KEVIN LOVE’S RETURN GIVING CAVALIERS SOME SIGNS OF HOPE
If tanking for top pick is goal, they could be in trouble.
After Larry CLEVELAND —
Nance Jr. found Collin Sexton for a dunk in the second quarter, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson got off the bench and raised both arms in the air.
Such are the little victories in a Cavaliers season that started to unravel with Love’s toe injury in the exhibition opener.
With the Cavs hosting the New York Knicks in the second installment of the Battle for Zion on Monday night at Quicken Loans Arena, one had to stress the positives in Cleveland’s 107-104 triumph. The Knicks lost their 17th consecutive game, a franchise single-season record.
After Jordan Clarkson’s 3-pointer with 3:24 remaining put the Cavs up 105-98, the Cavs went over three minutes without a point and Luke Kornet hit back-to-back 3s for the Knicks. Sexton connected on two free throws with 17.4 seconds left for a 107-104 lead that proved to be the winning margin. New York’s John Jenkins missed and Dennis Smith Jr. rebounded, but missed a 3-pointer from the corner just before the buzzer sounded.
For the Cavs, the most encouraging sign was the performance of Love. Playing 16 minutes in his second game back from Nov. 2 surgery on his left foot, the fivetime All-Star forward scored 14 points with nine rebounds and an assist.
Sexton led the Cavs with 20 points and three assists, and Nance scored 15 points with 16 rebounds and four assists, recording a double-double in his career-best sixth consecutive game, the high by a Cav this season. Clarkson contributed 15 points and six rebounds.
The sloppy game marked by airballs — the Cavs’ Marquese Chriss was generously given a goaltend call on one — featured two of the three worst teams in the league, with the Knicks 10-46, the Phoenix Suns 11-47 and the Cavs 12-45. The teams with the three worst records each have a 14 percent chance of securing the No. 1 overall pick in the draft lottery and presumably selecting Duke freshman Zion Williamson, but the Chicago Bulls are also in contention.
Love’s progress could complicate matters.
Shooting 4-for-10 from the floor, 2-for-6 from long range and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, Love helped the Cavs open a 63-48 lead at halftime. The Cavs shot 13-for-20 in the second quarter, including 4-for-8 from 3-point range.
With Love getting in for just six minutes Friday at Washington, Cavs coach Larry Drew said Love would probably see two stints of action, but he got three.
Drew wasn’t sure if Love would play tonight against the Brooklyn Nets, the Cavs’ last game before the All-Star break.
“We’re just going to kind of closely monitor him. We’re not going to be in any kind of a rush to get him out on the floor,” Drew said pregame. “The last thing we want at this particular point is any type of setback. Right now everything is moving in a positive direction. He’s feeling good as far as the foot is concerned. He’s not complaining about any type of soreness.”
The Cavs were without Cedi Osman (sprained right ankle) and centers Ante Zizic (lower back soreness) and Thompson (sore left foot). But some of the newcomers acquired at the trade deadline showed they might be able to help the Cavs’ win total — or thwart the tanking strategy.
Guard Brandon Knight and forward Chriss, picked up from the Houston Rockets in the Alec Burks’ deal, combined for 23 points. Chriss scored 14 points with seven rebounds, and Knight, who made 3-for-3 beyond the arc in his debut Saturday at Indiana, added nine points on 3-of-5 shooting. He’s now 6-for-7 on 3s for the Cavs.
The night was not as kind to guard Nik Stauskas, signed for the rest of the season on Monday after being traded three times and waived once in a six-day span. Stauskas missed his first four shots and went 1-for-9, including 1-for-7 from deep.