NBA: Kevin Love leads the way as Cavaliers rout Grizzlies while Trailblazers trounce Thunder

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (#0) rebounds the ball against Memphis Grizzlies guard Tony Allen (#9) during their NBA match on Dec 13, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS/USA TODAY SPORTS

LOS ANGELES (REUTERS) - Kevin Love scored 29 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 103-86 in the National Basketball Association on Tuesday.

LeBron James added 23 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Cavs, who were without guard Kyrie Irving.

Irving was rested but J.R. Smith broke out of a deep shooting slump and filled in admirably with six three-pointers and 23 points.

The Grizzlies also rested an All-Star, centre Marc Gasol, despite already being short-handed. Mike Conley and Chandler Parsons are two of five Grizzlies out with injuries.

In other NBA games:

Warriors 113 Pelicans 109

Steph Curry scored a team-high 30 points and Draymond Green made a key strip of Anthony Davis in the final three seconds to lift the Golden State Warriors to a 113-109 road victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Pelicans (8-18) trailed 111-109 when Green, playing aggressive defence, slapped the ball from Davis and forced a turnover in a game-winning move.

The Warriors (22-4) also got 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists from Green for his first triple-double of the season.

Kevin Durant scored 27 points as Golden State finished a 4-1 road trip.

Timberwolves 99 Bulls 94

The Minnesota Timberwolves overcame a 21-point deficit, the largest come-from-behind win in the NBA this season, to defeat the Bulls 99-94 on Tuesday night to make sure coach Tom Thibodeau's return to Chicago was a success.

The Timberwolves (7-18) ended a four-game losing streak for Thibodeau, who coached the Bulls for five seasons before he was fired following the 2014-15 season.

Suns 113 Knicks 111 (overtime)

Eric Bledsoe scored 16 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Phoenix Suns recovered from blowing a 14-point third-quarter lead to beat the New York Knicks 113-111.

Bledsoe has had three straight games with 30 points, making him the first Sun to accomplish that since Amare Stoudemire in March 2010. Bledsoe added eight assists and six rebounds, and he made all 12 free throws.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 34 points for New York, one shy of his career high, but missed a jump shot that would have won it at the end of regulation, before fouling out with 1min 34sec left in overtime.

Magic 131 Hawks 120

The Orlando Magic hit 15 three-pointers while shooting 58.6 per cent overall, and got 62 points off the bench in snapping a three-game losing streak with a 131-120 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

Serge Ibaka had 29 points and Evan Fournier scored 23 points as the Magic (11-15) had their biggest offensive night of the season.

Trail Blazers 114 Thunder 95

Mason Plumlee scored 18 points to lead six Portland Trail Blazers scoring in double figures in a 114-95 rout of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

He also grabbed seven rebounds despite not playing the entire fourth quarter as Portland (13-14) snapped a four-game losing streak.

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