JUST not good enough.
The Cleveland Cavaliers suffered an embarrassing 120-88 loss at the hands of the Houston Rockets, as things go from bad to worse for LeBron James’ side.
Their season on the whole has been inconceivably poor, but this result signals a new low, with James admitting post-game that he was “at a loss for words.”
Westbrook pushes Denver fan 0:29
The star went on to say, “Going 0-8 on national television. They should take us off every nationally televised game for the rest of the season.”
The Cavs sit in the third seed, with a 30-21 record; only a game ahead of the Washington Wizards.
And there are no real reasons for optimism, with their loss to their Rockets taking their record against top-5 Western Conference teams to 0-7 on the season.
With Kevin Love’s injury likely ruling them out of a number of potential trade discussions; Tyronn Lue will have to figure it all out quickly in order to salvage their season.
And he will get that chance, with ESPN Insider Adrian Wojnarowski reporting that Lue will not be fired, as the Cavaliers keep working on improving their roster before the February 8 trade deadline.
"At a loss for words..." @KingJames reacts to the Cavs now being 0-7 against the top 5 western conference teams this season after 120-88 loss to Rockets. #CrunchTime pic.twitter.com/FSMdw7FUMC — NBA TV (@NBATV) February 4, 2018
Meanwhile, Isaiah Thomas told reporters: “I don’t know the last time we got on the floor for a loose ball.
“I know that teams I’ve been on, defence is determined on deflections, steals, loose balls, who’s the hardest working team.”
All that and more in this edition of the NBA Wrap!
AUSSIES IN ACTION
Ben Simmons had a double-double against the Indiana Pacers, but it wasn’t enough as they fell to a disappointing 100-92 loss on the second night of their back-to-back.
Simmons finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
It was an Aussie vs. Aussie battle in San Antonio as Joe Ingles and the Utah Jazz visited Patty Mills and the Spurs.
Ingles had 10 points, three assists and a rebound in the Jazz’s 120-111 win, while Mills put up 11 points, two assists and a rebound in hiss 22 minutes off the bench.
Utah Jazz' Joe Ingles drives past Kyle Anderson and Dejounte Murray. Source: AP
AROUND THE LEAGUE
HOUSTON ROCKETS 120 – 88 CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
Chris Paul had 22 points and 11 assists, Ryan Anderson added 21 points and the Houston Rockets became the latest team to thump Cleveland on national TV, beating the disconnected Cavaliers 120-88 on Saturday night. James Harden only scored 16 – 15 below his league-leading average – but Houston rolled to its fourth straight win and improved to 11-2 since Jan. 8. Meanwhile, the Cavs’ downward spiral accelerated.
Since losing at Golden State on Christmas, LeBron James and his teammates are 0-8 in network broadcasts and have been embarrassed in several matchups against quality teams. They lost by 28 at Minnesota, 34 in Toronto, 24 at home to Oklahoma City and 32 to the Rockets, who toyed with the defending Eastern Conference champs.
James finished with just 11 points and didn’t play in the fourth quarter as the Rockets were too far ahead. Isaiah Thomas scored 12 for Cleveland.
CHICAGO BULLS 103 – 113 LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
There had been only one real practice, one small attempt at learning a couple plays with new teammates.
But when the game began Saturday, the new and the old melded like they’d been at it for some time, newcomer Tobias Harris blending with holdover Danilo Gallinari to lead the Clippers to a 113-103 victory over the struggling Chicago Bulls.
Harris and Gallinari each scored 24 points in their first game together, and the Clippers stayed with a simple motion offense that led to a season-high 33 fast-break points.
MIAMI HEAT 107 – 111 DETROIT PISTONS
Andre Drummond had 23 points and 20 rebounds, and Blake Griffin made a key 3-pointer in the final minute to lift Detroit over Miami. Ish Smith added 25 points for the Pistons, including a late 3-pointer of his own. Detroit has won three in a row, the last two with Griffin in the lineup after acquiring him in a trade.
Griffin’s 3-pointer with 44 seconds to play put the Pistons ahead 108-101, but Goran Dragic responded with a four-point play, making a 3-pointer while being fouled with 32 seconds left. Detroit ran the clock down on the next possession, and Smith sank his only 3-point attempt of the game, from the right corner with 14 seconds to play.
Dragic scored 33 points for the Heat, who have lost three in a row. Miami was without center Hassan Whiteside, who was out with an illness.
The Blake Griffin Pistons are off to a fun start: Now 2-0 after downing a good Miami team (111-107), and the big boys are fitting well together so far. Blake 16 points, 9 boards, 7 assists; Andre Drummond 23 points & 20 boards. — Sam Amick (@sam_amick) February 4, 2018
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS 92 – 100 INDIANA PACERS
Victor Oladipo and Bojan Bogdanovic each scored 19 points and Indiana beat Philadelphia.
Oladipo added nine rebounds and four assists. Domantis Sabonis scored 10 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had six assists. Lance Stephenson finished with 14 points and nine rebounds off the bench for Indiana.
Joel Embiid finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds while playing on both nights of the back-to-back. Ben Simmons scored 10 points and added 11 rebounds for Philadelphia.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS 115 – 98 ORLANDO MAGIC
Otto Porter scored 20 points and Tomas Satoransky had a career-high 19 to lift Washington over Orlando.
Bradley Beal had 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the Wizards won their fourth straight without injured All-Star point guard John Wall. Washington shot 54 per cent and had 35 assists, the fourth straight game with 30 or more. Mario Hezonja and Johnathon Simmons led Orlando with 15 points apiece. The Magic had seven players in double figures, including 14 points from Elfrid Payton, but couldn’t keep up with Washington’s unselfish play.
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS 107 – 118 MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Jimmy Butler scored 30 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points and 16 rebounds for his league-leading 47th double-double, and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the New Orleans Pelicans 118-107 on Saturday night. In front of a capacity crowd dotted with celebrities in town for Sunday’s Super Bowl, the Wolves dominated from the start en route to their 12th straight home win and a four-game season sweep of the Pelicans.
Anthony Davis led New Orleans with 38 points and managed to keep the Pelicans from getting completely blown out in the first quarter, when the Wolves opened a 22-6 lead.
Minnesota Timberwolves' Jimmy Butler. Source: AP
UTAH JAZZ 120 – 111 SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Ricky Rubio scored a season-high 34 points and added nine assists, and the Utah Jazz up-ended the San Antonio Spurs 120-111 on Saturday night for their fifth straight victory.
San Antonio had possession trailing 112-109, but Jazz forward Derrick Favors batted down a pass near the 3-point line and raced down the court for a monstrous one-handed dunk to essentially seal the Jazz’s second win over the Spurs this season.
Favors finished with 14 points.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 31 points for San Antonio in their final home game before embarking on their annual monthlong rodeo road trip.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS 108 – 115 DENVER NUGGETS
Nikola Jokic scored 19 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:10 left, and added nine rebounds as the Denver Nuggets beat the Golden State Warriors 115-108 on Saturday night.
Will Barton had 25 points and Gary Harris 16 for the Nuggets, who split the four games with Golden State this season. Denver rallied from 12 down in the second half to hand the Warriors their second loss in three games.
Kevin Durant scored 31 points and Stephen Curry had 24 for Golden State.
DALLAS MAVERICKS 106 – 99 SACRAMENTO KINGS
Yogi Ferrell made consecutive 3-pointers to spark a big run at the start of the fourth quarter and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Sacramento Kings 106-99 on Saturday night to snap a five-game losing streak.
Dirk Nowitzki had 15 points and seven rebounds while inching closer to another milestone in his illustrious NBA career. Harrison Barnes scored 18 points and Dwight Powell added 17 points and nine rebounds to help Dallas win in Sacramento for the first time in nearly three years.