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.

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Green has extra motive to spark Warriors after ban

CLEVELAND -- Golden State forward Draymond Green could only watch as his teammates missed a chance to capture the NBA Finals, but he's back from a suspension and more motivated than ever.

"I owe it to my teammates to come back and give all I have, all I can do to better the situation," Green said Wednesday. "To come back and be a piece of that great team is what I owe my teammates. I'll move on from the suspension. It's behind us."

Facing Green and the defending champion Warriors is Thursday's sixth game of the NBA Finals, with host Cleveland down 3-2 in the best-of-seven series after taking game five 112-97 while Green was banished.


Green, the only Warrior to play in all 88 combined regular-season and playoff triumphs this season, was banned for accumulated playoff flagrant fouls, the latest when a flailing hand struck Cavaliers star LeBron James in the groin late in a game four Golden State victory.

"I missed game five. I let my teammates down," Green said. "I have to be better and not put myself in that position."

Another flagrant or technical foul Thursday by Green would bring a ban for a Sunday game seven.

"I don't go into game six thinking, 'Will my patience be tested? Will it not?' It's a hard enough challenge trying to win a game in the NBA Finals," Green said.

"I've got to come out and play my game regardless, but there are those little fine lines where you just know you can't cross them. I just have to make sure that I'm well composed when those situations come about, that I control my emotions."

Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said there will be no thought to trying to entice Green into losing his cool, as some accused James of doing in game five by stepping over a prone Green.

"We're not going to go in trying to make him pick up a technical foul or flagrant foul," Lue said. "You've got to play the game the way it's supposed to be played."

Instead of playing Monday, Green was exiled to watch on television from a luxury box in an adjacent stadium during an Oakland A's baseball game, near enough to run over for a title celebration.

"It would have been the ultimate video to see him running across from the baseball stadium with a camera following him into the arena," said Warriors star Stephen Curry. "It didn't happen. But we're going to have another opportunity and nobody will remember this down the road if we get this done tomorrow night."


- 'Emotional roller coaster' -

Green was in misery, feeling helpless and that he would have made the difference.

"I have strong belief that if I play game five, we win," Green said. "I do my teammates no justice in street clothes watching at the A's game.

"It was brutal, man. It was one of the weirdest days ever for me. My emotions were all over the place. At times, I'm excited. At times, I'm frustrated. At times, I'm down, an emotional roller coaster."

Warriors general manager Bob Myers watched with Green while co-owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber texted him constantly as he watched.

"The support that I received, I can't take that for granted," Green said. "It's my time of need and who can you turn to? ... Sharing that tough moment with me, it meant a lot."

But the punishment taught Green he must keep better check on his emotions.

"I learned a lot, as a basketball player, as a man, just things you have to do," he said. "One thing I've already been teaching myself and trying to learn how to do is control my emotions.

"Me not being out there on the floor to battle with my guys is being a bad teammate. I take pride in being a good teammate and the way I view it, it's awful. Terrible teammate."

"It's an exaggeration to say he's a bad teammate," Warriors forward Harrison Barnes responded. "He said that, but we're not going with that. Things happen."

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Curry, Irving seek shooting form in Finals

OAKLAND -- Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry and Cleveland Cavaliers playmaker Kyrie Irving will try to shake off poor shooting performances Sunday in game two of the NBA Finals.

NBA scoring champion Curry connected on only 4-of-15 shots for 11 points in the Warriors' 104-89 victory in Thursday's best-of-seven series opener while Irving hit just 7-of-22 from the floor but went 11-of-12 from the free throw line to score a game-high 26 points.

"I'm going to continue to have an aggressive mindset," Irving said. "You have to pick and choose your spots. It's just being more efficient in those spots when we're in transition, more efficient on those opportunities."

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Curry, who hit a record 402 3-pointers this season, will often be guarding Irving as he tries to bounce back from one of his worst showings.

"I just need to play better," Curry said. "When we're at our competitive best as a team is usually when I'm playing a pretty good game. I don't think I need to press to score a certain amount of points, but be more decisive with the ball."

That's the same thing Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue wants to see from Irving.

"We want Kyrie to be aggressive but it has to be sharp, quick attacks," Lue said. "You can't dribble for eight or nine seconds.

"But we need him to score. Kyrie is the one guy we have who can break down guys off the dribble, so it's going to be a fine line but he has to be quicker on the attack."

Lue also told Cavaliers star LeBron James to pick up the offensive pace and make quicker decisions just as Irving must.

"He can score with the best of them and you never want to take that aggression from him," James said of Irving. "We know as a team when the ball is moving and has good energy behind it, we're all in good rhythm."

Curry got a brief lesson in Saturday's practice from Jerry West, a Warriors part owner and executive who was a 1960s star for the Los Angeles Lakers.

West, whose silhouette was used for the NBA's logo, worked with Curry on hand positions but downplayed his effort, saying, "I'm no messenger."

Still, it was clear Curry was intently paying attention to every hint and idea.

"He has such a unique perspective and the little things he sees, especially from my game -- how to use leverage with your hands, use your body to create space -- that's invaluable advice," Curry said.

"When he comes around and gives us a little something that might help us it's important -- it's 'The Logo' so you take his advice strongly."

The two-day gap between games is a scheduling change made to better ensure players are at their peak and not too fatigued from nearly two months of playoff efforts.

"From a mental standpoint it's a little too long but from a physical standpoint it's great getting so much recovery," Irving said. "I know the league wants to see everyone at the top of their games playing at the highest level as healthy as they can be, so I don't really mind."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Cleveland Cavaliers beat Toronto Raptors to reach NBA finals

NEW YORK, United States - LeBron James scored 33 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers booked their place in the NBA finals with a 113-87 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday.

James contributed six assists and 11 rebounds as the Cavs completed a 4-2 series victory to advance to the finals for a second year running.

The Cavaliers will face either the Golden State Warriors or the Oklahoma City Thunder in next week's finals. Oklahoma City currently lead the Western Conference series 3-2 ahead of Game Six on Saturday.

James will be playing in the NBA finals for the sixth straight year. The Cleveland star reached the finals for four years in a row with the Miami Heat before returning to Cleveland in 2014.

"I knew this was going to be tough game coming to this building -- I just had to bring my game, I had to be in attack mode from the beginning, trust my shots," said a delighted James. "I knew once my shots started going in I could start getting my team-mates involved and they were able to carry me down the stretch."

The Cavaliers' appearance in the finals caps a rollercoaster season which saw head coach David Blatt fired in January and replaced with Tyronn Lue.

James himself had earlier in the season voiced doubts as to whether the Cavaliers had the ability to challenge for the title -- reservations which seemed a distant memory in the afterglow of Friday's win.

"We've covered a lot of ground and I still believe we can get better," James said.

"We've had our ups and downs. But take nothing away from what we've done -- our guys are unbelievable, our coaching staff are unbelievable."

The Cavaliers had taken a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series against Toronto before being jolted by back-to-back defeats as the Raptors leveled at 2-2.

- 'Big-time leadership' -

But Cleveland reasserted their superiority on Wednesday to regain the initiative with a win in Game Five before ramming home their advantage to silence the home crowd in Toronto on Friday.

It was James's first 30-point game of the 2015 postseason, with the Cavaliers also benefiting from big contributions from Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Irving finished with 30 points with Love adding 20 as well as 12 rebounds and four assists.

Toronto meanwhile brought the curtain down on their first ever appearance in the Eastern Conference finals with a 35-point display from Kyle Lowry, while DeMar DeRozan added 20 points.

James is looking forward to having Irving and Love firing on all cylinders after the bitter memory of last season, when both players missed the bulk of the NBA finals against Golden State with injuries.

"I'm so proud of those two guys," James said. "They worked their tails off through adversity to get back. Big-time performances and big-time leadership from those two guys and I'm happy to be a part of it."

Cavs coach Lue meanwhile said he was looking forward to challenging in the finals with a full complement of players.

"Getting back to the championship with everybody healthy, it's our chance to really show what we can do," said Lue, praising James for helping the Cavaliers get off to a solid early start with a 14-point display in the first quarter.

"We needed LeBron to set the tone for us early and I thought he did that," Lue said.

"I needed him to take charge and take the lead in that first quarter. He really did that for us tonight. He's just a great player. He's a proven winner.

Love attributed the Cavs' victory to team unity. "We all have trust in each other, we all have each other's back," he said.

"We've grown throughout the season. We're back we're we want to be but we've got a lot of work to do."

Love's sentiment was shared by Lue.

"The biggest thing that I'm proud of is that we came together. We trusted," Lue said.

"You could see that on the floor. It's beautiful to watch."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Cavs use 3-point onslaught to pound Hawks

LOS ANGELES -- The Cleveland Cavaliers fired a record-setting 25 three pointers as they pummelled the Atlanta Hawks 123-98 to seize a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference playoff series on Wednesday.

Cleveland produced 18 first half three pointers which propelled them to a 74-38 halftime lead. JR Smith led the barrage from beyond the arc with seven overall as 10 Cleveland players made three pointers in the second round postseason game.

"When he's making shots, it becomes contagious," said Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said of Smith.

Dahntay Jones' three-pointer with 2:24 remaining in the fourth gave Cleveland the all-time record, surpassing the 2009 Orlando Magic and the 2013 Houston Rockets, who each made 23 threes.

Mo Williams added the final three-pointer on the Cavaliers' next possession.

"We were getting open shots and taking open shots and we were making them," Lue said.

The Cavaliers also broke the record for most threes in a playoff game of 21, which was set by the Golden State Warriors last month.

The Cavaliers have won their last nine games against the Hawks and all 10 playoff games between the two teams.

The series shifts to Atlanta for game three on Friday and game four on Sunday.

Cleveland's halftime lead of 36 points is the largest in the NBA during a playoff game since 1987. The Cavaliers also led by as many as 41 points in the third quarter.

Lue said he also credited his defence with helping secure the dominating victory.

"Outside of the threes I thought our defence was great," he said. "That was our best defensive effort in a long time. If we compete and we play great defensively we can get out and run and pretty much get anything we want."

LeBron James scored 27 points, Smith scored 23 while shooting seven-of-13 from three-point range, and Kyrie Irving had 19 points.

Kevin Love added 11 points and 13 rebounds. Cleveland began the night averaging an NBA-best 14.4 three-pointers.

"We will just continue to keep sharing the ball. Our guys have a lot of trust. They trust each other on the defensive end and they trust each other on the offensive end. If a guy is open he knows he is going to get the ball," Lue said.

Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said the Cavs' three-point shooting was a big concern after Cleveland made 15 three-pointers in a game one victory. On Wednesday, Cleveland had 15 three pointers by the second quarter.

Paul Millsap had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Atlanta. Jeff Teague scored 14 points and Kris Humphries had 12.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Cavaliers fire Blatt, hire Lue as new coach

NEW YORK, United States - David Blatt was fired Friday as coach of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers and replaced by associate coach Tyronn Lue, the first coach axed with his team atop an NBA conference.

"I'm measuring more than wins and losses," Cavaliers general manager David Griffin told a press conference at the Cavaliers' training facility, which was streamed on the team's website.

"I'm focusing on a bigger picture and I'm really trying to decide -- are we working toward a championship, are we building a championship culture."

Griffin said he thought Lue would be able to instill a "collective spirit" in Cavaliers players, something he said all elite NBA clubs have and which the Cavs are lacking under Blatt.

Griffin was at pains to say he did not consult superstar LeBron James prior to the move.

He informed the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player -- who rejoined his home state club in 2014 with the goal of bringing a championship to the region -- along with the rest of the players after the fact.

"LeBron plays for this team," Griffin said. "LeBron doesn't run this organization, he's about this organization."

The Cavaliers lead the Eastern Conference with a 30-11 record, third-best in the league behind the Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs, and figure to be contending for the title again after losing to Golden State in last year's NBA Finals.

Griffin said a humbling 132-98 loss to Golden State on Monday wasn't the trigger for Blatt's sacking.

Instead, he felt that while the Cavaliers had coped well with adversity -- including injuries sidelining Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert for the first two months of the season -- they were not dealing as well with "prosperity" now that they are largely healthy and on top of the East.

Blatt becomes the seventh NBA coach in 40 years to reach a final only to be fired the next season.

"I am proud of what we have accomplished since I have been the head coach and wish the Cavaliers nothing but the best this season and beyond," Blatt said on Twitter.

- Questions nagged Blatt -

Questions had nagged Blatt almost since the start of his tenure. He had been selected as coach of the team in June 2014 just weeks before James announced he was leaving the Miami Heat to rejoin the Cavaliers.

Suddenly Blatt, who made his name as a coach in Israel and by leading Russia to a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, was guiding a team with nothing less than championship aspirations, payroll and talent.

Blatt leaves his first NBA coaching post with an 83-40 record and a club-record .675 winning percentage.

Lue, himself a former NBA point guard, has a strong relationship with James and other Cavs players as he goes into his first NBA head coaching job.

US media reported Lue had signed a three-year contract to be the team's head coach.

However, Griffin said that while Lue has been given the head coach's title -- without an "interim" tag -- such a contract is "absolutely not in place."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com