LeBron James scored 22 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers put an embarrassing defeat further behind them on Thursday with a 115-102 NBA victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
LeBron James scored 22 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers put an embarrassing defeat further behind them on Thursday with a 115-102 NBA victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Kevin Love scored 18 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for the Cavs as all five Cleveland starters scored in double figures.
The balanced effort helped Cleveland overcome a 30-point night from Clippers guard Chris Paul, who scored 12 straight points in the first quarter to keep visiting Los Angeles close in the early going.
The Cavaliers then clamped down on defense to come up with a solid win against a top Western Conference team days after they were blown out by the Golden State Warriors — a defeat that James said “opened a lot of eyes for us”.
“In order for us to be successful we have to defend at a high level. We’ve got to share the ball and get the ball moving from side to side and get the defense moving,” said James, whose Cavs began their bounce-back with a win over Brooklyn on Wednesday.
San Antonio forward Kawhi Leonard celebrated his election as an All-Star starter with 21 points as the Spurs defeated the injury-hit Suns 117-89 in Phoenix.
Reserve center Boban Marjanovic notched his first career double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds as the Spurs won their 12th straight game
The absence of injured Tony Parker and Tim Duncan was no problem for as they never trailed in the contest.
