NBA: Rubio returns in style as Minnesota claim overtime win over Dallas

Cleveland's masked man Kyrie Irving claimed a career-high 41 but it was not enough to prevent the Cavaliers losing to the New York Knicks.

Minnesota's Andrei Kirilenko dunks the ball against New Orleans.

Kyrie Irving had a career-high 41 points but it was for nought as the Cleveland Cavaliers fell 103-102 to the New York Knicks.

Irving, wearing a mask to protect a broken jaw, teed off of the Knicks as he shot 15 of 25 from the field, including five of eight from three-point range.

But Anderson Varejao missed a free throw for Cleveland in the final second as the Knicks hung on to improve to 10-0 at home.

Raymond Felton had 25 points and Tyson Chandler 23 to lead New York, who were without Carmelo Anthony due to an ankle injury.

The Los Angeles Clippers made it nine wins in a row as Matt Barnes poured in 21 points and Blake Griffin collected 18 points and 11 rebounds in a 111-85 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Nikola Pekovic scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds to spark Minnesota over Dallas 114-106 in overtime Saturday as Ricky Rubio made a triumphant return.

Spain's Rubio, a point guard, suffered torn left knee ligaments last March and had not played since, but excited a sell-out crowd by scoring eight points, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out nine assists in 19 minutes on the court.

The 22-year-old had been a star for a Spanish side that even without him pushed the US NBA stars in the past two Olympic men's basketball finals.

Russian Alexey Shved, who made a star turn at this year's London Olympics much like the one Rubio had in 2008 at Beijing, scored 18 points and added six assists for Minnesota. Derrick Williams had 16 points and six rebounds.

The T-Wolves won their fourth game in a row, improving to 12-9, while the Mavericks fell to 11-13.

Minnesota's Luke Ridnour scored 15 points while Russian Andrei Kirilenko added 14 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota.

O.J. Mayo and Derek Fisher each scored 20 points for Dallas, which lost for the third game in a row.

The Miami Heat cruised to an easy win over the Washington Wizards, never trailing as they won 102-72 behind 23 points and 10 rebounds from LeBron James.

The San Antonio Spurs maintained their strong home form and handed the Boston Celtics a second straight loss as they won 103-88 behind 22 points and eight assists from Tony Parker.

Deron Williams came up empty with a jump-shot five seconds from time as the Brooklyn Nets fell to an 83-82 loss against the Chicago Bulls.

Joakim Noah had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls.

The Memphis Grizzlies ended their losing streak at three as they beat the Utah Jazz 99-86 on the road.

Zach Randolph had 25 points and 16 rebounds to lead Memphis.

David West's 23 points led the Indiana Pacers to an 88-77 victory over the Detroit Pistons while Glen Davis and Arron Afflalo had 20 each in a 107-98 win for the Orlando Magic over the Charlotte Bobcats.

David Lee collected 20 points and 11 rebounds and Stephen Curry added 18 points, 11 assists and eight boards as the Golden State Warriors knocked off the Atlanta Hawks 115-93 on the road.

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