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NBA -- Love, Irving lift Cavs over Hornets


PhilBoxing.com


CHARLOTTE -- No LeBron, no problem this time.

Kevin Love scored 27 points while Kyrie Irving added 23 to power Cleveland to a 91-87 win past the struggling Charlotte Hornets on Friday night at the Time Warner Cable Arena.

It was the Cavaliers' first win without LeBron James in four games this season.

Love, who returned to the lineup after missing being sidelined by back spasms, had a scary moment when he went down to the floor clutching his knee after a collision with Hornets center Bismack Biyombo. David Blatt, Cavaliers first-year coach, held his breath on the sidelines as Love stayed down on the floor for a couple of minutes before getting up and walking off to the bench.

"Every time I see somebody fall down or bend over to fix their shoelaces I'm a little worried right now - I really am," Blatt said. "We're a little bit on eggshells as far as that stuff is concerned."

The injury was not serious though as Love returned to the game after the injury time-out and drilled three consecutive 3-pointers to give Cleveland the lead 51-50 in the second half after trailing the Hornets by 11 in the first half.

Love and Irving came up big late in the game. After Gerald Henderson, who led the Hornets in points with 14, cut the Cav's lead to to 3 (86-83), Love hit a turnaround 17-jumper with four seconds left in the shot clock. That gave the Cavs a 5-point (88-83) cushion with just 28 seconds left in the final quarter. Kyrie Irving then sealed the win with 3 made free throws after Henderson again cut the deficit to 3 with a dunk.

The Cavaliers starting line-up combined for 67 points, outscoring their Hornets counterparts by 23. Tristan Thompson contributed 14 points and hauled down 14 rebounds, a season high, while Dion Waiters came off the bench for 17 and four steals for the visiting Cavaliers.

The win halted the Cavs 3-game losing skid and they improve to a 19-14 record overall.

The Hornets, who led 46-40 at halftime, again played without leading scorer Al Jefferson (left groin strain injury). His absence was definitely missed as back-up centers Biyombo and Maxiell combined for just 10 points.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist recorded his third double-double of the season with 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.. Kemba Walker managed just 10 points after being held to just 4-for-16 shooting, including a 1-for-8 fare from 3-point range.

Charlotte shot 36.8 percent from the field and committed 15 turnovers that the Cavs converted to 23 points. The loss was the fifth straight for the Hornets, dropping their record to 10-24.

Side Notes:

LeBron James missed his third straight game since team announced Thursday that he was expected to be out for 2 weeks. Hornets guard Lance Stephenson is still out with groin injury. No definite date yet for his return.


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ananias Diaz.


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