Post Up: Early Exit

Cavaliers 108 (14-7), Heat 97 (10-10)

A game that has a 26-point margin at halftime isn’t supposed to have much intrigue in the second half, but we got that on Tuesday with a first-time occurrence. After missing a shot and complaining about a foul not being called, LeBron James earned his first career ejection. Here’s how it unfolded:

It turns out the Cavs didn’t need LeBron for the final 14 minutes anyway. The game was already in hand thanks to a ridiculous start from Kevin Love — he scored 22 of his 38 points in the first quarter — and 21 more from LeBron, pre-ejection. Dion Waiters had 21 to lead the Heat.

Suns 104 (8-14), Bulls 99 (3-16)

Devin Booker returned to the court after sitting out Phoenix’s last game and he led the Suns with 33 points and five threes against the Bulls. TJ Warren had 25 more, and Alex Len came off the bench to score 13 and grab a game-high 18 rebounds.

The win snapped a three-game skid for the Suns, while the Bulls lost their sixth straight and 11th out of 12. Justin Holiday had 25 and Kris Dunn had 24 for Chicago, which now has the fewest wins of any team in the League.

Wizards 92 (11-9), Timberwolves 89 (12-9)

Otto Porter‘s jumper with 25 seconds left proved to be the difference as the Wizards beat Minnesota on the road in the closest game of the night. Playing from behind for most of the game, Porter’s jumper gave Washington its first lead of the fourth quarter. He led all scorers with 22 points. The Wizards, however, got most of their scoring from their bench. Kelly Oubre led the way for the Washington reserves, tallying 16 of the bench’s 49 points. Karl-Anthony Towns had 20 points and 17 rebounds to lead Minnesota.

Jazz 106 (10-11), Nuggets 77 (11-9)

The Jazz held the Nuggets to just 28 points in the second half and ran away with the victory. For the game, the Nuggets shot just 35 percent and were 7-34 from three. Derrick Favors had 24 points, nine rebounds, and five assists to lead the Jazz, who have won four out of their last five games and have continued to win in Rudy Gobert’s absence. Gary Harris had 18 to lead the Nuggets.

Bucks 112 (10-9), Kings 87 (6-15)

The Bucks used a 29-11 second quarter to take control in Sacramento en route to an easy win. Milwaukee shot a blistering 59 percent for the game, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s 32 points on 11-16 shooting from the field. Eric Bledsoe went 7-10 for 21 points as well. It wasn’t quite as easy for the Kings, though Garrett Temple managed 18 points and made all three of his three-point attempts.