SAN FRANCISCO -- The Cleveland Cavaliers celebrated the return of point guard Kyrie Irving with an impressive 100-94 triumph over the sliding Los Angeles Lakers, 100-94, Monday night at the Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland.
Irving, who was sidelined for three weeks with a broken finger, dazzled the hometown crowd with 28 points and 11 assists. Taammate C.J. Miles chipped in 28 while Anderson Varejao added 20 and nine rebounds to hold back the Lakers. The Cavs stormed ahead 54-39 at halftime and protected the lead until the final buzzer.
The Cavaliers drained 37-of-84 field goals (44 percent) and 11-of-27 triples, but they were horrendous from the free throw line, 15-of-26.
Los Angeles, despite Kobe Bryant scoring 42 on 16-for-28 shooting, didn't fare any much better on the field collectively. The Lakers made only 31 of 75 shots, including just seven of 27 above the 3-point arc. True to form, the Lakers missed a bundle of free throws -- 25-of-40 overall.
Lakers center Dwight Howard was a beast with 19 points and 20 rebounds but he went only 13-for-22 from the charity stripe. The Lakers squandered a 54-53 rebounding edge by making 18 turnovers while dishing just 11 assists. The Cavs, meanwhile, finished with 24 assists against 12 turnovers.
Cleveland snapped a five-game losing streak but with a meager 5-17 slate, they remained in the bottom of the Central Division. The Lakers dropped three straight and fell to 9-13, a distant third in the Pacific Division. (Ryan Medida)
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