LeBron James spent the morning sending a crystal clear message to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the wake of Kevin Love’s knee injury: things will be just fine as long as James is on the court.
He spent the night backing that up against an emboldened Andrew Wiggins and the Minnesota Timberwolves, as if anyone doubted him in the first place.
James had 25 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds to lead the Cavaliers to a 116-108 victory over the Timberwolves on Tuesday night.
Channing Frye had 21 points and 10 rebounds while starting for Love, who will miss at least the next six weeks after having surgery on his left knee. Kyre Irving scored 25 points for the Cavs and James sealed the victory with a stepback 3-pointer with two minutes to play.
“The one thing that we can always rely on is the fact that we’ve played without Kev before,” James said. “We’ve had to do that in the playoffs. As much as you don’t like to play without some of your big guns, sometimes if it happens then you’re just ready for it.”
Wiggins scored 41 points against the team that drafted him and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 26 for the Wolves, who finished a six-game homestand at 2-4. The Wolves allowed Cleveland to shoot 51 percent and hit 13 3s.
“It’s always competitive playing them,” Wiggins said. “I feel like it brings out the best in everybody.”
James took his time to get going, choosing to get others involved, including with a no-look pass through Wiggins’ legs to a diving Derrick Williams for a layup in the second quarter. He threw down two soaring dunks later in the third and added a Jordan-like reverse layup as part of a highlight-filled night.
“It’s been a burden on me since I got drafted. Why does it change now?” James said when asked if he has to do more with Love out. “Nothing’s changed. I’ll have my guys ready to play every single night.”
Bulls 105, Raptors 94
In Chicago, Doug McDermott scored 20 points, All-Star Jimmy Butler had 19 points and 12 assists in his return to the lineup, and the Bulls beat Toronto for the 11th straight time.
Kings 97, Lakers 96
In Los Angeles, DeMarcus Cousins had 40 points and 12 rebounds, and Sacramento held on for its fourth straight win.
Raptors acquire Ibaka
Orlando Florida AP
Kyle Lowry said something had to change in Toronto. Serge Ibaka is on his way to try to make that happen.
The Raptors acquired the veteran power forward from Orlando on Tuesday for Terrence Ross and a 2017 first-round draft pick.
Orlando general manager Rob Hennigan said Tuesday evening the trade of Ibaka for Ross was necessary for the Magic to have a chance of salvaging a season that has gone drastically off course.
The Raptors made the move with the postseason and possible championship run in mind.
Toronto started the day in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, having lost 10 of its previous 14 games. The latest ugly performance came on Sunday when the Raptors gave up a 16-point lead to start the fourth quarter and lost to the Detroit Pistons.
After the game, the Raptors’ All-Star point guard didn’t pull any punches on the state of a team that made the Eastern Conference finals last season but has lost to the Magic twice, the Pistons, Timberwolves and Suns during this latest swoon.
“Keep getting in the same situations over and over and not being successful,” Lowry said after the 102-101 loss. “Something’s got to give, something’s got to change.”