Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Ty Jerome scored 29 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back from their first defeat of the season with a 128-100 rout of the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday. The Cavs saw their 15-game unbeaten streak brought to an abrupt end by the Boston Celtics on Tuesday but dominated New Orleans with a wire-to-wire victory before their home crowd. Cleveland were always in control against a struggling Pelicans side who slumped to their ninth loss in 10 games.
After cruising into a 69-55 halftime lead, the Cavs dropped the hammer in the third quarter, outscoring New Orleans 36-18 to open up a 32-point advantage heading into the final period before cruising to victory. The Cavaliers had struggled from outside the arc in Tuesday’s NBA Cup defeat to Boston but enjoyed greater success from three-point range against New Orleans. Jerome drained seven of 12 attempts from three-point distance, rattling in six of them during a remarkable second-quarter display that saw him bag 20 points. Georges Niang also caught fire, shooting six threes to finish with 20 points.
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The win saw Cleveland improve their record to 16-1 at the top of the Eastern Conference. The Pelicans fell to 4-12 and remain one place off the bottom of the Western Conference. Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson saluted Jerome’s electric second-quarter barrage that had the home crowd on its feet. “It was great. Those moments don’t happen a lot in the NBA,” Atkinson said. “It was like a superstar performance quite honestly, that’s so rare. It was great for the crowd, great for the group and great for Ty.”
In other games, Giannis Antetokounmpo bagged his third 40-point game of the season after scoring 41 points with nine rebounds and eight assists in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 122-106 blowout of the Chicago Bulls. Antetokounmpo was backed by 21 points from Brook Lopez and 20 points from Damian Lillard as Milwaukee improved to 6-9 for the season to move up to 10th in the Eastern Conference.
In Memphis, Joel Embiid shrugged off recent off-court controversy to score 35 points, but it was not enough to stop the Philadelphia 76ers from falling to a 117-111 defeat against the Grizzlies. Embiid was reportedly taken to task by teammate Tyrese Maxey for his tardiness during a tense locker room discussion following the Sixers’ loss to Miami on Monday. Embiid responded with a season-high 35 points in what turned out to be a losing effort. The Sixers are 2-12 for the season and remain rooted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
At the top of the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors dominated the Atlanta Hawks 120-97 to improve to 11-3. The Warriors took the lead midway through the first quarter and led by as much as 31 points early in the third quarter before coasting to victory at the Chase Center. Andrew Wiggins led the Warriors scoring with 27 points while Stephen Curry chipped in with 23.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, second in the Western Conference, kept up their pursuit of Golden State with a 109-99 defeat of the Portland Trail Blazers. Jalen Williams led the Thunder scoring with 30 points while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 28. The injury-depleted Phoenix Suns’ problems continued with the team slumping to a fifth straight loss in a 138-122 drubbing at home to the New York Knicks. Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for 70 points in an emphatic road win for the Knicks, who improved to 9-6. Brunson posted seven three-pointers with 10 assists on his way to scoring 36 points, while Towns finished on 34 as six New York players cracked double figures.
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