CLEVELAND (AP) – Shelvin Mack scored a career-high 24 points and the Atlanta Hawks routed the Cleveland Cavaliers 127-98 last night for their 11th victory in 12 games.
Mack, a reserve guard who came in averaging 3.8 points, made all six of his three-pointers as the Hawks went 16 for 28 from behind the arc.
Trailing 50-38 midway through the second quarter, Atlanta outscored Cleveland 89-48 the rest of the way and sent the Cavaliers to their largest loss of the season.
The Hawks, playing without leading scorer Jeff Teague, avenged a 127-94 loss in Cleveland on November 15, when the Cavaliers made their first 11 shots from three-point range.
LeBron James scored 21 points but didn’t play in the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers have lost three of four since winning eight straight.
Al Horford scored 20 points for Atlanta, which had seven players in double figures and shot 64.5 per cent from the field.
In Toronto, Kyle Lowry had 20 points and 12 assists, Jonas Valanciunas added 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Toronto Raptors used a big fourth quarter to beat Brooklyn Nets 105-89.
Amir Johnson and Patrick Patterson each scored 13 in the first meeting between the teams since Brooklyn’s one-point win in Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs last May.
Patterson and Lou Williams each scored eight points in the fourth as Toronto outscored the Nets 29-16, taking advantage of six Brooklyn turnovers.
Mason Plumlee had a career-high 23 points for the Nets, who made only five of 13 field goal attempts and five of 13 free throws in the fourth.
Toronto, which lead the Eastern Conference at 20-6, reached 20 wins before Christmas for the first time in their 20-year history.
Other scores:
Dallas Mavericks 117, Detroit Pistons 106
Utah Jazz 105, Miami Heat 87
Phoenix Suns 111, Charlotte Hornets 106
Boston Celtics 109, Orlando Magic 92
