LeBron James scored 29 points while playing with a bruised quadriceps as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Indiana Pacers 101-97 Sunday. Unfortunately for the Pacers, the treatment worked.
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The Knicks pulled within 95-90, but Middleton hit two free throws with 19 seconds left and New York never got closer. Though the Sixers ended the second quarter with a 13-3 run and got 18 points apiece from big men Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel, James shrugged it off and dragged the Cavs with him.
Another season under head coach David Blatt’s system bodes well for developing chemistry between James, Irving and Love. We’re starting to see a little bit more of it with McConnell and Stauskas, and even from Canaan a little bit, but Okafor’s offense could take another jump just by having a legitimate pick and roll threat to play next to. “The guy is unbelievable”. That said, he’s young and getting better.
“My focus was on the game”, Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “We all know that”.
Though the rivalry hasn’t had the sting of Pacers-Heat type games with LeBron meeting the Cavaliers, and it only benefits Cleveland that it is a home game for James and the gang, but expect a full throttle meeting today despite injury concerns on both ends. George Hill scored with 6.7 seconds remaining, but James made two foul shots at the 5.3 mark. James received an anti-inflammatory injection in his back in training camp, but has played in every game in the regular season. He was 10 of 23 from field and came within two points of matching his season high, recorded Friday. Paul George claimed his third double-double of the season with 36 points and 12 rebounds. It remains to be seen though if Cleveland will continue to field King James despite the reported injuries he incurred. “I think we were better than the last time we played [Cleveland]”.
The “incident”, if that’s what you want to call it, immediately triggered speculation that Love and James were on the outs again after seeming to have put behind them the uneasiness that surfaced a few times last season during their first go-round as teammates. So who’s going to get the last laugh when we are in The Finals or in the conference finals playing against the Cavs or whoever else? Crew chief Joe Crawford had to exit in the third quarter because his right knee locked up and he was unable to run, although it didn’t impact the game. “It’s just about me continuing to play my game and stay as aggressive as possible”, Payton said afterward.
Okafor and power forward Nerlens Noel each scored 18 points for Philadelphia (0-5), which held a 50-49 halftime advantage before James took over. “And I thought Kevin responded beautifully and gave us a great second half”.
“Egos need to be checked at the door and you have to be able to handle constructive criticism”, James said.
“LeBron talked to me at halftime, just got me going”, Love said. “We’ve had a lot of conversations over the a year ago”. When he speaks up, we listen and follow his lead.
Cavaliers: Cunningham, playing shooting guard, made his first career start. They spread the floor, drive the lane and take a bunch of 3-point shots.
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The four-time National Basketball Association MVP started the second half with a driving layup, giving the Cavaliers the lead for good.
