including a game-high 21 from Tobias Harris off the bench.
Andre Drummond had a double-double of 11 points and 17 rebounds, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finished with 18 points.
Kevin Love led the Cavs with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
HOT HARDEN
In just 30 minutes, Harden posted 32 points to go with his 12 assists for the Rockets.
He got plenty of support from Ryan Anderson (15 points), Eric Gordon (15) and Montrezl Harrell (14).
Eric Bledsoe had 24 points and six rebounds for the Suns.
NETS SNAP SKID
The Nets ended their five-game losing streak with a 120-118 win against the Charlotte Hornets.
Randy Foye hit a buzzer-beater to lift the Nets to their win.
Bojan Bogdanovic (26 points), Sean Kilpatrick (23) and Brook Lopez (21) were the Nets’ top scorers.
FOYE FOR THE WIN
Randy Foye shows his #BrooklynGrit with the @Tissot buzzer beater!#ThisIsYourTime pic.twitter.com/jrexETJxKz
— NBA (@NBA) December 27, 2016
.@lifeofnanu_32 brings back the underhanded free throw! pic.twitter.com/U8NaYpMXPH
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) December 27, 2016
WINS FOR RAPTORS, BULLS
The Toronto Raptors edged past the Portland Trail Blazers 95-91 and the Chicago Bulls beat the Indiana Pacers 90-85.
The Orlando Magic recorded a 112-102 win against the Memphis Grizzlies and the Washington Wizards rallied past the Milwaukee Bucks 107-102.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were too good for the Atlanta Hawks 104-90, the New Orleans Pelicans overcame the Dallas Mavericks 111-104, the Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Clippers 106-102 and the Sacramento Kings edged the Philadelphia 76ers 102-100.
GRIZZLIES FACE CELTICS
Rookie coach David Fizdale has the Grizzlies (20-13) playing surprisingly well, behind veterans Marc Gasol (20.0 points per game) and Mike Conley (18.2). The Grizzlies will have their hands full trying to slow down Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas, who on Monday was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week. He averaged 33.3 points per game in leading Boston to a 3-1 mark during the week.
