Thunder thump Cavs 148-124, keep LeBron James shy of 30,000 points

LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives the ball past Paul George #13 of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Steven Adams #12 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the third quarter at Quicken Loans Arena on January 20, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (AFP)

CLEVELAND: LeBron James couldn’t get to 30,000 career points and he and his Cleveland teammates couldn’t stop Paul George, Russell Westbrook or Carmelo Anthony as the Oklahoma City Thunder thumped the Cavaliers 148-124 on Saturday for their fourth straight win.
Oklahoma City tied the record for the most points scored against Cleveland in a regulation game. Philadelphia scored 148 back in 1972.
George scored 36, Westbrook had 23 and 20 assists and Anthony scored a season-high 29 as the Thunder embarrassed the Eastern Conference champions, whose defensive issues aren’t improving. Cleveland has lost 10 of 14.
James finished with 18 points and is seven shy of becoming the seventh player in NBA history to reach the 30,000-point plateau. His next chance is Tuesday when the Cavs visit San Antonio.