LeBron James hits jumper at OT buzzer, Cavs top Timberwolves

FILE: James finished with 37 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in 48 minutes. (Photo By Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA – LeBron James, CC BY-SA 2.0)

CLEVELAND — LeBron James hit a jumper over Jimmy Butler at the buzzer in overtime, giving the Cleveland Cavaliers a 140-138 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.

Moments after James blocked Butler’s potential winning shot with 1.3 seconds left, he caught a long pass from Jeff Green, created some space from Butler near the foul line and sank his fade-away shot to end Cleveland’s eight-game losing streak on national television.

The crowd erupted and James was mobbed by his teammates as the Cavs got a much-needed win to ease tensions during a prolonged slump. Cleveland has won just seven of its last 20.

James finished with 37 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in 48 minutes. He also passed Zydrunas Ilgauskas (5,904) on Cleveland’s rebounds list.

J.R. Smith added 20 points and Isaiah Thomas had 13 points and seven assists in one of his best games in weeks. Butler scored 35 points for Minnesota, and Karl-Anthony Towns had 30.

ROCKETS 109, HEAT 101

MIAMI (AP) — James Harden scored 41 points and Houston beat Miami for its sixth straight victory and 10th in 11 games.

Chris Paul added 24 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds for the Rockets.

Goran Dragic and Josh Richardson each had 30 points for Miami. The Heat have a five-game losing streak, their longest slide of the season.

Harden eclipsed the 40-point mark for the eighth time this season. He was 13 of 25 from the field, going 5 of 12 from 3-point, and hit 10 of 12 free frees. He also had six assists and rebounds.

PISTONS 115, NETS 106

DETROIT (AP) — Andre Drummond had 17 points and 27 rebounds, and Detroit beat Brooklyn for its fifth straight victory.

Blake Griffin scored 11 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter for the Pistons, who have not lost since acquiring him in a trade last week. Griffin will face his old team Friday night when the Los Angeles Clippers are in town.

Allen Crabbe had 19 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter for the Nets. They have lost four in a row and eight of nine.

JAZZ 92, GRIZZLIES 88

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ricky Rubio had 29 points and eight rebounds, Rodney Hood scored 18 points and Utah beat Memphis for its seventh straight victory.

Andrew Harrison led the Grizzlies with a career-high 23 points, and Marc Gasol had 20.