LOS ANGELES: Darius Garland drilled a three-pointer from the halfcourt logo as time expired to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 118-115 NBA victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.
Up by 12 with 9:03 remaining, Eastern Conference leaders Cleveland weathered a Pistons comeback keyed by Cade Cunningham, who scored 21 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter.
Fouled on a three-point attempt, Cunningham hit all three free-throws to tie it at 115-115 with five seconds remaining.
But Garland made sure the Cavs escaped with a win, a day after falling to reigning champions Boston in a battle of the East’s top two teams.
“That’s what great players do, they make big plays,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said of Garland, who finished with 25 points.
Evan Mobley scored 30 points for the Cavaliers, who were without Donovan Mitchell because of a sore shoulder but improved to 41-10.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the star for Western Conference leaders Oklahoma City, pouring in 50 points as the Thunder pulled away ruthlessly in the second half to beat the Phoenix Suns 140-109.
“Just trying to be aggressive, play basketball and take what the defense gives me,” Gilgeous-Alexander said after his third 50-point performance in the Thunder’s last seven games.
Down by two at halftime to a Suns team shooting better than 60 percent from the field, the Thunder responded with a vengeance, opening the third quarter on a 20-2 scoring run.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 18 points in the third, when the Thunder out-scored the Suns 43-16 to seize control.
It was just one of the eye-catching performances on a night when Anthony Edwards score 49 points to propel the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 127-108 home victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Edwards drilled six of the Timberwolves’ 20 three-pointers and made 17 of his 18 free-throw attempts as Minnesota avoided a third straight defeat.
It came down to the wire in Atlanta, where Victor Wembanyama made the game-winning free throw as the San Antonio Spurs celebrated the arrival of star guard De’Aaron Fox with a 126-125 victory over the Hawks.
A game that the Spurs led by 20 points early in the fourth quarter nearly got away, but French phenom Wembanyama came through.
His tip-in dunk off a Fox miss gave the Spurs a 125-123 lead with 30.4 seconds left.
Trae Young tied it at 125-125 with 8.5 seconds left, but Wembanyama was fouled at the rim and the Spurs star calmly made the first free throw before intentionally missing the second — leaving the Hawks scrambling unsuccessfully to respond as time ran out.
It was a frantic end to Fox’s first game with the Spurs, who acquired him in a trade from the Sacramento Kings on Sunday in a three-team trade.
Fox and Wembanyama scored 24 points apiece. Fox added 13 assists and three steals and Wembanyama pulled down 12 rebounds.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was a late scratch for the Milwaukee Bucks with tightness in his left calf, but Damian Lillard stepped up with 29 points and 12 assists as the Bucks beat the Hornets 112-102 in Charlotte.
The Miami Heat, fueled by 30 points from Tyler Herro, beat the 76ers 108-101 in Philadelphia in a game played as news broke that the Heat had traded disgruntled star Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors.
Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points to lead Philadelphia, who were without star big man Joel Embiid, who was rested a day after he posted a triple-double in his return from a month-long injury absence.
The Warriors, whose players learned before tipoff that Dennis Schroder and Andrew Wiggins had been traded to Miami in the deal for Butler, came up short in a back-and-forth battle with the Jazz in Utah.
Utah’s Keyonte George hit the go-ahead basket with 26.6 remaining and the Jazz held on for a 131-128 victory.
Jordan Clarkson led Utah with 31 points and George added 26 off the bench. Six Utah players scored in double figures as the Jazz withstood a 32-point performance from Golden State star Stephen Curry.
