Superstar LeBron James was given the day off, but the Washington Wizards never took a breather against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
John Wall had 21 points with 13 assists, Otto Porter also netted 21, and the Wizards took advantage of James’ absence to crush the visiting Cavaliers 113-99 on Sunday. James was rested by head coach Tyronn Lue because of the Cavs’ heavy load of upcoming games. “We made the decision not to play LeBron after the Toronto game on Friday,” Lue explained. “Just having three games in four nights, I just felt today is a good game to get him a break and give him a rest.”
The Wizards weren’t concerned that James was out, because they’re focussed on a playoff push. “We were going to come out with a lot of intensity whether LeBron played or not,” Wall said. “It was a big game against a tough team. We just ignored it,” Porter said. “It doesn’t matter who they sit out. Whoever they rest, we have to come out with energy like we did today. I think we did a good job doing that.”
With arguably the best player in the game watching from the end of the bench, the Cavs trailed 63-53 at halftime, and it got worse. Porter torched the Cavs for 15 points, including a trio of triples in the first two minutes of the third quarter as the lead eventually swelled to 26.
“I was just moving to the open spot in the corner and knocking them down,” Porter said.
Lue threw up the white flag by removing his starters and the Wizards cruised to the lopsided win.  “When your best player is not playing it’s tough,” Lue said. “It hurts offensively and defensively because you have no floor balance. “You’re not scoring to make Wall take the ball out of the basket instead of pushing it up every time at full speed. So it hurts you at both ends.”
Bradley Beal added 17 points for the Wizards (28-30), who moved within two games of the eighth and final playoff spot in the East, with 24 games remaining. Kyrie Irving had 28 points, while Kevin Love finished with just 12 for the Cavs (41-17), who clearly missed their leader.
“He gives us everything,” Love said of James. “He’s one of those guys, and there are very few of them, that really makes everyone on his team better and play at a high level. So, yeah we definitely missed him today.”
Elsewhere: Portland Trail Blazers 111, Indiana Pacers 102: Damian Lillard fired in 20 of his 33 points in the opening quarter, sending the surging Trail Blazers (32-28) past the Pacers for their eighth win in the last nine games. Monta Ellis had 18 points for the host Pacers (31-28), who have lost three of four games.
•Detroit Pistons 114, Toronto Raptors 101:  Reggie Jackson scored 19 points, Andre Drummond had 15 with 18 rebounds, and the Pistons took advantage of Kyle Lowry’s absence to top the visiting Raptors for their fourth straight win. The All-Star guard was rested for the first time this season as Toronto had its four-game winning streak snapped. Terrence Ross led the Raptors (39-19) with 27 points. Knotted at 52-apiece, the Pistons used a 37-point third-quarter on 14-18 shooting to open up an 89-72 cushion en route to the win.
•Miami Heat 98, New York Knicks 81: Dwyane Wade dropped in 26 points, Joe Johnson added 12 in his Miami-debut after being waived by the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, and the visiting Heat (33-26) knocked off the Knicks. Carmelo Anthony netted 25 points for the sliding Knicks (25-36), who were outscored 29-16 in the final frame en route to their 14th loss in 17 games.
•Atlanta Hawks 87, Charlotte Hornets 76: Kent Bazemore scored 14 points, Al Horford had 13 with a season-high with 16 rebounds, and the host Hawks (33-27) beat the Hornets in the wire-to-wire win. Marvin Williams finished with 16 points for Charlotte (30-28), which fell after cutting an early 20-point deficit to two with 7:22 remaining.
•Orlando Magic 130, Philadelphia 76ers 116: Nik Vucevic and Victor Oladipo scored 28 points apiece, Aaron Gordon added a career-high 22, and the host Magic (26-32) sent the league-worst Sixers to their eighth consecutive setback. Jahlil Okafor scored 26 points for Philadelphia (8-51), which trailed 77-51 at halftime.
•Dallas Mavericks 128, Minnesota Timberwolves 101: Chandler Parsons poured in 29 points to lead seven players in double figures and the Mavericks (32-28) won their sixth in a row against the visiting Timberwolves.  Minnesota (19-41) was led by Shabazz Muhammad’s 24 points.