NBA: Kevin Love lifts Cavs over Spurs in OT

Kevin Love scored a season-high 30 points, including a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime, and pulled down 17 rebounds as the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers outlasted the San Antonio Spurs 117-109 on Thursday.

The Cavaliers snapped an eight-game losing streak on the second night of a home-road back to back.

It was the third straight overtime game for the Spurs.

San Antonio trailed by 10 points entering the fourth quarter and by 83-80 with 8:04 to play before forging an 11-3 run behind nine points from DeMar DeRozan to pull in front 91-86.

Patty Mills hit a pair of free throws to give the Spurs a 103-98 lead with 20.1 seconds to play in regulation before Collin Sexton responded with a layup.

DeRozan then missed two free throws with 14 seconds left, giving Cleveland the chance to tie the game, which Love accomplished with a 3-pointer with 7.5 seconds remaining. DeRozan then missed a 15-footer at the buzzer to force overtime.

The Cavaliers never trailed in the extra period, moving to a 113-109 lead on Jordan Clarkson's reverse layup with 53.6 seconds to play. Sexton then nailed two free throws to cement the game.

Sexton added 28 points, with Clarkson hitting for 25 and Cedi Osman scoring 15 for Cleveland.

DeRozan led San Antonio with 21 points while LaMarcus Aldridge scored 18 points and took 10 rebounds, Derrick White poured in 17 points and Lonnie Walker IV and Mills added 10 each.

Cleveland led from the middle of the first quarter on, earning as much as a 10-point advantage through the first half on the way to a 53-43 lead at halftime. The Cavaliers outshot San Antonio 46.7 percent to 42.5 percent over the first 24 minutes and outrebounded the Spurs 26-16, including a 6-0 edge on the offensive glass.

Love had 19 points, on 8-of-12 shooting in the half and took eight rebounds in just 15 minutes of court time. Sexton added 10 for in the first half for Cleveland.

White paced San Antonio with 11 points while the Spurs got just eight combined points from DeRozan (6) and Aldridge (2) over the first two periods.

The two teams played an even third quarter before the Spurs picked up the pace in the fourth, pulling to within 81-80 in Walker's layup with 8:29 to play.

--Field Level Media

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NBA: Thompson, Cavaliers roll past Wizards

Tristan Thompson led seven Cavaliers in double figures with 21 points and visiting Cleveland held off the Washington Wizards for a 113-100 win on Friday night.

Washington, which trailed by as many as 21 points, pulled within one point twice in the fourth quarter.

Kevin Love and Collin Sexton scored 16 points each for the Cavaliers. Thompson and Love grabbed 12 rebounds apiece.

Thomas Bryant led Washington with 23 points and Rui Hachimura added 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting.

Bradley Beal scored 20 points for Washington, which has lost five of its past six.

Washington, which trailed by 15 at halftime, closed to within 11 early in the second half but a 6-0 run gave Cleveland a 73-56 lead.

The Wizards soon responded with an 8-0 run capped by Bryant's tip-in. After Beal's 3-point play brought Washington within 12, Hachimura's dunk cut the deficit to 86-76, and Bryant's dunk made it 86-78 with 2:49 left in the third quarter.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Davis Bertans and Ish Smith capped a 27-9 run that pulled Washington within 88-84 after three quarters.

The Wizards pulled within one early in the fourth quarter but never took the lead and the Cavaliers pushed the margin back to seven points on Jordan Clarkson's tip-in.

Cleveland's lead was 10 points after a goaltending violation by Bryant, who then earned a technical, and Love's free throw with 4:57 remaining.

Washington got no closer than within six points the rest of the way and Sexton's 3-pointer made it 111-100 with 1:41 left.

Leading 30-28 early in the second quarter the Cavaliers went on a 17-4 capped by Cedi Osman's jumper with 7:49 left in the first half.

Thompson's free throw gave Cleveland a 20-point lead late in the half, but Hachimura scored eight points down the stretch and the Wizards were within 67-52 at intermission.

The Wizards committed 11 turnovers in the first half and the Cleveland bench outscored the Washington reserves 26-10.

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NBA: Love's near triple-double leads Cavs over Pacers

Kevin Love came one assist shy of a triple-double, Tristan Thompson scored 25 points, and the host Cleveland Cavaliers held off a late rally to beat the Indiana Pacers, 110-99, Saturday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Cleveland led almost wire-to-wire in Saturday's early-season, Central Division matchup, building an advantage that swelled to as many as 24 points.

The front-court duo of Love and Thompson set the tone, with Love registering 21 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, and Thompson posting a double-double with 13 rebounds. His team-high 25 points included his first career 3-pointer.

Behind a game-high 30 points from guard Malcolm Brogdon, Indiana sliced the gap to seven points in the final two minutes of regulation. A Thompson jumper and free throws from guard Collin Sexton, who finished with 18 points, stemmed the rally.

The win is the first of Cavaliers coach John Beilein's professional career. He took over in Cleveland this season after 754 wins and nearly four decades in the college ranks, the last 12 of which were spent at the University of Michigan.

Beilein's new-look offensive approach struggled on opening night against Orlando, but the Cavaliers flourished against Indiana. Twenty-three of the team's 40 made field-goal attempts came off assists, with rookie Darius Garland's four second to Love's nine among all Cavs. Garland added 12 points.

With the offense clicking more efficiently, Cleveland's defense powered it to a double-digit lead in the first half. The Indiana front-court duo of Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner, who scored 52 combined points in a season-opening loss to Detroit on Wednesday, finished with 14 and 11 points on Saturday.

For a second consecutive game, the Pacers' bench was outscored. Guard Justin Holiday scored 10 for Indiana to lead the reserves, who totaled 22. Jordan Clarkson's 15 points paced a 33-point effort from the Cavaliers reserve.

Turner was the only Pacer to rebound in double figures with 11. Love and Thompson's work on the glass powered a 44-36 Cleveland advantage.

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NBA: Cavs reportedly open to trading Love

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love is on the trading block, according to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic.

One of the possible destinations is the Los Angeles Lakers, where Love would reunite with LeBron James, who agreed to a four-year deal with the Lakers this week. 

The Portland Trail Blazers are also a possible trade destination for Love, according to a report from veteran NBA journalist Chris Sheridan.

Love, a five-time All-Star, has two seasons remaining on his deal with the Cavaliers and is owed around $49.7 million. The second year is a player option.

The 30-year-old forward averaged 17.6 points and 9.3 rebounds in 59 regular-season games last season.

Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks open up NBA Summer League play on Friday, but No. 3 overall pick Luka Doncic won't be in uniform.

Doncic hasn't yet reached a buyout agreement with Real Madrid, his EuroLeague team, ahead of Dallas' first summer league game.

"He needs to have his buyout completed with Real Madrid, he needs a FIBA letter of clearance, he needs a physical and he needs to sign a contract," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle told reporters in Dallas on Thursday before the Mavericks headed to Las Vegas. 

"We're getting close to getting those things done. But we're not there yet."

The Philadelphia 76ers, on the other hand, agreed to terms on a one-year contract with forward Nemanja Bjelica, according to multiple reports. 

The Sixers will reportedly use their $4.4 million room mid-level exception to sign Bjelica.

Bjelica, 30, has spent all three of his seasons in the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves after a handful of years playing overseas in Spain (2010-13) and Turkey (2013-15), including winning the EuroLeague MVP in 2015.

He averaged NBA career highs of 6.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 20.5 minutes in 67 games (21 starts) last season while shooting 41.5 percent from 3-point range.

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LeBron, Love lead Cavs past Knicks, 123-109

Kevin Love had 28 points and LeBron James added 26 points, 11 assists and six rebounds to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 123-109 win over the host New York Knicks on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.

Michael Beasley had 20 points to lead the Knicks, who lost for the sixth time in seven games to fall to 28-53 on the season with one game left on their schedule.

New York trimmed a 15-point deficit down to five midway through the fourth quarter before Love and James combined for 12 points down the stretch for Cleveland, which won for the 11th time in 13 games.

JR Smith and Jordan Clarkson each added 16 points and Larry Nance Jr. had 10 points off the bench for the Cavaliers. 

Both Smith and Clarkson had four 3-pointers for Cleveland, which moved within a half-game of the idle Philadelphia 76ers for the third spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Sixers have two games left, while the Cavs have one.

Frank Ntilikina had 17 points, six rebounds and five assists and Courtney Lee added 17 points off the bench for the Knicks, who shot 53 percent. Lance Thomas had 14 points and Trey Burke added 12 points for New York.

The Cavaliers broke the game open in the second quarter after leading 26-25 through one, following a Smith 3-pointer with 25.3 seconds left off an assist from James. Cleveland went on a 13-4 run to open the second, increasing its lead to double-figures. 

New York trimmed the lead back down to as few as four points before the Cavaliers stretched it to a dozen late in the first half before taking a 61-49 lead into halftime.

Love had 15 points in the first half on 5-for-9 shooting and James added 14 points. Smith also had 14 first-half points for Cleveland, which shot 47 percent from the field but 11-for-24 from 3-point range in the first half.

Ntilikina had 13 points in the first half on 6-for-11 shooting and Beasley added 12 to lead the Knicks, who shot 50 percent in the first half.

The two teams meet again in Cleveland on Wednesday to close out the regular season.

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Cavs hang on to end Bulls' seven-game winning streak

LOS ANGELES - LeBron James scored 34 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers held on to beat Chicago 115-112 on Thursday and end the Bulls' seven-game NBA winning streak.

Cleveland, playing their last game before their highly anticipated NBA Finals rematch with the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day, had to make do without ailing coach Tyronn Lue on the bench, and without injured shooting guard J.R. Smith on the floor.

But in a contest that featured 26 lead changes, James scored 11 points in the fourth quarter and the Cavaliers held on for a 12th straight home win.

Kevin Love added 27 points and seven rebounds for the Cavaliers.

Channing Frye, in the starting lineup in place of Smith -- who was nursing a sore knee -- scored just two points.

But Kyle Korver contributed 15 off the bench and Dwyane Wade and Jeff Green added 10 apiece for a Cavs team that has scored at least 100 points in 26 straight games and won 19 of their last 21.

Chicago's Denzel Valentine drove for a layup that cut Cleveland's lead to 113-112 with 14.3 seconds remaining.

But James answered with two free throws and after a Bulls timeout, Wade blocked Kris Dunn's three-point attempt to preserve the margin.

Lauri Markkanen led Chicago with 25 points. Valentine added 18 and Nikola Mirotic scored 15 off the bench.

It was the first game the Bulls had lost since welcoming Mirotic to the court this month. He had been sidelined by a concussion and facial fractures suffered when he was punched in the face by teammate Bobby Portis shortly before the season opened.

The Cavaliers are still waiting for pre-season acquisition Isaiah Thomas to make his Cleveland debut.

Thomas, who has been recovering from a hip injury suffered last season with the Boston Celtics, has been officially ruled out of the marquee matchup against the Warriors.

But the two-time All-Star point guard is getting closer to a return to the court and warmed up with the Cavs before Thursday's game.

bb/wd/

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Cavs win 11th straight behind James' 34 points

LOS ANGELES -- The Cleveland Cavaliers, fueled by a 34-point night from LeBron James, won their 11th straight NBA game Saturday, 116-111 over the reeling Memphis Grizzlies.

James, who leads the league in fourth-quarter scoring, produced 15 of his points in the final period, including the Cavs' last 13 points.

He finished off the depleted but desperate Grizzlies with a jump shot from just inside the three-point line with five seconds left.

James added 12 assists in 39 minutes on the floor, flashing the dominant form that has made him a four-time NBA Most Valuable Player.

  
Kevin Love added 20 points for Cleveland along with 11 rebounds -- taking his tally of career rebounds beyond 5,000.

J.R. Smith scored 17 points and Dwyane Wade added 16 points and four assists off the bench.

Tyreke Evans scored 31 points and added 12 assists for the Grizzlies, whose 11-game skid is the longest in the NBA this season.

Marc Gasol added 27 points and six rebounds for a Grizzlies team that sliced a 19-point deficit to 93-83 going into the fourth quarter.

Memphis knotted the score on Dillon Brooks's three-pointer with 2:10 to play.

James answered with a strong move to the post for a layup, then slashed to the rim for another layup and a free throw with 34 seconds remaining.

The Grizzlies had started strong and led by as many as 12 points in the first quarter.

But Cleveland turned the tide with a 14-2 scoring run in the second period.

Cleveland are now two wins shy of matching their franchise record of 13 consecutive wins, set in 2008-09 and matched the following season.

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NBA: Warriors put on a show, clinic in Game 2 rout of Cavaliers

Not even LeBron James, at his ultimate best, could deny Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors when they're absolutely clicking.

Curry scored 32 points and finished with a triple-double while putting on a dazzling individual display on offense, as the Golden State Warriors ripped the Cleveland Cavaliers 132-113 in Game 2 of the NBA finals Sunday (Monday, Manila time)

It was a rout in the end, but the Warriors, who welcomed back head coach Steve Kerr, were tested.

They were only up 86-82 halfway through the 3rd quarter, before launching a 13-2 run that put the game out of reach and gave Golden State a 2-0 lead in the series.

Kevin Durant followed up his 38-point output in Game 1 by stuffing the stat sheet in Game 2. He finished with a game-high 33 points, along with 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 5 blocks.

Curry also had 11 assists and 10 rebounds for Golden State, which remains unbeaten in the post-season after 14 games, an NBA record start.

Add in the mix Klay Thompson, in his best game of the playoffs thus far, and there was no slowing down Golden State. He chipped in 22 points and, like Curry and Durant, made 4 3-pointers.

The Warriors' firepower was no match for the Cavaliers and James, who finished with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists, his 8th triple double in the finals.

Between Curry and Durant, the Cavaliers had no answers and Warriors fans were treated to a show.

In the 3rd, Curry got the Oracle Arena crowd on its feet when he scored off James after shaking him off with a dizzying series of dribbles. To finish off a critical run in the same quarter, he buried a triple some 3 feet away from the 3-point line and against the outstretched arm of Kevin Love.

In one play in the 4th, Durant blocked Love that set off a fastbreak ending with a Durant basket.

Durant became only the third player in NBA history to score 25 points in his first seven NBA Finals appearances, joining Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal.

"The second half we settled in and just tried to play better and played tougher on defense," Durant said. "We're just trying to play good basketball every time down the floor."

Curry credited his first finals triple double to the tension of the title quest and the effort needed to answer the Cavs' challenge.

"We're in the finals. That's all the motivation we need," Curry said. "We leave everything on the floor."

Kevin Love scored 27 points for the Cavaliers while Kyrie Irving added 19 in a losing cause. — With a report from Agence France-Presse

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NBA: James scores 35 as Cavaliers put Raptors on brink

LOS ANGELES, United States - LeBron James scored 35 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors 115-94 Friday to take a 3-0 stranglehold lead in their second round NBA playoff series.

James also tallied eight rebounds and seven assists as Cleveland looks ahead to clinching the series with a win in game four on Sunday in Toronto.

The Raptors played without star point guard Kyle Lowry who sprained his ankle in Wednesday's loss in Cleveland.

Toronto led by three points at halftime but the Cavaliers kept pressing in the third and then seized command in the fourth.

James was instrumental in the comeback, scoring 13 points in the final quarter.

Lowry took part in the warm-up and was listed as active for the game, but Cory Joseph started in his place. Lowry remained on the bench for the whole game.

Kevin Love delivered 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers, and Kyrie Irving also scored 16 while Kyle Korver had 14 points. Tristan Thompson added nine points and 12 rebounds.

DeMar DeRozan rebounded from a poor performance in game two to lead Toronto with 37 points.

Jonas Valanciunas added 19 points and eight rebounds, with Norman Powell chipping in with 13 points and Serge Ibaka scoring 12.

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James's Cavaliers stun Pacers with record rally

LOS ANGELES - LeBron James led a fourth-quarter assault as the Cleveland Cavaliers set a playoff record by storming back from a 25-point halftime deficit to defeat the Indiana Pacers 119-114 on Thursday.

James tallied 41 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists for the Cavaliers who seized a 3-0 lead in the best of seven Eastern Conference first-round series.

James passed Kobe Bryant for number three on the league's career playoff scoring list and tied another NBA record by winning his 20th consecutive first-round game.

James delivered 28 second-half points as he took over the contest in the fourth quarter.

The Cavaliers scored 70 points to just 40 for the Pacers in the second half. Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, Kyrie Irving and Channing Frye each scored 13 points for Cleveland while Kyle Korver added 12.

Pacers forward Paul George scored 36 points, including 21 alone in the second quarter. But George couldn't keep pace with James and Cavaliers over the last two quarters.

Jeff Teague added 15 for Indiana, and Lance Stephenson scored 13 for the Pacers. George also finished with 15 rebounds and nine assists.

Indiana led by 10 after one quarter. They built a 50-36 lead with just under six minutes left in the second quarter and went on to lead 74-49 at the half.

The 74 first-half points are the Pacers's most this season, surpassing the 68 they scored in the first half on April 8 at Orlando.

Indiana shot 56.8 percent in the first half and the Pacers's non-starters outscored the Cavaliers's reserves 28-8.

gph/vs

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Royal beating for Celtics as King James leads Cavs' romp

LOS ANGELES -- LeBron James scored 36 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers moved clear of rivals Boston at the top of the Eastern Conference with a dominant 114-91 rout over the Celtics on Wednesday.

The titanic battle between the two sides never materialized as a fired-up Cavs surged into a 57-42 lead at half-time.

James was superb as Cleveland improved to 51-27, one game clear of second-placed Boston, who fell to 50-28 following the defeat.

Crucially, the win completed a 3-1 season series for Cleveland over the Celtics, meaning the Cavs would win the head-to-head tiebreaker in the event of the two teams finishing regular season level.

   
The victory also gives the Cavs a useful psychological edge over the Celtics as the two teams gear up for the postseason.

All of Cleveland's heavy hitters delivered performances to silence the home crowd in Boston. Kevin Love finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds while Kyrie Irving chipped in with 19 points.

A second half points spree proved to be the foundation of the Cavs success, with 38 points helping ensure a 15-point cushion at halftime.

Another one-sided quarter in the third saw Cleveland race away to lead 90-66 with the Celtics powerless to halt the slide.

Isaiah Thomas led Boston's scorers with with 26 points.

Impressively, Cleveland's win on the road came after a 122-102 victory in Orlando on Tuesday.

However, there was a trace of weariness as Cleveland overwhelmed Boston when they clicked into gear after trailing 20-19 at the end of the first quarter.

Cleveland also managed to win without the services of Tristan Thompson, who did not travel after spraining his thumb against Orlando.

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NBA: James scores 34 as Cavs stop slide with win over Sixers

LOS ANGELES - LeBron James scored 34 points as the NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers brought their miserable March to a close with a 122-105 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Kyrie Irving scored 24 points and Kevin Love added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who still trail the Boston Celtics for first place in the Eastern Conference.

The Cavaliers had lost three straight and five of their prior seven games, posting a 7-10 record in the month of March.

James acknowledged after their loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday that the reigning champs were "in a bad spot."

But they encountered little resistance from the 76ers, who had just nine players in uniform thanks to a litany of injuries.

James added nine rebounds and six assists in just 30 minutes on the floor. Neither Love nor Irving played at all in the fourth quarter of a game in which the Cavaliers led by as many as 32.

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James shines as Cavs bounce back

LOS ANGELES, United States - LeBron James just missed a triple-double, pouring in 32 points with 11 assists and nine rebounds Friday in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 112-105 NBA victory over the Hornets in Charlotte.

Kyrie Irving added 26 points and Kevin Love chipped in 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavs, who connected on 55.4 percent of their shots from the field.

The reigning NBA champions led by as many as 12 in the first half and were in front for all of the second half as they bounced back from a disappointing 126-113 loss at Denver on Wednesday.

That performance had prompted James to call out his teammates for lack of toughness in a defeat that saw their Eastern Conference lead over Boston shrink to one game.

The Hornets saw their three-game winning streak snapped and lost ground in their quest to grab an Eastern Conference playoff berth. They remain 11th in the East with 10 games remaining in the regular season.

Cleveland led 33-31 after one quarter, 59-53 at halftime and 90-85 going into the final period.

They quashed a late Hornets comeback bid that saw Charlotte score seven straight points to trim the deficit to 100-99 with 4:20 to play.

Cleveland responded through a three-pointer from J.R. Smith, a basket from Love and a dunk from James to push the lead back to seven -- and the Hornets never got closer than five from there.

In Washington, John Wall scored 22 points and Bradley Beal added 19 as the Wizards completed a four-game season sweep of the lowly Brooklyn Nets with a 129-108 victory.

Brandon Jennings came off the bench to score 18 points with nine assists for the Wizards, who shot 50.5 percent from the field, made 21 of 22 free throws and led by as many as 28 points.

The Wizards have now won two in a row. They improved to 44-28 and moved one game ahead of the idle Toronto Raptors for third place in the Eastern Conference.

Washington open a tough five-game road trip Saturday at Cleveland.

The Nuggets followed up their victory over the Cavaliers with a 125-117 triumph over the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.

Nikola Jokic scored 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds and Wilson Chandler added 24 points for the Nuggets, who made 40 of 43 free throws and turned back a Pacers surge in the final period.

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Cavs' LeBron not fretting about loss of Love

LeBron James may take on a heavier workload down the stretch to make up for the absence of All-Star Kevin Love and the added wear and tear could prove costly in the Cleveland Cavaliers' quest to repeat as NBA champions.

Love will miss six weeks after having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Tuesday and while his injury will not sink the Cavaliers it could cost them the Eastern Conference's top seed and make their road to the NBA Finals a little tougher.

It's the latest injury for a Cavaliers team already playing without injured starting shooting guard JR Smith, but not a situation the team are unfamiliar with.

"It's just our road, every season one of our key guys gets hurt," James told reporters before his team's shootaround in Minnesota, where the Cavaliers play later on Tuesday.

"This year has probably been the worst out of all years, having our starting 2 guard out for so long and then having our All-Star power forward out for an extended period of time. Just next man up."

The Cavaliers (37-16) have a two-game lead over a surging Boston in the East and might need to lean on James much more if they want to lock up the top seed, which would guarantee them homecourt advantage until at least the NBA Finals should they get that far.

But having James healthy for the playoffs is the team's top priority and likely only hope of winning a championship, which means they will have to quickly sort out how to get by during Love's absence.

"We can't run LeBron into the ground because Kevin's out," said Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue. "Guys have to step up and be ready to play."

James, 32, is already averaging a team-high 37.6 minutes per game this season for a Cavaliers team that can't seem to get by for long stretches without the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player on the court.

So, with 29 games left in the regular season, the Cavaliers may ultimately decide to capitulate the East's top seed in favor of keeping James fresh for the playoffs.

But James, who has sat out only three games this season, said any extra workload would not be a burden.

"I'll rest when I retire," said James. "As long as I'm in the lineup, we've got a chance. We're good. Kev is out for an extended period of time. JR's been out. But I'm in the lineup, obviously we've got a chance against anybody."

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Andrew Both)

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Love seeks second opinion on knee injury

LOS ANGELES -- Cleveland Cavaliers star Kevin Love is to seek a second opinion on his left knee after undergoing a scan at the weekend, coach Tyronn Lue said Monday.

Love, 28, underwent a scan on the knee on Sunday after experiencing pain in the joint during Saturday's 125-109 win over Denver.

The four-time NBA All-Star had already been ruled out of Tuesday's road game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

But Lue said Love now faced a further examination on Tuesday to assess his injury.

   
"Always concerned when guys are going down," Lue said. "And we're already limited as it is. Definitely concerned, but gotta see how he feels. Just, get evaluated (Tuesday) and see how he feels."

Love is averaging 20.0 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists for the Cavaliers, who have won five of their past six games and improved to 37-16, the best record in the Eastern Conference and fourth-best in the league overall.

Channing Frye is likely to replace Love in the starting lineup for the Cavaliers, who could opt to bench Love through the break for next Sunday's NBA All-Star Game.

Cleveland will visit Minnesota on Valentine's Day and play host to Indiana on Wednesday but after that will not play again until February 23 when New York visits.

Love was named a reserve for the Eastern Conference in the annual All-Star matchup to be played at New Orleans.

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LeBron leads depleted Cavs to win over Pelicans

LOS ANGELES --LeBron James scored 26 points to lead the depleted Cleveland Cavaliers to a 90-82 home victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday.

Channing Frye added 14 points off the bench for the NBA champion Cavaliers, who rallied for the win despite a rough shooting night.

Kevin Love scored 12 points and pulled down 11 rebounds before departing for the locker room late in the fourth quarter because of illness.


Love connected on just five of 19 shots from the floor and missed all seven of his three-point attempts, but Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue was grateful for his contribution.

"We didn't think he was going to be able to play," Lue said, noting that Love had lost 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in the past two days after contracting food poisoning.

"He came out there and gave us 24 strong minutes, which we needed. Just his presence on the floor was big for us and for him to gut it out the way he did was big for us."

Cleveland's starting backcourt of DeAndre Liggins and Jordan McRae combined to shoot just two of 10 in 34 minutes and neither played in the fourth quarter.

Overall the Cavaliers connected on just 37.8 percent of their shots -- one of their worst shooting nights of the season.

James connected on nine of 21 attempts, pulled down seven rebounds and handed out six assists.

But he struggled to get in a groove until the fourth quarter on a night that saw Kyrie Irving out for the second straight game with what the team calls tightness in his right hamstring.

Lue offered no timetable for Irving's return, after initially saying he didn't think the trouble would cost Irving any time.

"Can't have any excuses no matter what's going on with the team," James said. "Has to be next man up and when guys' numbers are called they've got to be ready to go. As ugly as it was tonight, just got to find a way to get through it -- and we did that."

The Cavs were stone-cold from three-point range, with not a single starter connecting from long distance.

Frye made four three-pointers, James Jones made one and Richard Jefferson another.

Lue inserted Jones in the game with 2:32 left in the third when his team trailed 65-61.

He provided a needed spark with his three-pointer, following with a forced turnover and an assist to James at the other end.

Rookie Kay Felder produced 12 points, eight in the fourth quarter, a key contribution as Cleveland erased a 10-point third-quarter deficit to eke out the win.

Lue said he told Felder to be aggressive.

"He might have taken one or two questionable shots, but when you've got it going and you're a scorer, just let him go. I don't want to be a guy (that says), 'Oh, that's a bad shot,' so now he's thinking about it."

- Missed opportunity -

Anthony Davis scored 20 points with 17 rebounds for the Pelicans. Rookie Buddy Hield added 20 points but New Orleans shot a season-worst 36.4 percent and saw their four-game winning streak end.

"We lost a little bit of our aggressiveness," New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said. "When you're playing the NBA champs on the road and you have an opportunity like that, you've got to be able to execute and you've got to be able to seize the moment.

"We just kind of let it slip away."

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Pistons stun Cavs to ease out of slump

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan -- Desperate for a victory, the Detroit Pistons needed to catch a break. Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue delivered that gift a day after Christmas, resting the game's biggest star.

LeBron James got the night off as the Pistons snapped a five-game losing streak by downing the Cavaliers, 106-90, on Monday night at The Palace.

James, who played 40 minutes in Cleveland's 109-108 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day, sat in street clothes and watched his team's offense disintegrate. The Cavs shot 38 percent from the field and committed a season-high 22 turnovers.

James was rested in two other games this season after playing a home game the previous night. Cleveland is 23-4 when he is in uniform and 0-3 without him.

"He's probably the best player in the world," Pistons forward Jon Leuer said. "When he's not in there, it's a different feel, for sure. They still have some talented guys with Kyrie (Irving) and Kevin (Love), their shooters and how they space the floor. It still makes it difficult, but LeBron kind of facilitates everything."

Detroit hounded Golden State into 23 turnovers in its previous game, but Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy felt the Cavs' giveaways were mainly due to James' absence.

"I didn't think we forced a lot," he said. "Kyrie's used to making plays, but nobody else on that team really ever has to make a play other than Kyrie or LeBron. Today, (others) had to try to make some plays. They're in unfamiliar territory. These are guys that normally play off those two guys. When there's only one of them, it's a little bit harder."

Pistons forward Tobias Harris scored 21 points while coming off the bench for the second straight game after starting the previous 31. That performance followed up a season-high, 26-point outing against the Warriors.

"It's different," he said. "Obviously, when you come off the bench, you have to use that time on the bench to evaluate the speed of the game, how we're playing, what we're doing well, what we're not doing well. And when you get into the game, you have to try to make that impact from there."

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 18 points, Marcus Morris supplied 15 and Leuer and Reggie Jackson chipped in 13 apiece for the Pistons. Andre Drummond added 11 points and a game-high 17 rebounds on a night when the last-place Pistons (15-18) never trailed.

Irving led the Cavaliers, who had their five-game winning streak snapped, with 18 points and eight assists. Love contributed 17 points and 14 rebounds. Iman Shumpert, Kay Felder and Channing Frye had 11 points apiece.

"Guys have to do more," Lue said of playing without James. "We have specialists, guys who can make shots. That opens up the floor for Kyrie, LeBron and Kevin to go to work. When one of our key guys doesn't play, that makes it tough on the other two and it makes it tough on the rest of the team, also."

Irving sensed from the opening minutes the Cavs were in trouble.

"Those guys were ready for us," he said. "They came out and jumped on us. Got out to an 8-0 start, and we were just climbing back the whole game and never really got the lead or the game in our possession."

The Cavs pulled within one on a couple of occasions in the third quarter but couldn't get over the hump. Leuer had an eight-point quarter, and Detroit finished it with an 11-3 spurt for a 76-64 advantage.

Harris and Caldwell-Pope tossed in three-pointers in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, extending Detroit's lead to 17. The margin remained in double digits the rest of the way.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Big Three return but Cavaliers given fright by lowly Lakers

LeBron James' rested legs were strong enough in the fourth quarter to carry the Cleveland Cavaliers over the pesky Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.

In fact, all three of the Cavs' rested stars played a key role in the victory.

James scored 26 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, and Kyrie Irving had 21 points and matched his career high with 12 assists in Cleveland's 119-108 home victory over the Lakers.

Kevin Love had 27 points and a season-high 17 rebounds after coach Tyronn Lue rested all three in Cleveland's previous game on Wednesday. Irving took a week off because he complained to Lue he had tired legs in last Saturday's win over Charlotte.

"It was warranted. How I felt, knowing the importance of what was coming up in the season, I think it was a great group decision in terms of the rest that was needed," Irving said. "I had no arguments with that."

The Lakers snapped an eight-game losing skid Friday at Philadelphia, but they've been known to give the league's elite teams fits. They smashed the Golden State Warriors by 20 earlier this season, the second straight season they've beaten their in-state rivals.

The Lakers led by as many as eight late in the first quarter and maintained the lead into the second quarter until the Cavs started to rally. They remained within 108-105 late in the fourth quarter after two 3-pointers from Nick Young.

Young scored a season-high 32 points and Julius Randle had 16 points and seven assists for the Lakers. Luol Deng scored 15 points.

"We are finding out how hard it is to win a single game in this league," Lakers coach Luke Walton said.

The Lakers were without starting point guard D'Angelo Russell, who sat out after appearing tired in the second half on Friday at Philadelphia. Russell recently returned from platelet-rich plasma therapy on his right knee and the Lakers are being cautious with him.

Even without their star, the Lakers made 16 3-pointers and nearly pulled off the stunning upset on the road.

James' 3-pointer with 2:32 left extended the Cavs' lead to 113-105 and finally seemed to put away the Lakers.

Lue warned Saturday that this might not be the last time Irving sits for an extended period this season. It certainly seemed to help him Saturday. Irving played 38 minutes and registered 12 assists for the second time this season.

"In practice (Friday), he looked really good, had a lot of pop, was moving around well," Lue said.

"There will probably come another time where he's going to need a little rest also. Right now, he's feeling good and that's the biggest thing for me."

(Editing by Andrew Both)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Curry outguns Davis, Cavs maul Grizzlies

LOS ANGELES -- Stephen Curry scored 30 points to win his duel with Anthony Davis as the Golden State Warriors dug deep to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans while the Cleveland Cavaliers demolished the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday.

Reigning NBA MVP Curry's haul in a 113-109 victory included five three-pointers as well as four rebounds and seven assists to boost the Warriors to 22-4 for the season.

Davis, second only to Russell Westbrook in the points scoring charts this season, averaging just over 30 per game, scored 28 points in the Pelicans' losing effort.


Davis also pulled down eight rebounds and produced three assists but ultimately the Warriors had too much firepower for the home team.

Kevin Durant added 27 points for the Dubs while Klay Thompson finished with 17 and Draymond Green made his first triple double of the season -- 12 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists.

Green also single-handedly stifled Davis in the final 4:48, preventing the Pelicans from making a single field goal.

"Draymond loves being in that situation," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "He relishes it. He really does, even against a guy like Anthony Davis, who's so good. He's a nasty defender."

In Cleveland, Kevin Love scored 29 points as the Cavaliers shrugged off the absence of Kyrie Irving to down the Memphis Grizzlies 103-86.

Irving was given the night off after complaining of tiredness in his legs after last weekend's victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

But the 24-year-old point guard's absence was barely felt as Cleveland romped home thanks to Love and LeBron James, who chipped in with 23 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Love also contributed 13 rebounds, while J.R. Smith filled the void left by Irving to weigh in with a 23-point haul which included six three-pointers.

The victory saw the NBA champion Cavaliers improve to 18-5, tightening their grip at the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

Zach Randolph led the scoring for the Grizzlies with 18 points and five rebounds as the visitors rested All-Star center Marc Gasol.

- Big Three to be rested -

Andrew Harrison and Troy Williams scored 13 points for Memphis who fell to 17-9.

Tuesday's game at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena was the first of back-to-back games between the two sides. The Cavaliers face the Grizzlies again on Wednesday at Memphis's FedEx Forum.

Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said afterwards he had purposely chosen James and Love on Tuesday, rather than split the duo up over the two games.

"We're home to play in front of our fans... So, with two of the Big Three, I know we can win that game," Lue said.

"It will be hard to go down and travel, and to ask one person to try to carry the team, especially the way the offense runs," added Lue, confirming James, Love and Irving would all miss Wednesday's road trip.

Grizzlies coach David Fizdale bemoaned a second quarter performance which saw his team fall behind by 22 points at one stage.

"You can't spot a great team that many points and think you're gonna get it going on their floor and make a full run and come back," Fizdale said.

"We showed some moments where we were cutting into their lead, but it's too late. I was disappointed with our effort in the first half."

In Chicago, the Minnesota Timberwolves overturned a 21-point deficit to stun the Bulls in a 99-94 upset.

Zach Lavine scored 24 points while Andrew Wiggins added 23 as Minnesota chalked up an unlikely road victory to improve to 7-18 for the year.

"It was a bad first quarter," said Wiggins. "But we fixed it."

Jimmy Butler topscored for Chicago with 27 points.

Butler had hauled Chicago back into the contest with a fade-away jumper that tied it up at 91-91 with 1:34 left.

But Lavine, Wiggins and Ricky Rubio combined for an eight-point run to give Minnesota an unassailable lead.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Resurgent Cavaliers crush Knicks

NEW YORK -- Kyrie Irving's Madison Square Garden mojo continued Wednesday as he scored 28 points in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 126-94 NBA rout of the New York Knicks.

Irving's scoring average of 28.4 points in six games at the iconic Manhattan venue is his highest scoring average among all NBA arenas.

"I've loved this place since I was a kid sitting in the nosebleed seats," Irving said. "Every time I come out here I want to put on a show for the fans. I never take it for granted."

Cavs superstar LeBron James added 25 points and Kevin Love contributed 21 points as the reigning NBA champions followed up their 116-112 win over the Raptors in Toronto with a second road triumph.

The victories confirmed that the Cavaliers have put a three-game skid behind them.

It was the sixth time this season and the 16th time since the 2014-15 season that Irving, James and Love all scored at least 20 points in a game.

Cleveland, who improved to 15-5, poured in 22 three-pointers, and center Tristan Thompson grabbed 20 rebounds for the second time in his career.

The Cavaliers have won six straight at Madison Square Garden and eight in a row overall against the Knicks.

With their latest win, they cooled off the hottest team in the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks had won nine of their previous 12 games, but showed their fatigue a night after a 114-103 victory over the Heat in Miami.

"We didn't have the same energy they did," said Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek. "We're not a big, strong team, so we have to rely on our quickness and we weren't able to do that."

With point guard Derrick Rose still sidelined after back spasms forced him out against the Heat, Brandon Jennings filled in and scored 16 points for the Knicks.

Courtney Lee added 15 but veteran star Carmelo Anthony was limited to eight points in 23 minutes on the floor.

James's 19 first-half points, which helped the Cavs to a 63-48 halftime lead, were his most in a half this season.

He was all business after sparking comment by declining to stay with the rest of the team at the Trump SoHo hotel.

James, who backed Hillary Clinton in the US presidential race, insisted he was "not trying to make a statement" in opting not to stay in a hotel bearing the name of US President-elect Donald Trump.

"It's just my personal preference," he said. "At the end of the day, I hope he's one of the best presidents ever, for all of our sakes -- my family, for all of us. It's just my personal preference."

source: news.abs-cbn.com