Cleveland Cavaliers clinch first place in the conference with win over the Bulls

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Chicago Bulls 135-113 on Tuesday at Rocket Arena in Cleveland to secure first place in the Eastern Conference for the first time since the 2015-16 NBA season.

The Cavs improved their record to 63 wins and 16 losses, staying out of reach of the champions, the Boston Celtics, in second place with 59 wins and 20 losses.

Darius Garland was Cleveland's leading scorer with 28 points while Evan Mobley contributed a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Donovan Mitchell, the Cavaliers' top star, was absent with discomfort in his left ankle.

Cleveland will face in the first round the winner of the Play-In tournament in which tonight's opponent, the Chicago Bulls, will participate.

Other results

In another result, the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Charlotte Hornets 124-100 led by 28 points from shooting guard Ja Morant.

Jaylen Wells was fouled hard by KJ Simpson before the end of the first half and had to be stretchered out of the game, preliminary reports indicate he suffered a broken wrist and is stable.

Simpson was ejected from the game after a video review by officials.

In a head-to-head matchup between teams that will participate in the Play-In tournament, the Orlando Magics won 119-112 over the Atlanta Hawks.

Paolo Banchero carried the Florida team with a double-double of 33 points and 10 rebounds.

Atlanta remains one game behind Chicago and Miami, and could drop to ninth place, where it would have to win two Play-In games to advance to the Playoffs.

In overtime, the Boston Celtics defeated the New York Knicks 119-117, Jayson Tatum (32) and Kristaps Porzingis (34) combined for 66 points.

Porzingis, 29, scored eight 3-pointers for the fourth time in his career and the second time this season.

For the Knicks, Dominican Republic's Karl-Anthony Towns scored 34 points and 14 rebounds in 43 minutes.

The Oklahoma City Thunder cruised to a 136-120 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on a 42-point night for Most Valuable Player candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Oklahoma City improved its home record to 35 wins and six losses.

Luka Doncic contributed 23 points, three rebounds and five assists in 31 minutes before being ejected for double technical fouls, both for arguments with game referees.

The Lakers are in third place in the Western Conference with the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies as close pursuers.