LeBron turns it on as Cavs banish their January blues
The Cleveland Cavaliers broke out of their January doldrums in a big way on Wednesday, crushing the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-97 with the help of 27 points from superstar LeBron James.
James added 12 assists and teammate Kyrie Irving handed out a career-high 14 assists to go with 14 points as the reigning NBA champions notched a convincing victory after going 7-8 last month.
“After having a bad month like that, pride kicks in at some point,” Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said in a brief in-game television interview.
It was the most points scored by the Cavaliers since a Dec 7 home win over the New York Knicks.
They have won three of their last four to help settle the unease raised by James’ dissatisfaction with management’s failure to fill an open roster spot and his rumbling war of words with former NBA starturned-commentator Charles Barkley.
Tristan Thompson scored 18 points and pulled down 14 rebounds for Cleveland.
Channing Frye, starting in place of the injured Kevin Love, scored 18 and Kyle Korver came off the bench to contribute 20.
“We had a game plan and we executed it,” James said, praising “unbelievable playmaker” Irving.
James shrugged off the noise surrounding the champions, who held a free-agent workout on Wednesday that included Mario Chalmers, Lance Stephenson, Kirk Hin-
Scoreboard
James ready to bury his beefs
Cleveland star LeBron James, who has been urging Cavaliers management to add some talent, said on Wednesday he’d have no problem if they fill a roster spot with forward Lance Stephenson, despite their on-court history.
Stephenson once tried to rattle James by blowing in his ear during a playoff game between James’ former team, the Miami Heat, and the Indiana Pacers in 2014.
But James said that if Stephenson can help the Cavaliers retain their NBA title, he’d be all for his arrival.
“I just want to win, man,” James said after the morning shootaround before Wednesday’s home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. “That’s all that matters to me. I got no personal problems with nobody.”
Cleveland was set to work out several free agents, including guards Mario Chalmers, Kirk Hinrich and Jordan Farmar, and Stephenson.
“I’ve got a history with all those guys except Jordan,” James said.
“I’ve got a history with Lance too, obviously. I’ve got a history versus Kirk. I played him in a lot of playoff series. And I’ve got a history with Rio (Chalmers).
“At the end of the day, Rio is recovering from his Achilles tear. I hope he’s been doing everything he needs to do just to get back on the floor. He loves to play the game.”
James played four years in Miami with Chalmers as the Heat’s primary point guard.
Stephenson was on the Pacers teams the Heat faced in the playoffs for three straight postseasons from 2012-14.
rich and Jordan Farmar as they consider their options for adding talent with an eye toward a title repeat.
James ripped Barkley as a “hater” after the TV analyst called him “whiny” for asking the Cavs’ ownership to boost their squad’s talent level.
Barkley said on Wednesday he stuck by his remarks — and so did James.
“I know what I said and I meant it,” James said. “I don’t know what he said (in response). I don’t get involved with it.”
The young Timberwolves were quick out of the blocks, but the Cavaliers built a 20-point lead in the third quarter.
Irving’s layup from a pass from James pushed the margin to 90-70 with four minutes left in the third and the Cavs weren’t seriously pressured again.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 26 points and pulled down 12 rebounds while Andrew Wiggins scored 23 points against the team that drafted him No 1 overall in 2014 before trading him.
Maria Sharapova said on Wednesday she refused to feel sorry for herself during her doping ban, occupying her time by studying at Harvard, writing a book — and learning how to box.
The former world No 1 and five-time Grand Slam champion told a Russian talk show she particularly enjoyed lacing up a pair of boxing gloves as part of her fitness regime.
“I tried boxing as I needed to keep myself in good form. It was great as I could imagine some particular people whom I wanted to hit,” said the 29-year-old, without elaborating on the identity of her imagined targets.
Sharapova was banned from the sport after testing positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open.
She will return to action at the Stuttgart claycourt tournament on April 26 after her initial two-year suspension was cut to 15 months.
Her reappearance on court will come sev-