Carmelo Anthony's late 3-point heroics lift Lakers over Cavs / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AP-Scanpix Credit AP-Scanpix

Carmelo Anthony came off the bench to shoot 6-of-8 from behind the 3-point line and finish with 24 points, including igniting a decisive fourth-quarter scoring run.

Player of the Game EFF 23 Carmelo Anthony Points 24 Accuracy 9-12 Rebounds 5 Assists 1

That powered the host Los Angeles Lakers (3-3) past the Cleveland Cavaliers (3-3) 113-101 (21-28, 33-26, 34-31, 25-16) on Friday.

Anthony connected on three 3-pointers during a game-ending, 23-10 Lakers run that spanned almost eight minutes. He bookended a 15-2 stretch amid that same spell with a pair from long range.

After giving up a 15-3 Lakers run to close the third quarter trailing by three points, Cleveland battled back. Darius Garland made three of his 18 points to give the Cavaliers a 91-90 lead, but Anthony answered on the next possession.

The Lakers scored 10 unanswered including that basket, taking a lead they never relinquished.

LeBron James led all scorers with 26 points despite shooting 1-of-10 from 3-point range. He also dished a team-high eight assists, half of which came during the concluding run.

Two of James' late assists set up Anthony for successful 3-point attempts. James also initiated a crucial sequence with about five minutes remaining, throwing cross-court out of a double-team to Kent Bazemore, who quickly rotated to a wide-open Avery Bradley for a 3-pointer.

Bradley's bucket pushed the Lakers' lead to nine points and forced a Cavaliers timeout.

Cleveland came into Friday's contest a winner of three straight, holding all three opponents to fewer than 100 points. The Cavaliers built a double-digit lead in the second quarter but gave up 25 points in a little more than nine minutes to close out the period.

They held the Los Angeles Clippers to fewer than 25 for the entirety of three of the four quarters in a win Wednesday night.

Rookie Evan Mobley led the Cavaliers with a career-high 23 points. Ricky Rubio added 18 points off the bench, and Lauri Markkanen added 17 points. Garland dished a game-high 11 assists.

Lakers: LeBron James 26 (8 AST), Carmelo Anthony 24 (5 REB), Russell Westbrook 19 (6 REB, 5 AST), Anthony Davis 15 (9 REB).

Cavaliers: Evan Mobley 23 (6 REB), Darius Garland 18 (11 AST), Ricky Rubio 18 (6 REB, 4 AST), Lauri Markkanen 17.

LeBron James & Carmelo Anthony combined for 50 PTS

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