LeBron James triple-double fuels Cavs over Lakers

LOS ANGELES - Cleveland star LeBron James tied Larry Bird for sixth all time in NBA triple-doubles Thursday as the Cavaliers beat the Los Angeles Lakers 121-112.

"King" James scored 25 points with 12 rebounds and 12 assists for the 59th triple-double of his 15-season career.

Cleveland's Kevin Love led all scorers with 28 points, while Jose Calderon added a season high 17.

Lonzo Ball, the Lakers rookie playing against James for the first time, finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

Brandon Ingram scored 26 points to lead the young, energetic Lakers, who seized an early lead before the Cavaliers found their range.

Cleveland scored 100 points for the 22nd consecutive game, winning for the 16th time in 17 contests.

James helped put the game away, his dunk with 2:20 remaining and short shot with 1:38 to play putting the Cavs up 117-108.

"Tonight the difficult challenge was the way they were kind of spreading the floor, running up and down," James said. "But if we defend, if we share the ball, move the ball, we're going to give ourselves a good chance to win every night."

In other early games, the New York Knicks lost star forward Kristaps Porzingis with a left knee injury in the third quarter but held on for a 111-104 victory over the Nets in Brooklyn.

Although they were just across town from their Madison Square Garden Arena, for the Knicks it was a much needed road win -- just their second of the season.

Courtney Lee scored a season high 27 points for the Knicks. Michael Beasley, who replaced Porzingis, added 15 points and Turkish center Enes Kanter added 13 points with nine rebounds.

The Detroit Pistons, called out by coach Stan Van Gundy after dropping their seventh straight game on Tuesday, snapped their skid with an emphatic 105-91 victory over Hawks in Atlanta.

Andre Drummond scored 12 points, pulled down 19 rebounds and handed out nine assists for the Pistons.

"It's a little less burdensome now," Van Gundy said of ending the losing streak that had stretched over the first two weeks of December. "Maybe we just get back to playing basketball."

bb/jm

source: news.abs-cbn.com

George has successful surgery after horrific injury

Indiana Pacers All-Star forward Paul George is recovering in a Las Vegas hospital following successful surgery on a horrific leg injury in a USA Basketball game, the National Basketball Association team said on Saturday.

"Our initial discussions with our doctors and the doctors in Las Vegas have us very optimistic," Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird said in a statement.

"We are hopeful at some point next week Paul will return to Indianapolis to continue his recovery."

George, the Pacers' key player, suffered an open fracture of the tibia and fibula bones in his lower right leg, USA Basketball said, when he contested a layup attempt by Houston Rockets' James Harden in a practice game on Friday in Las Vegas.

The game was cancelled and George had surgery later that night.

"I'll be ok and be back better than ever!!!" George said on Twitter.

U.S. media speculated that because of the seriousness of the injury it could be months before George is back on his feet and that his 2014-15 season could be in jeopardy.

Bird declined to comment on a timeframe for George's return to the court.

"Our first thoughts are with Paul and his family," said NBA great Bird. "It is way too early to speculate on his return as the No. 1 priority for everyone will be his recovery."

WIDESPREAD SUPPORT

The injury, which occurred when the 24-year-old George collided against bottom of the basketball stanchion, brought an outpouring of support from fellow NBA players and league officials.

"Made me immediately sick to my stomach!!" Cleveland Cavaliers' new acquisition LeBron James, who was not at the game, tweeted after learning of the injury. "Praying for u a speedy recovery homie!!!

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said: "It was difficult to watch the injury that Paul George sustained tonight while representing his country. The thoughts and prayers of all of us at the NBA are with Paul and his family."

Despite the impact the injury might have on the Pacers, one of the top teams in the NBA's Eastern Conference, Bird said the franchise would continue to back USA Basketball.

"We still support USA Basketball and believe in the NBA's goals of exposing our game, our teams and players worldwide," said the standout on the original NBA "Dream Team" that won the 1992 Olympic gold medal.

"This is an extremely unfortunate injury that occurred on a highly-visible stage, but could also have occurred anytime, anywhere."

USA Basketball was using the Las Vegas training camp and the game to help select a team to defend their 2010 world title at the World Cup in Spain beginning on Aug. 30.

They are aiming to become the third team after Brazil (1959 and 1963) and Yugoslavia (1998 and 2002) to win back-to-back world titles.

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Wilson, North Carolina; Editing by Ken Ferris)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Larry Bird lauds Coach Spo's 'fantastic job' with Heat

MANILA, Philippines -- NBA legend and current Indiana Pacers president for basketball operations Larry Bird commended Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra for a job well done in leading the Heat to back-to-back championships amid intense scrutiny and public attention.

"He's done a great job. A great job," said Bird, who met with Philippine media briefly on Wednesday while the Pacers practiced for the NBA Global Games. "He's a very young coach, even though he's been part of basketball for a long time."

"He had a lot of scrutiny going on and it's been a very tough job for him, but I think he handled it as well as he possibly could," Bird added.

Spoelstra, the first Filipino-American head coach to win an NBA championship, led the Heat to back-to-back titles this year. Along the way, they beat the Pacers in a hotly contested seven-game series in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Indiana head coach Frank Vogel had previously said Spoelstra does not get enough credit for what he has done with Heat, especially in terms of coaching a team that features three superstars -- LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Today, Bird noted that the amount of talent that Miami has makes Spoelstra's job even more difficult.

"Obviously, they have a lot of talent down there," said the Boston Celtics legend. "But sometimes, the teams with the most talent are the most difficult to coach. So I think he has done a fantastic job."

Bird's Pacers will play the Houston Rockets in the first ever NBA pre-season game to be held in Manila tomorrow at the Mall of Asia Arena.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com