NBA-leading Cavaliers beat Wizards 118-87, extending Washington's losing streak to 15

CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 19 points and Evan Mobley had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Wizards 118-87 on Tuesday night, extending Washington’s losing streak to 15.

Sam Merrill and Georges Niang each scored 14 points off the bench for Cleveland, which has the best record in the NBA at 19-3 and is 12-1 at home. The 31-point win was the Cavaliers’ largest of the season.

Cleveland point guard Darius Garland had 12 points before leaving with a head injury in the third quarter. Garland was struck by an inadvertent elbow from Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas in the paint. Coach Kenny Atkinson said Garland wasn't expect to miss any time.

Valanciunas, Jordan Poole and rookie Bub Carrington scored 13 points for Washington in the final NBA Cup game for both teams. Valanciunas also grabbed 11 rebounds in 19 minutes.

Wizards: Rookie forward Kyshawn George and guard Corey Kispert each sustained sprained left ankles in a 78-second span in the second quarter and were ruled out. Guard Malcolm Brogdon exited in the third with right knee soreness.

Cavaliers: Cleveland received a big scare early in the third when Mitchell ran off the court with his right arm dangling after his shoulder was clipped on a pick by Valanciunas. The All-Star shooting guard returned to play two minutes later.

Cleveland led from wire to wire, but didn’t go up by 20 points until late in the second quarter. Garland scored five points and had an assist in a 10-0 run that extended the Cavaliers’ advantage to 48-28.

The Cavaliers beat Washington for the 10th straight time — their longest winning streak in the 55-year series — to take a 119-118 overall lead. Cleveland’s average margin of victory during the ongoing run is 19.2 points.

The Wizards host Dallas on Thursday. The Cavaliers wrap up their three-game homestand Thursday against Denver.

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Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, right, shoots over Washington Wizards forward Marvin Bagley III (35) in the first half of an NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) passes around Washington Wizards forward Marvin Bagley III, right, in the first half of an NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Washington Wizards guard Carlton Carrington tumbles over Cleveland Cavaliers forward Georges Niang, left, as they reach for a loose ball in the first half of an NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, left, and Washington Wizards forward Marvin Bagley III (35) chase a loose ball in the first half of an NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett waves to fans in the first half of an NBA Cup basketball game between the Washington Wizards and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Washington Wizards guard Jordan Poole (13) shoots over Cleveland Cavaliers forward Isaac Okoro, center, in the first half of an NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, right, talks with Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, left, as he waits to return to the game in the first half of an NBA Cup basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives against Washington Wizards' Bilal Coulibaly, right, in the half of an NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) shoots over Washington Wizards guard Malcolm Brogdon (15) in the first half of an NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rolling higher after tech companies talked up how much artificial intelligence is boosting their results. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% in early trading Wednesday to add to what looks to be one of its best years of the millennium. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.6% higher, while the Nasdaq composite was adding 0.6% to its own record. Salesforce rose after delivering stronger revenue for the latest quarter than analysts had forecast. Marvell Technology also jumped after delivering better-than-expected results. South Korea’s stock market fell. President Yoon Suk Yeol faces possible impeachment after he suddenly declared, then rescinded, martial law.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Wall Street is heading for more gains before the open on Wednesday on the last earnings reports, and ahead of Friday's U.S. jobs report.

Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.3% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.4%.

General Motors shares dipped modestly after a poor performance by the Detroit automaker's Chinese joint ventures forced it to write down assets and take a more than $5 billion restructuring charge. GM's joint ventures in China used to be a reliable source of equity income for the company, but have swung to losses in the past year. GM shares were down less than 1% before the bell.

Salesforce jumped close to 13% after the cloud-based software maker reported a more than 8% jump in sales over the same quarter a year ago. The owner of Slack also pleased investors by raising some aspects of its full-year guidance.

Hormel, the maker of processed foods such as Spam and Dinty Moore stew, fell close to 3% after it came up short on sales and profit projections and issued a lukewarm forecast.

On Thursday, the government issues its weekly layoffs report, but the more important labor market data comes Friday in the form of the November jobs report. While it has showed some softening here and there, the U.S. job market has held up better than most expected in the face of an extended stretch of elevated interest rates.

Markets will be watching for clues about the direction of those interest rates when Federal Reserve Chair participates in a moderated discussion in New York later Wednesday.

The Fed, led by Powell, has dialed back its benchmark borrowing rate in recent months after cranking it higher in an effort to stem the persistent inflation that took hold during the pandemic boom.

Global stocks were mixed Wednesday after overnight political drama in South Korea added to regional uncertainties, though the Kospi in Seoul fell less than 2%.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was facing possible impeachment after he suddenly declared martial law on Tuesday night, prompting troops to surround the parliament. Yoon accused pro-North Korean forces of plotting to overthrow one of the world’s most vibrant democracies. The martial law declaration was revoked about six hours later.

On Wednesday, South Korea’s main opposition party called for President Yoon to resign immediately or face impeachment.

Yoon's move caused the won to plummet to a two-year low against the U.S. dollar, with losses of up to 2%, the sharpest one-day drop since the market’s seismic reaction to Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory. The won recovered some of those losses on Wednesday. The dollar was trading at 1,416.55 won, down from Tuesday's peak at 1,443.40.

South Korea’s Kospi closed 1.4% lower to 2,464.00. Shares of Samsung Electronics, the country's biggest company, fell 0.9%. Meanwhile, the country’s financial regulator said they were prepared to deploy 10 trillion won ($7.07 billion) into a stock market stabilization fund at any time, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended little changed at 19,742.46, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.4% to 3,364.65.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.1% to 39,276.39. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.4% to 8,462.60.

In Europe at midday, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.6% as the minority government was facing a no-confidence vote Wednesday in parliament following a divisive budget debate. There appeared to be a strong chance the vote might topple Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s Cabinet.

Germany’s DAX added 0.9% while Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.2%.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude added 9 cents to $70.03 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 16 cents to $73.78 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 151.11 Japanese yen from 149.59 yen. The euro cost $1.0494, down from $1.0510.

A person walks on Wall St. near the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

Holiday decorations are shown in front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

FILE - Pedestrians cross Wall Street in New York's Financial District on Nov. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

A person rides a bicycle in front of Tokyo Stock Exchange building Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)