LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Kevin Love scored 34 first-quarter points, the second-most in any quarter in NBA history, on his way to a season-high 40 points Wednesday as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat Portland 137-125.
The 28-year-old power forward made eight 3-point shots in the opening quarter, joining his first-quarter point total as a club record, and he hit his first seven shots, six of them 3-pointers.
“I had a good rhythm, made my first couple shots,” Love said. “And it was on from there.”
The NBA record for points in any quarter remains the 37 points by Golden State’s Klay Thompson in the third period against Sacramento two seasons ago.
LeBron James contributed 31 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for his 44th career triple double as Cleveland improved to 11-2.
The reigning NBA champion Cavaliers set NBA records for 3-pointers in a half with 16 in the first half and matched club records for points in a quarter with 46 and 3-pointers in a regular-season contest with 21.
Love could have matched Thompson for the quarter-scoring mark but clanked a 3-point shot off the rim with 75 seconds remaining in the opening period.
“I kept trying to go to him. I wanted him to continue to touch it,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said. “I thought we did a good job trying to find him. I knew the record was 37. We kept looking for Kevin and he kept making shots, but we weren’t able to get him to 37.”
Love hit 8 of 10 shots from beyond the arc in the first quarter and 11 of 14 overall. He broke the prior Cavaliers one-quarter record of 24 points set by James but fell short of his one-game career-high 51 points.
James assisted on seven of Love’s eight 3-pointers.
“I’ve always loved seeing my teammates catch one of those moments right there and just try to keep him in that zone as much as possible,” James said. “I went over and told him, ‘Whatever you’re doing, wherever you’re at right now, just stay right there. Stay even keel. Whatever you’re thinking about right there, just stay there because we’re going to keep coming to you.'”
Damian Lillard had 40 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds to lead Portland.
Davis scores 45 in win
New Orleans forward Anthony Davis scored a club-record 21 points in the first quarter and finished with a game-high 45 points and 10 rebounds to lift the Pelicans to their fourth consecutive victory, a 117-96 triumph over visiting Minnesota.
Austin Rivers scored a team-high 22 points and the Los Angeles Clippers, off to their best start in club history at 14-2, began a six-game road trip by routing Dallas 124-104 as the Mavericks fell to a league-worst 2-12.
Kawhi Leonard scored 30 points and the San Antonio Spurs ripped host Charlotte 119-114, improving to 12-3 overall and 8-0 on the road.
Dwight Howard had 23 points and 20 rebounds while Paul Millsap added 18 points and 11 rebounds as Atlanta downed Indiana 96-85.
Marc Gasol scored 27 points and Mike Conley added 25 points, nine rebounds and nine assists as Memphis defeated Philadelphia 104-99 in double overtime while Phoenix downed Orlando 92-87.
Curry, Durant spark victory
Stephen Curry scored 31 points while Kevin Durant added 28 to lead Golden State over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 149-106 while DeMarcus Cousins scored 36 points to lead Sacramento over Oklahoma City 116-101.
Isaiah Thomas scored 23 points and Avery Bradley added 22 as the Boston Celtics downed host Brooklyn 111-92, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 22 points and Andre Drummond added 18 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks and four steals for Detroit in a 107-84 victory over visiting Miami.
DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points to lead Toronto over Houston 115-102 while George Hill and Gordon Hayward each scored 22 points to spark Utah over Denver 108-83.
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