Spurs dismantles ailing Cavaliers, floors LeBron

SAN ANTONIO – The Cavaliers acknowledged having heavy legs, yet there is something far weightier on the minds of the defending NBA champions.

Cleveland is in the midst of one of its worst stretches this season and there is little time to fix it.

Kawhi Leonard  scored 25 points as the  San Antonio Spurs  dismantled the ailing Cavs 103-74 on Monday night in a much- anticipated showdown that turned into a major letdown for Cleveland.

“The way we’ve been struggling, (the Spurs are) the last team that you want to play,” said LeBron James, who was fine after taking an elbow to the neck. “A well-oiled machine like this, they exploit everything that you’re not doing well at that point in time of the season and right now we’re not playing good basketball.”

James, who finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in 29 minutes, said he will play Thursday at Chicago.

Cleveland (47-26) dropped its second in a row, set a season low for points and fell a half- game behind Boston (48-26) for the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Cavaliers have nine games remaining, all against teams in the East, including a visit to Boston on April 5.

James said the standings “always matter,” but playing more consistently is far more important and he refused to blame injuries or an arduous schedule for the team’s troubles.

“It matters more that we’re playing better basketball than where we’re at,” he said. “If that results in us having the No. 1 seed, the No. 2 seed, 3 or whatever the hell it is, we need to play better basketball. That’s what it comes down to.”

Cleveland, which was already without injured  Iman Shumpert, received more bad news Monday morning when it was announced that Kyle Korver will miss at least two more games with a sore left foot. (