Love, Cavs overcome LJ ejection
Kevin Love scored 32 of his 38 points in the first half, LeBron James was ejected for the first time in his career and the Cavaliers extended their winning streak to nine by beating the Miami Heat, 108-97, last night in Cleveland.
Love had his way with every defender Miami put on him, finishing 10-of-16 shooting from the field and 14of-17 on free throws. He scored 22 points in the first quarter, and the Cavaliers opened a 27-point lead before halftime.
James added 21 points before he was slapped with two technical fouls by referee Ken Fitzgerald and tossed with 1:59 left in the third quarter and Cleveland leading by 23. It took 1,082 career games for James to get the heave-ho.
Dwyane Wade added 17 points for Cleveland, which has shaken off a slow start and is again playing like the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.
Dion Waiters scored 21 points and Bam Adebayo had 19 for the Heat, who had won three in a row. Goran Dragic finished with just seven points — 12 below his team-leading scoring average.
With the Cavs leading 93-70, James drove to the basket and missed a layup while getting bumped by James Johnson and Waiters. James felt there should have been a foul called and he stormed after Fitzgerald and screamed at the official, who quickly blew his whistle twice and pointed for the superstar to leave the floor.
Meanwhile, Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said the next step for Isaiah Thomas in his comeback from a serious hip injury is to play 2-on-2 and 3-on-3. That hasn’t hap- pened yet, and Lue does not know if Thomas will make his debut earlier than the original projection of the end of December.
Wizards 92, Timberwolves 89 — Otto Porter Jr. hit a 22foot jumper with 25 seconds remaining to lift Washington past Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Porter led Washington with 22 points, and Kelly Oubre had 16. Jodie Meeks and Mike Scott each scored 12 points.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 20 points and 15 rebounds for Minnesota for his league-leading 18th double-double.
Suns 104, Bulls 99 — Devin Booker scored 33 points, with five 3-pointers, after a one-game absence (toe) and visiting Phoenix held on for a victory against league- worst Chicago, which has lost six straight.
T.J. Warren added 25 for Phoenix, and Alex Len tied a career high with 18 rebounds.
Chicago’s Nikola Mirotic attended a game for the first time since a preseason practice altercation with Bobby Portis left him with broken bones in his face as well as a concussion. Portis was suspended eight games by the team, and coach Fred Hoiberg said the two have not talked as far as he knows.
Jazz 106, Nuggets 77 — In Salt Lake City, Derrick Favors scored 24 points, and Utah used a dominant second half to pull away from Denver.
Bucks 112, Kings 87 — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 19 of his 32 points in the third quarter, helping visiting Milwaukee beat Sacramento.
Elsewhere in the NBA — Blake Griffin has a sprained left knee and could miss up to eight weeks for the injuryriddled Los Angeles Clippers.