Thomas starts, scores 19 as Cavs hold off Magic

Isaiah Thomas returned to the starting lineup and scored 19 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers outlasted the Orlando Magic 131-127 on Saturday night in Orlando.

LeBron James finished with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists. He also had six steals. Kevin Love had a big game with 27 points.

Cleveland (26-13) won for just the second time in six games and is in third place in the Eastern Conference behind Boston and Toronto.

Meanwhile, the Magic (12-28) have struggled all season and dropped 13 of their past 14 games. Orlando ranks 27th in the NBA, allowing 110.2 points per game and are 28th with a minus-5.7 point differential.


Aaron Gordon led the Magic with 30 points. Elfrid Payton scored 20 and Evan Fournier added 18.

Thomas hit a pair of jumpers and Cleveland took control by scoring the opening eight points of the third quarter to take a 75-64 lead. A 3-pointer by Love increased the margin to 80-71.

The Cavaliers continued to make shots, A jumper by James capped a 13-5 run and Cleveland led 90-76 with 5:50 left in the third quarter.

A jumper by JR Smith boosted the lead to 20. The Magic would not go quietly, however, and Gordon cut the lead to 109-99 early in the fourth quarter. Orlando chipped away and Payton hit a jumper that cut the Cavaliers' lead to 128-125 with 40 seconds left. However, Dwyane Wade (16 points) iced the game with a 3-foot shot.

Thomas has been eased back from a hip injury and scored 17 points in just under 19 minutes Tuesday' in a 127-110 victory over Portland. He did not play the following night in a 102-88 loss at Boston. Thomas played 21 minutes against the Magic and did not show any ill-effects from injury.

The Magic have sorely missed and have not been able to make key shots without forward Nikola Vucevic, who suffered a fractured left index finger in December.

Cleveland led 31-27 at the end of a wide-open first quarter. Thomas found a comfort zone and his pull-up jumper provided a 33-30 lead early in the second quarter. Orlando played tough and a 27-foot, 3-pointer by D.J. Augustin later tied the game, 45-45.

The Cavaliers shot 23 of 44 (52.3 percent) from the field and led 67-64 at the break.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Thomas returns as Cavs down Blazers

Damian Lillard outdueled Isaiah Thomas in a battle of returning All-Star guards on Tuesday night, but Thomas' team had the last laugh.

Thomas scored 17 points off the bench in his season and Cavaliers debut to help host Cleveland top the Portland Trail Blazers 127-110 despite Lillard's 25-point night.

Thomas, who before the game said he was excited to show fans what they wanted to see after he missed the first 36 games of the season recovering from a hip injury, did not disappoint.

The 5-foot-9 guard made 6 of 12 shots in 18 minutes, missing his first attempt -- a 3-point try with 3:36 remaining in the first quarter -- before making back-to-back buckets to close out the opening period.

"It was great," James said of Thomas' return. "Just to see him, his first basket, he had his pull-up shot going a little bit. It's a spark and jolt we need on our team right now."

Lillard was returning from a five-game absence caused by a right hamstring strain, but he had little trouble duplicating his past scoring dominance. He also had six assists but committed seven turnovers in 32 minutes.

LeBron James totaled 24 points, eight assists and six rebounds, Kevin Love added 19 points and seven boards, Jae Crowder scored 17 and Dwyane Wade had 15 and eight rebounds to help the Cavaliers (25-12) snap a three-game losing streak.

The Cavaliers earned their 13th consecutive home win.

Jusuf Nurkic and CJ McCollum aided Lillard's efforts with 23 and 19 points respectively, while former Ohio State star Evan Turner scored 15 for the Trail Blazers.

Portland (19-18) had won three of four coming in.

Thomas, acquired from Boston in the offseason blockbuster that sent James' longtime running mate Kyrie Irving to the Celtics, will not play against his former team on the road in a back-to-back Wednesday night.

He got standing ovation when he checked out of game with 8:10 left in fourth quarter with the Cavaliers leading 102-91.

Portland led 56-53 at halftime and was within 91-87 entering the fourth.

Maurice Harkless' trey with 11:22 remaining tied the game at 91, but Cleveland went on a 12-0 run capped by a pair of Wade free throws with 8:10 left to create the key separation. The Cavaliers outscored the Trail Blazers 36-23 in the closing 12 minutes.

Portland is back home for two games starting Friday against Atlanta.

--Field Level Media

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Celtics top Lakers, secure All-Star coaching job for Stevens

Isaiah Thomas scored 38 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a milestone win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, a 113-107 triumph that earned Boston's Brad Stevens an All-Star coaching job.

Thomas produced his usual fourth-quarter pyrotechnics, scoring 21 points in the final frame to help the Celtics stretch their NBA winning streak to six games.

And they took the franchise's total of NBA regular-season victories to 3,253 -- taking the all-time lead in wins from their longtime rivals the Lakers.

It was the first time since the 2000-01 season that Los Angeles hasn't at least been tied atop the list of all-time victories.

Before the game, Celtics coach Brad Stevens called it "unbelievable" that the clubs who boast a long and storied rivalry came into the contest tied at 3,252 wins apiece.

"I think it's a unique enough rivalry that 100 years from now it will probably be tied again," he said.

But the current Lakers and Celtics players are far removed from the 12 championship series between the two clubs -- a rivalry that flowered first in the 1960s and again in the 1980s and the 2000s.

The Lakers are still trying to find their way after plunging to a franchise worst 17-65 record last season. But Stevens said a game against the Lakers was always a challenge.

"They've got a bright future ahead and I like their young talent," he said. "They're a scary team to play against."

The win had an extra repercussion for Stevens. Less than an hour earlier, the Toronto Raptors fell 102-94 to the Orlando Magic. That means the Celtics are assured of second place in the Eastern Conference as of Sunday, so that Stevens will coach the East in the All-Star Game this month.

The honor would go to Tyronn Lue, coach of East-leading Cleveland, but he coached in the midseason exhibition last year and therefore isn't eligible this time around.

"Well, first of all, it should be Ty Lue, but the way the rules work then it's the next-best record because he did it last year," said Stevens, whose team is 32-18. "But what's nice about it is there's no politics in it. There's no subjectivity -- it's what your team has accomplished."

Thomas, who leads the league in fourth-quarter scoring with more than 10 points per game in the final period, scored his 37th and 38th points with 2:25 left in the game but didn't take another shot. He just missed becoming the first Celtic to score 40 points in three straight games.

"I didn't know about the three games in a row," he said. "I didn't know about it or I would have had the last shot."

"I'm glad we won," he added. "That's all that matters."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Cavs withstand late Celtics charge

Kyrie Irving scored 32 points as the NBA champion Cavaliers escaped with a 124-118 victory over the spirited Boston Celtics in Cleveland on Thursday.

Trailing by 18 entering the fourth quarter, the Celtics got the deficit to one point four times before succumbing.

A driving basket by Isaiah Thomas pulled Boston to 117-116 with just over a minute to play when Irving countered with a driving layup of his own.

Thomas was fouled on the Celtics' next possession and sank both free throws, while Irving departed the game with 47 seconds left with a tight right hamstring.

Irving's absence left the ball in the hands of LeBron James, the Cavaliers superstar who struggled with eight turnovers on the night even as he produced 23 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.

James tried driving past Celtics guard Marcus Smart, who fouled him with 21 seconds to play.

James split the free throws to give the Cavs a 120-118 lead, but left the Celtics with a chance to send the game to overtime or win it at the buzzer with a three-pointer.

Jae Crowder's open look at a three-pointer with 10 seconds left bounced off the rim. Cleveland's Richard Jefferson hauled in the rebound, and the Cavs made four free throws in the waning seconds to seal it, giving James reason to celebrate on the eve of his 32nd birthday.

Kevin Love scored 30 points and pulled down 15 rebounds for the Cavs, his 11 points in the third quarter helping Cleveland build a 101-83 lead going into the final frame.

"We let them back in the game, they were making easy shots in the fourth quarter," said Irving, who had 12 assists to go with his 32 points for his fifth double-double in his last seven games. "We've got to be better going forward."

source: news.abs-cbn.com