CLEVELAND — (AP) Collin Sexton had 25 points and nine assists, Andre Drummond added 19 points and 16 rebounds and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Brooklyn Nets for the second time in three days, 125-113.
The Nets (9-8) played without superstar forward Kevin Durant, who was held out as a precautionary measure as he continues his comeback from right Achilles tendon surgery. Kyrie Irving scored 38 points and James Harden had 19 points and 11 assists for Brooklyn, which lost 147-135 in double-overtime to the Cavs (8-7) in the debut of its new trio Wednesday.
Less than 24 hours after trading disgruntled budding star Kevin Porter Jr. to the Houston Rockets, Cleveland welcomed 2019 first-round picks Darius Garland and Dylan Windler back to the lineup after both missed a combined 22 games with various injuries. Garland had 11 points off the bench, while Winder scored six and had six boards.
Center Jarrett Allen also played his second game in a Cavs uniform, both against his former team. The 22-year-old had 19 points, two coming on a vicious dunk over Joe Harris.
Cleveland is off to its best start in three years, when the capped a run of four straight trips to the NBA Finals. The team next heads to Boston for a showdown against the hated Celtics Sunday night at 7 p.m.