CLEVELAND -- LeBron James scored 31 points, Kyrie Irving added 28 and the Cleveland Cavaliers ended a turbulent week with a 124-116 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.
The NBA champions had lost three straight and six of eight while James questioned whether the organization was fully committed to winning a second title.
The Cavaliers took advantage of a timely visit from the NBA's worst team. Irving scored 20 points, and James added 10 in the third quarter when Cleveland built an 86-62 lead.
Kevin Love, named to the All-Star team Thursday, had 13 points and 14 rebounds.
The Nets have lost four straight and 15 of their last 16. Brooklyn played without leading scorer Brook Lopez (rest) and top rebounder Trevor Booker (illness).
Sean Kilpatrick led Brooklyn with 18 points, and Bojan Bogdanovic had 17 (see full recap).
Philadelphia 76ers
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Heat cruise past bickering Bulls
CHICAGO -- Goran Dragic had 26 points and 11 assists, Willie Reed scored 20 points and Dion Waiters added 19 to lead the Miami Heat to their sixth straight win Friday night, a 100-88 victory over the bickering Chicago Bulls.
Dwyane Wade had 15 points to lead the Bulls, who began the day with a team meeting and ended it with a second straight frustrating loss.
Wade and Butler started the controversy when they questioned the desire of the team's younger players following a loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. Rajon Rondo fired back a day later, criticizing Wade and Butler in an Instagram post.
All three players were fined, and Wade and Butler were held out of the starting lineup as punishment.
Butler was the first off bench and received a loud ovation from the United Center crowd when he checked in with 6:53 remaining in the first quarter. Wade also received a loud ovation when he entered 28 seconds later.
Rondo, though, was greeted by some boos when he checked in with 5:05 to go in the first (see full recap).
George flurry gives Pacers OT win over Kings
INDIANAPOLIS -- Paul George scored 12 of Indiana's last 16 points and finished with 33 and the Pacers overcame a 16-point third-quarter deficit to beat the Sacramento Kings 115-111 in overtime Friday night.
Jeff Teague had 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for Indiana. The Pacers won their second straight and swept the season series with the Kings for the first time since 2013-14.
DeMarcus Cousins had 26 points and 16 rebounds, and Darren Collison also had 26 points for Sacramento. The Kings have lost six of eight.
Sacramento appeared to be cruising when it extended a 64-55 halftime lead to 78-62 midway through the third quarter and still led 98-87 with 6:33 left in regulation.
But with George and Myles Turner leading the way, the Pacers closed regulation on a 17-5 run to force a 104-104 tie. George gave Indiana the lead with a driving layup with 4:06 to play and the Pacers never trailed again (see full recap).
Davis dominates as Pelicans snap Spurs win streak
NEW ORLEANS -- Jrue Holiday scored 23 points, Anthony Davis had 16 points and tied a career high with 22 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans snapped San Antonio's five-game winning streak with a 119-103 victory over the Spurs on Friday night.
The Spurs had been winning lately despite having starters Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker sidelined with nagging injuries. San Antonio fell with both back on the floor. Leonard, returning from sore left hand, scored 23, but showed some rustiness from the field, missing 10 of 16 shots. Parker hit only two of seven shots and one missed was a momentum stalling air ball 3 inside the final five minutes.
Terrence Jones scored 21 points and Solomon Hill added 16 points for New Orleans. The Pelicans also beat Cleveland this week (see full recap).
