CHICAGO—LeBron James says the reigning NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers are “in a bad spot” after losing their third consecutive game, falling 99-93 Thursday at Chicago.
The Bulls completed a 4-0 regular-season sweep of Cleveland, boosting their chances of reaching the playoffs and dropping the Cavaliers (47-27) behind Boston (48-27) at the top of the Eastern Conference.
“We’re in a bad spot right now,” James said. “Not disappointed with the effort. Just in a bad spot. Got to try to figure it out… we’ve got some work to do and we don’t have a lot of time.”
The Bulls (36-39) moved within one game of Miami and Indiana for the last two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining over the next two weeks.
Nikola Mirotic, a Montenegrin-born Spaniard, scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Chicago.
Jimmy Butler added 25 points for the Bulls, who used defensive effort to close the third quarter on a crucial 11-3 run.
James passed Shaquille O’Neal for seventh on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, ending the game with 28,599 career points, three more than “Shaq.”
Blazers down the Rockets
Damian Lillard scored 31 points to lead six double-figure scorers in Portland’s 117-107 home victory over Houston.
The Trail Blazers (37-38) won their fifth consecutive game and moved 1 1/2 games ahead of Denver in the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.
Marcus Morris scored 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Detroit snapped a five-game losing streak with a 90-89 home victory over the NBA-worst Brooklyn Nets (16-59).
At 35-41, the Pistons are 2 1/2 games behind Miami and Indiana in the playoff hunt.
Rubio scores career-high 33
Spanish guard Ricky Rubio scored an NBA career-high 33 points and added 10 assists while Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 32 points as host Minnesota defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 119-104.