Cavaliers cruise to hand Wizards 15th straight NBA loss

Donovan Mitchell scored 19 points and Evan Mobley posted 19 with 10 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat Washington 118-87, extending the Wizards' losing streak to 15 NBA games.

Sam Merrill and Georges Niang each scored 14 points off the bench for Cleveland, who have the best record in the NBA at 19-3 and are 12-1 at home.

The 31-point win on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT) was the Cavaliers' largest of the season.

Cleveland point guard Darius Garland had 12 points before leaving with a head injury in the third quarter. Garland was struck by an inadvertent elbow from Wizards centre Jonas Valanciunas in the paint.

Coach Kenny Atkinson said Garland wasn't expected to miss any time.

Valanciunas, Jordan Poole and rookie Bub Carrington scored 13 points for Washington in the final NBA Cup game for both teams.

Washington rookie forward Kyshawn George and guard Corey Kispert each sustained sprained left ankles in a 78-second span in the second quarter and were ruled out. Guard Malcolm Brogdon exited in the third with right knee soreness.

Cleveland beat Washington for the 10th straight time - their longest winning streak in the 55-year series - to take a 119-118 overall lead.

In Oklahoma City, Jalen Williams scored 28 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander netted 26 to lead the Thunder past visiting Utah 133-106 in an NBA Cup game.

The Thunder finished 3-1 and in first place in West B Group. The Jazz finished 0-4 in the event and lost their fifth consecutive game overall.

Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton scored 17 points each to lead six Utah players in double digits.

In Detroit, Giannis Antetokounmpo racked up 28 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as the visiting Milwaukee Bucks advanced in the NBA Cup with a 128-107 victory over the Pistons.

Damian Lillard had 27 points and five assists for the Bucks, who won all four of their games in East Group B and advanced to a home quarter-final against Orlando.

The Bucks also continued their recent dominance over the Pistons. They have won 11 in a row over their Central Division rivals and 23 of the past 24.

Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 23 points and six assists, while Tobias Harris supplied 16 points and five rebounds. Detroit finished 3-1 in NBA Cup group play but didn't advance.

In Inglewood, California, Norman Powell scored 30 points and James Harden added 23 to go along with seven assists as the LA Clippers extended their home winning streak to nine games by beating Portland 127-105.

Amir Coffey scored 19 points as the Clippers avenged one of their four consecutive home losses immediately after their new arena opened.

Deandre Ayton scored 16 points for the Trail Blazers, who lost for the fourth time in their past five games overall.

In Sacramento, Domantas Sabonis had a team-high 27 points and DeMar DeRozan poured 13 of his 16 points into a third-quarter eruption as the Kings beat Houston 120-111 to dash the Rockets'  hopes of being the West's top seeds in next week's NBA Cup quarter-finals.

De'Aaron Fox added 22 points for Sacramento, who won for the first time in four NBA Cup games.

Jalen Green scored a game-high 28 points and Alperen Sengun had 24 for Houston.

In other results, the visiting Philadelphia 76ers beat the Hornets 110-104, the Denver Nuggets held off the  Golden State Warriors 119-115, and the Dallas Mavericks toughed out a 121-116 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The New York Knicks were too strong for visiting Orlando, winning 121-106, Phoenix had a 104-93 victory over visiting San Antonio, and Scottie Barnes scored a career-best 35 points as Toronto defeated Indiana 122-111.

- with Reuters