LeBron James came out and schooled the young Lakers on the court, while Kevin Durant continues to put up jaw-dropping numbers with Steph Curry out injured. The Pistons finally rid themselves of their seven-game losing streak, and Karl-Anthony Towns dominated the Sacramento Kings in an easy Timberwolves' victory. These games took place Thursday night (Dec. 14).

Cavaliers (21-8) defeat Lakers (10-17) 121-112

A Lonzo Ball vs. LeBron James matchup has the feel of David vs. Goliath, just with a different outcome. James flexed his muscles early, scoring eight points in the opening frame.

But Ball held his own with five points and five assists as the Lakers had a two-point edge after one. The Cavaliers came back in the second behind James and Kevin Love. Each scored eight points to give Cleveland a three-point lead at halftime.

Love caught fire in the third, dropping 13 more points as the Cavaliers pushed their lead to eight. With 8:17 left in the game, Lakers' forward Corey Brewer cut the deficit to four, but a 7-0 Cleveland run extended the lead up to double-digits. A James' authoritative two-handed slam put a stamp on the game.

James finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists, while Love added 28 points and 12 rebounds. Brandon Ingram led the Lakers with 26 points, and Ball had 13 points, eight rebounds, and 11 assists.

Warriors (23-6) defeat Mavericks (8-21) 112-97

The Mavericks have been feisty of late and came out strong versus Golden State. Dallas reserve J.J. Barea entered the game halfway through the first quarter to drop seven quick points, giving the Mavericks an early four-point lead. Dallas extended that number to eight midway through the second, but a 9-0 Warriors' run put Golden State ahead briefly before the two teams went into halftime tied 48-48.

Kevin Durant stepped onto the court in the third and took over, pouring in 15 points on an array of silky jumpers and shots from behind the arc. The Warriors had a seven-point lead going into the fourth and that's as close as the Mavericks would get. Durant led the Warriors with 36 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists. Klay Thompson had 25 points and was 5-of-5 from the three-point line.

Dirk Nowitzki had a team-high 18 points for Dallas.

Pistons (15-13) defeat Hawks (6-22) 105-91

The Pistons entered this game on a seven-game losing streak and got off to a bit of a slow start. Hawks' forward Ersan Ilyasova had 11 points in the first quarter to boost Atlanta to a 31-30 edge. But Detroit went on an immediate 8-0 run in the second and outscored the Hawks 29-15 in the quarter to take a 14-point halftime lead.

The Pistons finally put their losing streak to bed by coming out in the third quarter and building a 22-point advantage. It was never a contest in the final quarter. Tobias Harris led Detroit with 29 points, and Andre Drummond had 12 points, 19 rebounds, and eight assists.

Knicks (15-13) defeat Nets (11-16) 111-104

The Knicks came into this matchup just 1-8 on-the-road, but a trip across the East River into Brooklyn isn't exactly traveling. New York jumped out to a 32-26 lead behind eight points from Kristaps Porzingis. The Knicks extended their lead to 13 early in the second and maintained that margin until halftime.

The Nets stormed back in the third, and a three-pointer by DeMarre Caroll gave Brooklyn the lead midway through the quarter. But Knicks forward Michael Beasley scored nine points in the final 3:54 to put New York back ahead 87-82. Five times in the fourth, Brooklyn got within three points, but the Nets could never reclaim the lead. Courtney Lee led the Knicks with 27 points.

Porzingis had 13 points but left the game in the third quarter with an apparent knee injury.

Timberwolves (17-12) defeat Kings (9-19) 119-96

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 11 points in the first quarter as the Timberwolves took control of the game early. Minnesota led by 10 after one, but the Kings trimmed that number to nine by halftime. However, it was never a game in the second half. The Timberwolves went on a 22-2 run in the third to go ahead by 20 points and cruise to victory. Towns had 30 points and 14 rebounds.
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