LeBron helps Cavaliers escape with win over 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers blew multiple opportunities down the stretch to upset the Cavaliers on a day Cleveland lost a pair of key players.
Cleveland fought off a late scare, edging the 76ers 87-86 on Sunday at Quicken Loans Arena. The victory was the Cavaliers' 16th consecutive at home, tied for the third-longest mark in franchise history.
Philadelphia's Ish Smith missed a pair of 3-pointers with less than two minutes to play, Robert Covington missed both free-throw attempts with just over a minute remaining and Nerlens Noel bricked a potential game-winning seven-foot shot with two seconds left to prevent the 76ers from pulling off the upset.
That's just the kind of season it's been for Philadelphia.
More concerning than the Cavaliers' ugly effort in the one-point win were injuries suffered by Kevin Love and Iman Shumpert that forced both to exit the contest prematurely.
Shumpert left in the second quarter after suffering an ankle injury shortly following a missed dunk attempt.
Love, meanwhile, exited with a lower-back injury. He's already missed time throughout the season with back issues, making the latest incident somewhat concerning for a Cavaliers team trying to secure first place in the Central Division.
Head coach David Blatt, however, didn't appear to be overly concerned about the injuries, telling reporters Love took an elbow to the back and Shumpert asked back in.
Love had 10 points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes.
The win moved Cleveland 2.5 games ahead of the Chicago Bulls for first in the division.
On a day no one really had it going, four-time MVP LeBron James provided the Cavaliers with just enough to top the 76ers. He scored a game-high 20 points on 8-of-24 shooting from the field, adding 11 rebounds and six assists for his 20th double-double of the season.
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Kyrie Irving dropped 17 and Timofey Mozgov chipped in with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Cleveland shot 38.8 percent from the field, marking only the third time this season its won while converting on fewer than 40 percent of its field goal attempts.
Covington led Philadelphia with a team-high 19 points, but his two missed free throws played a vital role in the 76ers' second straight defeat. Noel had eight points and 11 boards - the fourth consecutive game he's posted double-digit rebounding totals.
Love and Shumpert will get plenty of time to rest before the Cavaliers' next contest Thursday versus the Miami Heat.