NBA Roundup: LeBron powered Cleveland shine in overtime

LeBron James scored 36 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls 114-108 in overtime on Friday night. James was at his best after struggling the previous night, scoring eight points in the extra period, and the Cavaliers picked up the win the after opening with a loss at home to New York. Derrick Rose scored 20 points for Chicago, but his first meaningful home game in about a year was spoiled by a sprained left ankle and a dominant performance by the Cavaliers’ megastar. Rose, sidelined for most of the past two seasons by knee injuries, came up hobbling in the first half and headed to the locker room in the fourth quarter. [caption id=“attachment_1785587” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Chicago Bulls’ Taj Gibson celebrates with Joakim Noah after scoring during overtime of an NBA basketball game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Chicago. AP[/caption] Cleveland rallied from five down in the closing minute of regulation after blowing a nine-point lead to start the fourth quarter. James took over in OT, flipping in a wild reverse layup and scoring Cleveland’s first eight points in the extra period. The Cavaliers were still clinging to a 106-104 lead after Kirk Hinrich hit two free throws with 46.8 seconds left. But Tristan Thompson iced it moments later with a hard dunk after rebounding James’ jumper to make it a four-point game with 24 seconds left. Isaiah Thomas scored 10 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, rallying Phoenix with a relentless series of driving layups, and the Suns beat the San Antonio Spurs 94-89. Phoenix took its first lead when Thomas’ layup made it 88-87 with 3:34 to play. It was part of a 10-0 run that put the Suns up 92-87 on Markieff Morris’ dunk with 1:09 left. Manu Ginobili made two of three free throws with 59.8 seconds left. Then San Antonio had a chance to tie at the finish. But, with 6.5 seconds remaining, Boris Diaw couldn’t get the ball inbounds and was called for a five-second violation. Tony Parker scored 19 for the defending champion Spurs, but just three in the fourth quarter. Tim Duncan added 16. Blake Griffin scored 39 points and went 11 for 12 from the free throw line, powering the Los Angeles Clippers to a gritty 118-111 victory over the winless Lakers. DeAndre Jordan had 11 points and 13 rebounds during a foul-plagued 39 minutes, while Chris Paul had 12 points, 10 assists and two steals for the Clippers. Jordan Hill scored 13 of his 21 points in the third quarter and Kobe Bryant had 21, but cost the Lakers down the stretch with his cold shooting. Zach Randolph scored 11 of his 22 points in the third quarter and added 13 rebounds to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 97-89 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Marc Gasol had 20 points and six rebounds and Mike Conley added 17 points for the Grizzlies, who are 2-0 for just the third time in franchise history. Chris Copeland came off the bench with 16 points and six rebounds and C.J. Miles finished with 13 for the short-handed Pacers. Elsewhere, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 93-81 in its home opener and Rudy Gay scored 40 points to lift the Sacramento Kings over the Portland Trail Blazers 103-94. -AP