Jefferson, Walker lead Bobcats past Cavs
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Al Jefferson scored 28 points, Kemba Walker had 20 points and 14 assists, and the Charlotte Bobcats defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-92 Friday night for their sixth straight win at home.
Jefferson shot 12 of 18 from the field and reached 20 points for the 22nd time in his last 24 games. Chris Douglas-Roberts added 14 points, including four 3-pointers, and a season-high nine rebounds for Charlotte (29-33), which surpassed its win total from the previous two seasons combined.
The Bobcats, seventh in the Eastern Conference, improved to 3-0 this season against the Cavaliers and now own the tiebreaker against both Detroit and Cleveland, the ninth- and 10th-place teams in the East.
Dion Waiters and Luol Deng each scored 19 points for Cleveland, which began the night 31⁄2 games behind Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the East.
Grizzlies 85, Bulls 77
CHICAGO — Marc Gasol had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies used their stout defense to beat the Chicago Bulls.
Mike Miller made four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points as the Grizzlies closed out a three-game road trip with their third victory in four games. Zach Randolph added 10 points and 11 rebounds after missing Memphis’ previous game with the flu.
The Grizzlies shut out the Bulls after Taj Gibson’s layup trimmed Memphis’ lead to 81-77 with 3:15 to go.
Gibson had 18 points for Chicago, which had won 10 of 12. Playing with a sprained right thumb, Joakim Noah finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists, but also had six of the Bulls’ 13 turnovers.
Raptors 99, Kings 87
TORONTO — Terrence Ross scored 18 points to lead the Raptors to a victory over the Sacramento Kings, spoiling Rudy Gay’s return to Toronto.
Gay had 15 points for the Kings, who acquired him in a seven-player deal in December. The game marked Gay’s first trip back since he was shipped with Aaron Gray and Quincy Acy to Sacramento for Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, John Salmons and Chuck Hayes.
Patterson and DeMar DeRozan each scored 15 points, while Jonas Valanciunas added 14 points and Amir Johnson had nine rebounds to go with nine points for the Raptors, who’ve won eight of their last 10.
DeMarcus Cousins topped Sacramento with 24 points.
