The Boston Celtics have been climbing in the Eastern Conference standings. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers showed them how far they still have to go.  
James had 28 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists Saturday night and the Cavaliers overcame a slow start for a 120-103 home victory over the Celtics, who had a five-game winning streak snapped.  
“Every team gets up for us, no matter who it is, no matter what their record is,” James said.  
Kyrie Irving scored 20 points for the East-leading Cavaliers (44-17), who avenged a 104-103 home loss to the Celtics on February 5.  Cleveland had eight players in double figures, including three reserves.  
“Their bench really had a huge impact on the game,” Boston coach Brad Stevens said.
The Celtics (38-26) had won 19 of their last 25 games, including 13 straight at home, to climb to third in the East. They led by as many as 18 points in the first quarter before the Cavaliers quickly regrouped for their third straight win.  
“They were quicker to the ball after that first quarter,” Stevens said. “We were making shots at a rate that was really good and you’re probably not going to sustain that for the whole game.”  
There is some bad blood between the teams. Cleveland swept Boston in the first round of last year’s playoffs, when Kelly Olynyk knocked Cavaliers forward Kevin Love out of the rest of the playoffs with a hard foul resulting in a shoulder injury. And there was Boston’s win earlier this season on Avery Bradley’s three-pointer at the buzzer.  
Boston’s Jared Sullinger and Marcus Smart had technical fouls and Amir Johnson had a flagrant foul.  
“The refs got to us and we’ve just got to do a better job of controlling that,” said Sullinger, who outplayed Love with 17 points and 13 rebounds. “There’s a lot of chippiness out there.”  
“I thought poise was a big factor,” Stevens said.  
James scored 20 points in the second half as he moved past Tim Duncan into 14th place on the all-time list with 26,378. He had 11 in the third period, when the Cavs took the lead for good, and nine in the fourth, when Cleveland extended the lead with Irving and Love on the bench.  
“I work on my craft a lot,” said James, who scored in double figures for the 700th straight game. “I know what I put into the game.”  
James got help from J.R. Smith (14 points), Iman Shumpert (12 points, 16 rebounds) and Australia’s Matthew Dellavedova (10 points, four assists).  
The Celtics closed to 103-96 with 5:31 remaining, but James found Smith for a three-pointer, drove for a layup and assisted on Shumpert’s jumper to make it 110-96 with four minutes to go.  
Tristan Thompson scored 12 points and Love and Russia’s Timofey Mozgov added 10 apiece for the Cavs. Isaiah Thomas scored 27 points for the Celtics.  

Elsewhere: 
San Antonio Spurs 104, Sacramento Kings 94: Kawhi Leonard collected 25 points and 13 rebounds as the Spurs improved to 30-0 at home with their eighth straight win overall. DeMarcus Cousins scored 31 points for the Kings, who have lost five of six.  
Atlanta Hawks 107, Los Angeles Clippers 97: Jeff Teague scored 22 points to lead a balanced attack for the Hawks, who improved to 2-1 on their five-game road trip. Chris Paul had 17 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who had a three-game winning streak snapped.  
Chicago Bulls 108, Houston Rockets 100: Spanish star Pau Gasol had 28 points and 17 rebounds and All-Star Jimmy Butler returned from an 11-game absence with 24 and 11 as the host Bulls stopped a four-game skid. James Harden scored 36 points for the Rockets.  
Indiana Pacers 100, Washington Wizards 99: Paul George scored 38 points for the visiting Pacers, including the game-winning free throws with three seconds left. John Wall had 25 points and 12 assists for the Wizards.  
Utah Jazz 106, New Orleans Pelicans 94: The visiting Jazz stopped a five-game skid as Derrick Favors had 28 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks. Anthony Davis had 29 points and 11 boards for the Pelicans, losers of four straight.  
New York Knicks 102, Detroit Piston 89: Carmelo Anthony had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the host Knicks, who snapped a three-game slide.  
Minnesota Timberwolves 132, Brooklyn Nets 118: Rookie Karl-Anthony Towns scored 28 points as the host Timberwolves ended a three-game losing streak.