AP - Kevin Love scored 18 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, while LeBron James had 22 points and 12 assists for the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 115-102 home victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Cavs won for the 13th time in the past 14 meetings against the Clippers as they stretched their lead at the top of the NBA's Eastern Conference.
Clippers guard Chris Paul had 30 points and nine assists, including 12 consecutive points in the first quarter to keep Los Angeles close.
He also sent Aussie guard Matthew Dellavedova skittling to the floor as he faked him out on a huge hesitation crossover, before drilling a three-pointer.
However, Cleveland's defence stiffened after the first quarter and the Cavaliers' hacking strategy on Los Angeles centre DeAndre Jordan in the second half worked perfectly.
The Clippers shot 41 per cent after the first quarter. Guard J.J. Redick, who entered shooting 50 per cent from three-point range, scored 17 points while shooting 2-for-6 from long range.
The Clippers shot 6-for-25 from deep after making 22 three-pointers in an overtime win against the Houston Rockets on Monday.
The victory against a top Western Conference team was important for the Cavs, who were blown out by the Warriors four days ago and remain 0-3 against Golden State and the San Antonio Spurs, the two top teams from the West.
The Clippers are not quite in that elite category but they are not far behind.
One night after Detroit Pistons centre Andre Drummond shot 36 free throws largely from intentional fouls, the Cavs used the controversial hacking strategy on centre Jordan late in the third quarter and again in the fourth.
Jordan, a 42 per cent shooter from the line this season, shot 6-for-15 from the charity stripe and finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Cavs forward James Jones fouled Jordan four times in a span of 1:21 late in the third quarter.
Jordan shot 3-for-8 during that stretch, and Cleveland extended a nine-point lead to 88-72 by the time Jones exited the game and the Cavs stopped fouling.
Cleveland coach David Blatt said before the game he did not like the rule, believing it should result in an unsportsmanlike foul but as long as it was legal, he would continue to use it.
"I think the referees can decide certain things, you know?" Blatt said.
"You don't need the replay for everything. Guy grabs a guy in the backcourt with two hands, or rings his neck, with no connection to the game, it seems to me that shouldn't be a common foul."
The Clippers rallied once the Cavs stopped fouling.
A basket from Paul pulled them within 93-87 in the fourth but a three-pointer from Love extended the lead back to nine, and the Cavs quickly began fouling Jordan again.
Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving scored 21 points and guard J.R. Smith scored 22, hitting six three-pointers.
In Sacramento the Kings continued on their winning streak and moved into the Western Conference top eight with a 91-88 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
The Kings recorded their fourth straight win on the back of Rajon Rondo's fifth triple-double of the season.
The point guard scored 11 points, pulled down 10 boards and gave 11 assists as DeMarcus Cousins dominated inside the paint.
The volatile centre poured in 24 points and pulled down 15 rebounds in the win, as the Kings held on after Atlanta came back from as much as 17 points down in the second half.
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