The Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young (11) passes against Cleveland Cavaliers’ Rodney Hood (1). AP
Cleveland — Rodney Hood scored a season-high 26 points, Cedi Osman added 20 and Cleveland ended its six-game losing streak to start the season, beating the Atlanta Hawks 136-114 on Tuesday night in the Cavaliers’ first game since coach Tyronn Lue was fired.
The Cavs came in as the NBA’s only winless team, and Lue paid the price for club’s slow start.
But with Larry Drew serving as Cleveland’s “acting” coach while he tries to get the team to restructure his contract, the Cavs played a complete game — Cleveland had seven players in double figures — and avoided their first 0-7 start since 1995-96.
George Hill and rookie Collin Sexton scored 17 apiece, and Tristan Thompson had 13 rebounds for Cleveland.
Rookie Trae Young scored 24 and Alex Len 22 for the Hawks. Young scored a season-high 35 against the Cavs on Oct. 21, wrecking their home opener.
Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points, Pascal Siakam had 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, and Toronto bounced back from its first loss of the season by routing Philadelphia 129-112, handing the 76ers their 12th consecutive defeat north of the border.
Kyle Lowry had 20 points and 13 assists, extending his streak of double-digit assist games to a career-best six. Jonas Valanciunas scored a season-high 23 points and Serge Ibaka had 16 as the Raptors improved to 6-0 at home.
Joel Embiid scored 31 points, Robert Covington had 15 and JJ Redick scored 13 as the 76ers lost for the first time in three games. Philadelphia is 0-4 on the road.
Ben Simmons narrowly missed a triple-double, finishing with 11 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, but also committed 11 turnovers.
Russell Westbrook scored 32 points and had another run-in with Patrick Beverley in Oklahoma City victory over Los Angeles.
The Thunder outscored the Clippers 39-10 in the third quarter, and the only drama in the fourth was the dustup between Westbrook and Beverley. Beverley dove at Westbrook’s left knee, and both were issued technical after jawing in front of the benches. Police officers stepped onto the court to help keep the teams separated. Upon review, Beverley’s foul was ruled a flagrant 1.
Westbrook tore the lateral meniscus in his right knee during the playoffs in 2013 when Beverley lunged for the ball as Westbrook prepared to call timeout.
Paul George also had 32 points, Steven Adams had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Dennis Schroder added 15 points for the Thunder, who won their second straight after four losses to start the season.
Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic scored 22 points each, and Portland never trailed in a trouncing of struggling Houston.
The Rockets dropped their fourth straight in their second game without James Harden, who is out with a hamstring injury, to fall to 1-5. After entering the season with eyes on a championship, the Rockets have rarely even been competitive, dropping their four home games by an average of more than 17 points.
Now they face a season-long five-game road trip where they’ll likely be without Harden and fellow starter James Ennis (right hamstring) for at least the first game and possibly more.
Chris Paul led Houston with 17 points and nine assists in his second game back after a two-game suspension for his role in a fight with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Other results
CELTICS 108, PISTONS 105
HORNETS 125, HEAT 113
KINGS 107, MAGIC 99
GRIZZLIES 107, WIZARDS 95
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