Piston clock Cleveland
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CLEVELAND — Josh Smith scored 25 points, Brandon Jennings added 21 and the Detroit Pistons continued their success on the road with a 115-92 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night.
The Pistons have won seven of their last eight away from home, including victories against defending NBA champion Miami and Indiana, which has the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Jennings also had 13 assists for Detroit, which went ahead for good midway through the first quarter and built a 21-point lead late in the first half. The margin reached 28 points in the fourth quarter as the Pistons rolled to their biggest win of the season.
Kyrie Irving scored 21 points for Cleveland, which last lost four of five.
Heat 121, Hawks 119, OT
MIAMI — LeBron James scored 38 points, Michael Beasley made two free throws with 9.2 seconds left to put Miami up for good, and the Heat beat Atlanta in overtime.
The Heat wasted an early 13-0 lead, then rallied from seven points down in the final 90 seconds of the fourth quarter. Ray Allen made three free throws with 8 seconds left in regulation to send it to overtime, after getting fouled by Atlanta’s DeMarre Carroll.
Allen finished with 19 points, Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen each scored 12 and Chris Bosh finished with 11 for the Heat, who played without Dwyane Wade and still beat the Hawks for the ninth straight time.
Jeff Teague scored 26 points, Paul Millsap made seven 3-pointers on the way to a 25-point night, and Al Horford finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds for Atlanta. Kyle Korver scored 15 for the Hawks.
Pacers 103, Nets 86
NEW YORK — Lance Stephenson scored a career-high 26 points in his hometown, Paul George also had 26, and Indiana Pacers went on to its third straight easy victory.
Stephenson, who recorded his NBA-leading third triple-double of the season Sunday in a rout of Boston, did most of his damage as a scorer, back where he did plenty of it in high school. He became the career scoring leader in New York state, scoring nearly 3,000 points at Abraham Lincoln High School.
Joe Johnson scored 17 points for the Nets, who lost their third straight. Kevin Garnett, moving to the center spot after Brook Lopez was lost to a broken right foot, had 12.
The Nets host Chicago on Christmas.
Mavericks 111, Rockets 104
HOUSTON — Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter to lead Dallas.
Houston cut the lead to six after a 3-pointer by Aaron Brooks with about 3 1⁄2 minutes left, but Nowitzki knocked down consecutive baskets to push the Mavericks lead to 107-97.
Dwight Howard had 29 points and 15 rebounds for the Rockets, who were playing their second straight game without leading scorer James Harden, who was out with a sprained left ankle.
Dallas started the final period by using a 9-4 run powered by three 3-pointers, including two from Jae Crowder, to push the lead to 95-82.
Jeremy Lin, who has been out since Dec. 13 because of back spasms, scored 20 and Chandler Parsons had 21 for Houston.
Grizzlies 104, Jazz 94
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Zach Randolph scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Jerryd Bayless added all of his 17 points in the second half and Memphis beat Utah.
Memphis (12-15) has won two in the row after losing a season-high five straight. Bayless hit two 3-pointers in a row, one at the end of the third quarter and the other at the beginning of the fourth, to help the Grizzlies push out to an 80-71 lead.
Bobcats 111, Bucks 110, OT
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Al Jefferson had a season-high 26 points, Kemba Walker nearly had a triple double and Charlotte escaped with an overtime win for its fourth victory in the past five games.
Jefferson was 12 of 23 from the field as the Bobcats (14-15) overcame an 18-point first half deficit.
Walker had 25 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, and Anthony Tolliver had 12 points on four 3-pointers. Rookie Cody Zeller added a career-high 12 points.
It’s the third time in the last four games the Bobcats have come back from at least 16 points down to win.
Brandon Knight had 26 points and 14 assists to lead the Bucks (6-22), who have lost five of their last six games.
The Bucks had a chance to tie in overtime, but officials ruled Khris Middleton’s foot was on the line and his jumper counted as two points instead of three.
