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NBA: Kyrie Irving takes control after LeBron James fouls out

Cavaliers forward LeBron James, top, battles for the ball against Wizards guard John Wall, bottom, during the second half on Feb. 6.
Cavaliers forward LeBron James, top, battles for the ball against Wizards guard John Wall, bottom, during the second half on Feb. 6.
(Nick Wass / Associated Press)
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Kyrie Irving scored 11 of his 23 points in overtime Monday night, including a tie-breaking three-point basket with 35 seconds to play, and the Cleveland Cavaliers eked out a 140-135 victory over the Washington Wizards.

The loud, sellout crowd at Washington was standing, and so were the players on both benches, when LeBron James somehow missed a gimme layup late in the fourth quarter. Moments later, he banked in a maximum-degree-of-difficulty, step-back three with 0.3 of a second left to send the game to overtime, where he fouled out and Irving took over.

James finished with 32 points and a career-high 17 assists. Kevin Love had 39 points and 12 rebounds for the Eastern Conference leaders, who ended Washington’s winning streaks of 17 in a row at home and seven in a row overall.

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Bradley Beal had 41 points and eight assists for the Wizards. John Wall had 22 points and 12 assists.

at Memphis 89, San Antonio 74: Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph scored 15 points apiece, Mike Conley had 12 points and nine assists and the Grizzlies held the team with the second-best record in the NBA to a season low in points. The Spurs had a three-game winning streak ended as they struggled without leading scorer Kawhi Leonard, who was a late scratch because of a quad contusion.

Utah 120, at Atlanta 95: Gordon Hayward scored 30 points and the Jazz, fourth in the West, broke open a close game with 10 consecutive points in the third quarter.

Miami 115, at Minnesota 113: Goran Dragic scored 33 points and made a career-high seven three-point shots in leading the surging Heat to their 11th consecutive victory.

at Indiana 93, Oklahoma City 90: Paul George had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers, who rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to their seventh consecutive victory. Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook fell just short of his 26th triple-double, finishing with 27 points, a season-high 18 rebounds and nine assists.

at New Orleans 111, Phoenix 106: Anthony Davis capped a 34-point effort with a key rebound and six free throws in the final 30 seconds, helping the Pelicans end a four-game losing streak.

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at Denver 110, Dallas 87: Will Barton scored 31 points, connecting on five three-point shots, and the Nuggets won easily despite the absence of three starters.

at Detroit 113, Philadelphia 96: Andre Drummond had 16 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Pistons.

Lakers 121, at New York 107

at Toronto 118, Clippers 109

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