Cavs All-Star Love sustains head injury in Game 6

CLEVELAND — Cavaliers All-Star forward Kevin Love will miss the remainder of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals after banging heads with Boston’s Jayson Tatum.

Love and Tatum inadvertently collided midway through the opening quarter and both dropped to the floor. Love, who missed a March 28 game at Charlotte with a concussion, immediately raised his left arm as if to signal he needed help.

He stayed down for several minutes before he was pulled to his feet. Love walked unsteadily to the bench with guard George Hill holding one of his arms. Love sat briefly before heading to the locker room for further evaluation.


The Cavs said Love is being evaluated for a concussion and being kept out as a precaution.

Love was replaced by Jeff Green, who sparked the Cavs to a 54-43 halftime lead.

Tatum stayed in the game.

Love, who is in his fourth season with Cleveland and is the club’s second-best player, is averaging 15 points and 11 rebounds in the series.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Cavaliers may find Love sooner than expected

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — As the Cavaliers experience growing pains with four new players, relief might be ahead: Kevin Love.

The All-Star forward, sidelined since Jan. 29 with a broken left hand, said Friday he could return sooner than expected. The initial timetable was for him to be out two months.

“If I can get back before eight weeks, great,” he said. “So I’m hoping that that is the case.”

Love’s recovery has picked up speed in recent days. He’s now able to catch the ball with a padded glove to protect his left hand, and the progress is such that there’s less risk for re-injury.

“One of the things I can do now is kind of catch the ball, guide it and shoot it within 12-15 feet so that feels good to do something other than run on the treadmill or run on the bike so it’s nice,” he said.

The Cavaliers have been transformed since the last time Love played, with their roster overhauled by three trades before the deadline. Cleveland is just 3-4 since adding guards George Hill, Jordan Clarkson and forwards Rodney Hood and Larry Nance Jr. But Love has been encouraged by the infusion of talent and is excited about the team’s prospects once he returns.

Reduced to a role of interested observer, Love has watched as coach Tyronn Lue force feeds numerous offensive sets and defensive principles to players who began the season in different systems. The new-look Cavs have had some great moments, and more than a few tough ones.

Following Thursday’s home loss to Philadelphia, Lue said he planned to simplify things for his new players. On Friday, the Cavs watched film and afterward Lue said he’s still confident his club will mesh.

“I feel good about this team,” Lue said. “No doubt about it. We got a lot of young talent. We got a lot of good pieces. We’re just trying to figure it out, put it together. We’ve only played seven games right now and those guys are still trying to figure it out.”

There will be another adjustment when Love returns, but it won’t be as if Lue has to re-teach him how to play with LeBron James, J.R. Smith and Tristan Thompson, the four players remaining from Cleveland’s 2016 NBA title team.

The Cavs may not be the same, but Love believes they remain strong.

“We have guys who have been here and know exactly what to expect moving forward,” said Love, who is averaging 17.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and shooting 40 percent on 3-pointers. “So it’s on us to bring everybody along and have veteran guys push maybe the younger guys or the new guys through the process. …

“The coaching staff has remained the same so we know what they want out of us. Having some new blood and some new faces in some ways can be a good thing because they’re going to be very hungry and want to get on that quick learning curve to make it so we have a big run.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Irving, Love return as James, Cavs beat Nets 116-108

NEW YORK, New York—Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were rusty and Kyle Korver is still not a Cavalier, so LeBron James needed to play a heavy role Friday.

As usual, he was up to the task.

James scored 36 points, carrying Cleveland while Irving and Love had slow starts in their return to the lineup in a 116-108 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Irving added 32 points and Love had 17 points and 13 rebounds, but both shot poorly early as the Nets kept it competitive for 1 1/2 quarters. James helped the Cavs open a comfortable lead by halftime they enjoyed most of the rest of the way in the opener of a six-game trip.

“Ky was a little rusty coming off a couple of games out and obviously Kev as well,” James said, “so I was just trying to see if I could push the tempo, get us into a good flow, get some early buckets in the second quarter and I was able to push the lead to a double-digit lead by halftime. So it worked well for us.”

The Cavs were still working to finalize a trade with Atlanta to acquire Korver, which will add a premier perimeter shooter to their second unit.

“Every shooter that comes here we tell them LeBron’s statement: If a guy’s not in your numbers, then you’re open,” Irving said. “So I know he’ll pretty much enjoy that.”

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 23 points for the Nets, who have lost five straight.

“We just tried to compete the whole game. We dug ourselves a hole,” rookie Caris LeVert said after scoring a season-high 19 points.

Love missed a loss to Chicago on Wednesday and was limited in the previous game after suffering from food poisoning on New Year’s Day. Irving had sat out the last three with right hamstring tightness.

Irving started 1 for 8 and Love was 1 for 7 as the Nets, who trailed by 46 during their loss at Cleveland on Dec. 23, led with under five minutes remaining in the second quarter. But James had 10 points in the final 3:09 as Cleveland took a 50-39 lead.

Love then had 10 points in the Cavs’ 36-point third quarter and Irving heated up late as Cleveland broke it open again after the Nets trimmed a 24-point deficit to six in the fourth quarter.

“I thought they were rusty but we did a good job of working them back in and they were able to finish the game,” Lue said.

Irving finished 10 for 26 from the field with three 3-pointers. Love was 5 for 16.

Tristan Thompson was 0 for 9 from the free throw line in the first half before finally making a pair with 4:27 left in the third quarter after the Nets fouled him intentionally. He finished 4 for 13.

Though the trade with Atlanta wasn’t done yet, the Cavaliers did complete one with Portland. The Cavs re-acquired the 2018 first-round pick they had sent the Trail Blazers along with Anderson Varejao last February, in exchange for their 2017 first-rounder.

Nets coach Kenny Atkinson, who was an assistant in Atlanta, said the Cavaliers are making a great move to get Korver.

“I think we all make a mistake if we just think Kyle’s a shooter,” Atkinson said. “I think he’s a better all-around player than people think. I think he’s a better defender than people think. Better passer. He’s just really great IQ and he’s going to help them in so many ways.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Irving’s 39, James’ triple-double lead Cavs past 76ers

PHILADELPHIA — The Cavaliers have so many ways to beat teams, and this time it was Kyrie Irving’s turn to win a game.

Irving scored 19 of his season-high 39 points in the fourth quarter and LeBron James had a triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists, leading Cleveland to a 112-108 comeback victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.

Kevin Love chipped in 25 points and 11 rebounds to help the defending champions (13-2) improve to their fourth straight win.




“When you have great players, it can come from any of us at any given moment,” Irving said. “When one of us gets it going, we always continue to go to that person. It can be anybody’s night. We’re always trusting each other. That fourth quarter was just for me to be aggressive.”

Joel Embiid led seven players in double figures with 22 points for the 76ers, who have lost three straight. Embiid also had nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

“When those guys are on like that, it’s really hard to beat them,” Embiid said.

The Cavaliers never led through the first three quarters, but Irving got hot early in the fourth to put Cleveland in front. He gave Cleveland its first lead on a layup 2:38 into the period and had 10 of the first 13 Cavaliers fourth-quarter points on a variety of jumpers and drives. His layup with 7:51 left gave Cleveland its biggest lead to that point, 90-86.

Asked what he liked about Irving’s fourth quarter, James said, “Could you not like everything?”

“Whoever has the hot hand, we want to continue to get it to him,” James said. “Kyrie understands what needs to be done in order for us to win. He showcased that today.”

Cleveland trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half. The Cavaliers got as close as 72-70 on James Jones’ 3-pointer with 3:53 left in the third quarter. But the 76ers scored nine of the next 10 points, capped by Dario Saric’s 3-pointer that made it 81-71. James had four and Love two as the Cavaliers ran off the final six points of the quarter to enter the final period down 81-77.

STITCHED UP

Love was limited to 28 minutes after receiving five stitches for a cut over his right eye suffered early in the first quarter.

SLOW START

The Cavs missed their first 14 shots, but Philadelphia couldn’t take full advantage and led just 10-2 before James’ driving layup with 6:50 left in the first quarter resulted in Cleveland’s first field goal.

VERBAL EXCHANGE

James and Embiid got into a verbal altercation late in the first quarter. Richard Jefferson was whistled for a foul on Embiid’s drive, and James questioned the call. Embiid went toward James’ direction, but officials stepped between the players. The incident drew a rise in the crowd.

James provided a couple of first-half highlights, dunking with 6:03 left in the first quarter and then following a missed free throw with a dunk with 1:17 to go in the first half. He has three triple-doubles this season.

OFF NIGHT

J.R. Smith went 0 for 11 from the field, including 0 for 7 from 3-point range.

“As a shooter you’re not going to make every shot,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said. “Defensively, he was great like he’s been all year. His shots are going to fall. When they do, we’ll be really tough to stop.”

MORE MINUTES?

Embiid was limited to 25 minutes, eight of which came in the fourth quarter, as part of his minutes restriction that is part of his rehab plan after missing the last two seasons with a foot injury.

“You come up with some really hard decisions that maybe don’t favor me or us or whatever,” 76ers coach Brett Brown said. “But for the long term lens that we all have, we have to be responsible with Joel Embiid. Winning a game in the middle of November in 2016 sometimes that takes a back seat.”

Embiid didn’t play in Friday’s 105-89 loss to the Bulls and won’t play Monday night at Toronto, marking the sixth game he will miss this season.

IT MUST BE THE SHOES

James was excited about many Ohio State players wearing his shoes in Saturday’s Ohio State-Michigan football game, a game in which the Cavaliers attended as a team.

“They looked good in those shoes,” James said. “It was a proud moment for me. I don’t get too happy about a lot of things, but I was happy about that.”

TIP-INS

Cavaliers: Channing Frye (personal) was not with the team. Frye’s father died Thursday. … Cleveland beat Philadelphia 102-101 on Nov. 5. … James’ 3-pointer with 5:01 left in the second period was his 1,000th as a member of the Cavaliers. … Cleveland has made at least 10 3-pointers in every game this season.

76ers: Jerryd Bayless (left wrist) didn’t play. Bayless missed the first 13 games of the season with a left wrist injury.


UP NEXT

Cavaliers: At Milwaukee on Tuesday night.

76ers: At Toronto on Monday night.

source: sports.inquirer.net

NBA: James returns for Cavs blowout over Pistons

LeBron James returned with 21 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers got back to winning ways with a 104-81 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday.

James, who was rested for the Cavs defeat to the the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, added three rebounds and three assists as the NBA Champions improved to 10-2.

Kyrie Irving topscored with 25 points and claimed 11 assists while Kevin Love chipped in with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

The defeat continues Detroit’s poor record on the road this season. The Pistons have now gone 1-7 on their travels, shooting just 31 percent on Friday.

The Cavs meanwhile maintained their strong start to the season, extending their NBA record run of games in which they have made at least 10 three-pointers to 12.

For Detroit, Jon Leuer scored 15 points, while Andre Drummond added eight with 10 rebounds.

The Pistons, however, were never in the game after trailing 56-39 at half-time with the Cavs opening up a 33-point lead at one stage in the fourth quarter.

J.R. Smith, meanwhile, returned from an ankle injury after a week’s layoff to score nine points via a trio of three-pointers.

The 31-year-old’s tally saw him ease past Dirk Nowitzki’s mark of 1,703 three-pointers into 15th on the all-time list.

Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said Smith was benefiting from being less of a target for opposition teams than James, Irving and Love.

“He’s always been a great shooter,” Lue said.

“Here with this team, with Kevin and Kyrie and LeBron and the way they demand so much attention, now he’s getting open, easy shots and he’s always been a knockdown shooter. I think now he’s getting easier shots and shots in rhythm and he knows where his shot’s gonna come from.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Kevin Love finally lands in Cleveland

The Cleveland Cavaliers have sent top overall draft pick Andrew Wiggins and former number one pick Anthony Bennett to the Minnesota Timberwolves for prized All-Star forward Kevin Love as part of a blockbuster three-team deal.

Cleveland also sent a protected 2015 first-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers, who will acquire guard Alexey Shved and forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute from the Timberwolves in exchange for veteran forward Thaddeus Young in the multi-player trade.

The addition of Love, who will team up with recently-signed four-time league most valuable player LeBron James and exciting young talent Kyrie Irving, further solidifies the Cavaliers as a favourite to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.

"Kevin joining the Cavaliers represents a very special and unique opportunity for our team," Cavaliers general manager David Griffin said in a statement after the three-way trade was formally announced on Saturday.

"At only 25, Kevin has already firmly established himself as one the NBA's elite players and his talent, versatility and fit are major parts of our team's vision for success."

The Love deal was announced in principle earlier this month but could not be finalized until Saturday because Wiggins, who was taken first overall by Cleveland in June, could not be traded until 30 days after the signing of his rookie contract.

Bennett, the first overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft, had a rough start to his rookie campaign with Cleveland but improved as the season progressed. He averaged 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in 52 games.

"We are excited to add three young, talented and athletic players to our team in Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and Thaddeus Young," said Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders.

"With the additions of Wiggins, Bennett and Zach LaVine this summer, we have brought in three exciting young athletes who all have the potential to have an impact in this league.

"I appreciate all that Kevin, Luc and Alexey have done for our organization and wish them the best of luck with their new teams."

According to local media, the Cavaliers made the deal with Minnesota with a firm agreement that Love will opt out of his contract in 2015 and re-sign with the Cavaliers on a five-year, $120 million-plus contract extension.

Love averaged 26.1 points per game, 12.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists last season for a Minnesota team that went 40-42 and was nine games back of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com