Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving delivers in the clutch

Kyrie Irving scored 32 points and made two critical layups before leaving with a leg injury, and Kevin Love scored 30, helping the Cleveland Cavaliers hold off a late rally for a 124-118 victory over the visiting Boston Celtics on Thursday night.

The Cavaliers led by 20 points in the third and 17 early in the fourth but couldn’t close out the Celtics, who pulled within one point three times in the final two minutes.

Irving, though, came up with his big baskets and Cleveland had to fend off Boston over the final 53 seconds as its star guard grabbed his right hamstring and went to the bench. His injury did not appear to be serious.

LeBron James had 23 points and 11 assists for the Cavaliers, who won for the 11th time in 13 games. The losses during that stretch came at Memphis and Detroit — games James sat out. Isaiah Thomas scored 31 for the Celtics.

at Memphis 114, Oklahoma City 80: Marc Gasol scored 25 points and the Grizzlies took advantage of Russell Westbrook’s ejection to dominate the Thunder. Westbrook, the NBA’s leading scorer at 31.7 points per game, scored 21 before he was tossed midway through the third quarter when he was whistled for two quick technicals. At that point, Memphis held a double-digit lead that reached 37 points in the fourth quarter. Westbrook had five rebounds and no assists.

at Phoenix 99, Toronto 91: Eric Bledsoe scored 22 points and Devin Booker had nine of his 19 in the fourth quarter, helping the Suns hand the Raptors consecutive losses for the first time since Nov. 20 and 21. DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry scored 24 points apiece for Toronto.

at Charlotte 91, Miami 82: Nicolas Batum had 16 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, providing a spark during a big third quarter that pushed the Hornets past the Heat. Charlotte outscored Miami, 31-17, in the third, with Batum contributing nine points, five rebounds and four assists in the period.

at Utah 100, Philadelphia 83: George Hill had 21 points in his return to the lineup after missing 13 games because of a sprained toe, and the Jazz outscored the 76ers, 30-9, in the fourth quarter.

Dallas 101, at Lakers 89