LOS ANGELES — The Portland Trail Blazers crushed LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-76 on a topsy-turvy Saturday in the NBA that saw the Philadelphia 76ers notch their second win of the season.
In Portland, Allen Crabbe scored 21 of his career-high 26 points in the first half to put the Trail Blazers on the road to ending a five-game losing streak.
“Anybody see that coming?” asked Portland coach Terry Stotts. “That’s one of the things I love about the NBA. Anything can happen.”
Guard CJ McCollum had 16 points and six assists for Portland, who held Cleveland’s “King” James to just 12 points — which matched his season low.
James missed his first four shots and had just six points by halftime.
Kevin Love had 13 points for the Cavaliers, with Australia’s Matthew Dellavedova and Richard Jefferson contributing 10 points apiece. The Cleveland team was coming off an 89-83 loss to Golden State in Oakland, in a Christmas rematch of the NBA Finals won by the Warriors.
Portland never trailed after the opening minute and led by 29 at halftime.
Shortly after a McCollum free throw midway through third put Portland up 78-46, Cavs coach David Blatt pulled his starters for the remainder of the game.
New arrival Ish Smith, playing his first game with the Philadelphia 76ers, had 14 points and five assists while directing the league’s stragglers to their first road win of the season — a 111-104 triumph over the Suns in Phoenix that put Philadelphia’s record at 2-30.
Smith’s finger roll gave the 76ers a 108-100 lead with 1:52 remaining, and the Suns never got the deficit below six points from there.
Guard Isaiah Canaan scored 22 points and reserve guard Nik Stauskas had 17 for Philadelphia, whose only other win was a 103-91 victory against the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 1.
Brandon Knight scored 21 points for the Suns.
Celtics 99, Pistons 93: Avery Bradley led a balanced attack with 18 points and the Boston Celtics won their third straight by downing the Detroit Pistons 99-93 at The Palace on Saturday.
Point guard Isaiah Thomas contributed 17 points and nine assists and reserve shooting guard Evan Turner supplied 13 points, five rebounds and three assists for Boston (17-13).
The Celtics’ starting frontcourt of Jared Sullinger, Amir Johnson and Jae Crowder combined for 33 points and 23 rebounds.
Center Andre Drummond carried the Pistons (17-14) with 22 points and 22 rebounds, his fifth 20-20 game of the season.
Detroit point guard Reggie Jackson had 17 points, small forward Marcus Morris added 16 and rookie forward Stanley Jackson chipped in 12.
Wizards 111, Nets 96: John Wall continued his hot December pace with 22 points and 13 assists to lead the Washington Wizards to a 111-96 win over the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center.
Wall, who came into the game averaging 22.8 points and 11.7 assists during the month, posted his fifth consecutive double-double and 15th of the season.
Marcin Gortat had a game-high 25 points and seven rebounds and rookie Jarell Eddie scored 12 points off the bench on 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range in his NBA debut for the Wizards, who won their fourth game in a row.
Raptors 111, Bucks 90: DeMarr DeRozan scored 22 points and Terrance Ross added 21 off the bench as Toronto overcame a third-quarter lull to put away Milwaukee.
DeRozan scored 10 points in the third quarter after Toronto had fallen behind by as many as six and the Raptors opened the fourth with a 17-2 run to go ahead by 13 when Ross sank a three-pointer with 5:56 remaining.
Khris Middleton led the Bucks with 20 points and Greg Monroe had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Other results: Pelicans 110, Rockets 108; Pacers 102, Timberwolves 88; Hawks 117, Knicks 98; Hornets 98, Grizzlies 92; Heat 108, Magic 101; Spurs 101, Nuggets 86; Mavericks 118, Bulls 111; Clippers 109, Jazz 104. — Agencies
