Cleveland Cavaliers Blog – Page 58 – NBA Blog

Kyrie Irving not looking to discuss job status of coach Byron Scott

Cavaliers All-Star guard Kyrie Irving isn’t addressing questions regarding the future of Cleveland coach Byron Scott.

The Cavaliers had dropped 12-of-14 games going into Sunday’s game against Orlando. The recent slide has led to speculation that Scott, who is 63-160 in three seasons, may not be back for a fourth.

Irving, who has spoken about his close relationship with Scott several times during his two seasons with the team, said Sunday he’s thinking more about the final seven games of the Cavaliers’ season rather than the coaching situation.

“Until that time comes, I’m not really worried about it,” Irving said. “To even imagine that, I’m not going down that road. I’m focused on finishing the season with him and that’s all that matters right now.”

— Reported by the Associated Press

Big game from Tristan Thompson helps Cavs end losing streak

Tristan Thompson’s new career highs of 29 points and 17 rebounds weren’t nearly as important to him as the number he helped the Cleveland Cavaliers avoid.

There will be no 11th straight loss for Cleveland.

Thompson and the Cavaliers dominated Boston inside as Cleveland ended its 10-game losing streak by beating the Celtics 97-91 on Friday night.

”During this losing streak, we had a lot of games we should have won but at the end of the day we ended up taking the L,” Thompson said. ”Tonight was our game to win. We knew we had to take it and bring it back to Cleveland.”

It was the second time in two days Thompson took on a leadership role for the Cavaliers. After practice Thursday, he lashed out at critics who blame the Cavaliers’ woes on coach Byron Scott and rumors that he won’t be back for a fourth season. Thompson called the speculation ”bogus,” saying it was the players’ responsibility to work their way out of the slide…

Alonzo Gee also had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who avenged their most painful loss of the skid…

Wayne Ellington scored 12 points and Kyrie Irving added 11 points for Cleveland in his third game back since missing eight with a sprained shoulder.

The Celtics played without team captain Paul Pierce, who was out with a sore ankle…

Green scored 23 points for Boston and Shavlik Randolph had 16 points before fouling out with 6:57 left in the fourth. Brandon Bass scored 12 and Avery Bradley had 10 points for Boston.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Hawks hand Cavaliers ninth straight loss

Devin Harris scored a season-high 25 points and Josh Smith nearly added a triple-double Monday night as the Atlanta Hawks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 102-94 to improve their chances of securing home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Smith had 18 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists before a sparse crowd in Philips Arena to help the Hawks (42-33) pull within one game of Brooklyn (42-31) for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

Reserve Marreese Speights scored 14 of his 22 in the final quarter, but the Cavs (22-51) did not seriously threaten after pulling within 58-56 early in the third period.

Shaun Livingston, starting with Kyrie Irving not playing in the second night of a back-to-back, had 14 points and six assists in Cleveland’s ninth straight loss.

Harris, who scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s win over the visiting Magic, picked up where he left off. He scored Atlanta’s first seven points and had 11 in the first quarter as the Hawks built a 25-19 lead…

Al Horford returned to start at center for Atlanta after missing two games with a stomach illness. He had 16 points and six rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

— Reported by Matt Winkeljohn of the Associated Press

Kyrie Irving returns, but Cavs lose to Hornets

Kyrie Irving, the king of the fourth-quarter comeback, was back on Sunday. The fourth-quarter comeback was not.

Even with the All-Star point guard returning from his sprained left shoulder and playing for the first time in three weeks, the Cavaliers ran into their same old problem in the third quarter and lost to the Hornets at New Orleans Arena, 112-92.

Irving missed eight games with the injury suffered on March 10 in Toronto, and he led the Cavs with 31 points in 28:40 on Sunday. But he didn’t have enough help and the Cavs fell to 22-50 as their longest losing streak of the season reached eight games. Greivis Vasques had 25 points and Ryan Anderson added 23 for New Orleans, 26-48.

— Reported by Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer

Irving was announced as a surprise return less than two hours prior to the game, but he couldn’t help a defense that was beaten badly in transition and around the perimeter. The Hornets made 12 of 21 3-pointers and scored 19 fast break points, a rarity against a Cavs team that typically gives up few points on the break.

— Reported by Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal

Jeff Green layup at buzzer lifts Celtics over Cavaliers

The reeling and battered Boston Celtics were seconds away from matching their longest losing streak of the season.

Then Jeff Green saved the day.

Green hit the winning layup at the buzzer and scored 21 points, and the Celtics snapped a five-game losing streak with a 93-92 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

It was obvious Boston, which had lost seven of nine coming in and was again without star forward Kevin Garnett, needed something positive to happen. An uncharacteristic late-season slide had dropped the Celtics to seventh place in the Eastern Conference and it looked as if the skid would continue when Cleveland built an 86-72 lead with just over eight minutes to play.

”It was a huge win,” said forward Paul Pierce, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds. ”We didn’t play well from the second quarter on, but we found a way. It seemed like we were mentally fatigued and physically fatigued, but we put it all together at the end.”

Wayne Ellington scored 16 points to lead Cleveland, which has lost six in a row – matching a season high – and 10 of 12.

— Reported by Steve Herrick of the Associated Press

Heat barely survive Cavs, get 24th win in a row

Miami’s winning streak was in danger of disappearing – in Cleveland, of all places.

But LeBron James wouldn’t give up.

”That guy right there doesn’t want to lose in this building,” teammate Dwayne Wade said, nodding toward James, who left many angry Cavaliers fans behind when he bolted for Miami as a free agent three years ago. ”Not tonight.”

James scored 25 points as the Heat overcame a 27-point deficit in the third quarter and won their 24th straight game, 98-95 over the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night to extend the second-longest winning streak in NBA history.

The Heat are within nine games of matching the record of 33 consecutive wins held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. Once believed to be untouchable, the mark is now within reach.

James and his teammates have insisted the record isn’t one of their goals, and for more than 30 minutes the defending champions seemed disinterested and on the verge of losing for the first time since Feb. 1. Miami trailed 67-40 with 7:44 left in the third quarter.

— Reported by Tom Withers of the Associated Press

Cavs guard Dion Waiters out at least one week

Cavaliers guard Dion Waiters left last night’s game vs. the Indiana Pacers at Quicken Loans Arena during the first half with left knee soreness and did not return to play. Waiters was examined at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health today by Cavaliers Head Team Physician Dr. Richard Parker.

The exam, including an MRI, revealed a small, loose cartilage fragment in his left knee.

Waiters will be OUT for approximately one week while he undergoes a period of rest, treatment and additional observation and examination.

Following this period, and based on the continued evaluation of his knee, next steps regarding his treatment and recovery will be established, including the potential for an arthroscopic procedure.

Paul George denies accusation from Daniel Gibson

Indiana Pacers All-Star Paul George defended himself and dismissed any thought that he was a dirty player before the Pacers’ game against the Cavaliers on Monday.

George involuntarily found himself caught in the fallout of Kobe Bryant’s ankle injury when Cavs guard Daniel Gibson over the weekend accused George of perhaps intentionally trying to hurt him last season.

“I’m not a dirty player,” George said Monday. “A young guy doesn’t come into the league being a dirty player. But whatever he wants to say, he can say.”

George was a second-year guard last season when Gibson landed on his foot during a game. Gibson wound up with a torn tendon that needed to be surgically repaired and ended his season. Gibson said his foot still isn’t 100 percent healthy.

— Reported by Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal

Cavs players love their basketball shoes

After Dion Waiters departed the arena after a typical home game in late January, left behind in his locker were a towel, a mesh laundry bag, some workout clothes … and 11 pairs of Nike sneakers.

C.J. Miles estimated he has owned more than 800 pairs of shoes in his life. Daniel Gibson owns a pair of pink Converse, shoes with spikes on them and Louis Vuitton gold shoes he refers to as “shoe jewelry.” Gibson owns so many shoes, he built a closet in his bedroom just to store them all. Of course his wife, R&B singer Keyshia Cole, has quite a few pairs in there, as well.

The combination of shoe deals and unlimited millions for playing in the NBA has created a sort of shoe fetish within the league. Players pay attention to what is on their feet both on and off the court, and for various reasons — some of which are fairly practical.

When it was time to sign his shoe deal, Kyrie Irving chose Nike over Under Armour and Adidas in part because of how the shoe giant molded special footwear to protect his toe when he was returning from surgery for the NCAA tournament at Duke.

— Reported by Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal

Cavs re-assign forward Kevin Jones to D-League yet again

The Cleveland Cavaliers today re-assigned rookie forward Kevin Jones to the Canton Charge, Cleveland’s NBA Development League affiliate. The assignment is the sixth of Jones’ career and the record 152nd of the 2012-13 NBA and NBA D-League seasons. Jones is one of the record 56 players to have been assigned to the NBA D-League this season.

Jones (6-8, 260, West Virginia) has appeared in 19 games for Cleveland this season, averaging 2.1 points, 1.7 rebounds and 9.0 minutes.

In four previous stints with Canton this season, Jones appeared in nine games, averaging 22.4 points, 12.1 rebounds and 38.2 minutes. In his last assignment with Canton on March 2, Jones recorded a 17-point, 12-rebond double-double as the Charge defeated the Springfield Armor 112-111.

Jones is expected to join Canton today and be available when the team hosts the Bakersfield Jam at 7 p.m. ET.

InsideHoops.com editor says: The Cavs love sending Jones to the D-League. It’s fun. It’s the team’s favorite current hobby. It’s in right now.