Cavs sweat out victory but don’t leave ‘Strugglesville’
CLEVELAND — There was none of the usual postgame chatter or music in the Cavaliers’ locker room.
The mood was somber and quiet, not the same place.
“Right now we’re in Strugglesville,” Lebron James said. “But it felt like a win. We needed it. Definitely.”
Isaiah Thomas made two free throws with 11 seconds left, and Cleveland came up with a defensive stop in the frantic final seconds after blowing a 23-point lead to beat the Orlando Magic 104-103 on Thursday and snap a four-game slide.
After Thomas made his shots, Elfrid Payton missed a contested layup with three seconds left.
The three officials ruled there was an inadvertent whistle and held a jump ball at midcourt.
Magic forward Aaron Gordon grabbed the toss and sank a 45-footer as the horn sounded and Cleveland’s crowd shrieked in disbelief.
But Gordon committed a jump-ball violation with the move, and Cleveland only had to inbound the ball to come away with a victory following a crazy and exhausting final sequence that left everyone dazed.
“No, I don’t,” said Thomas when asked if he knew what happened. “It was a lot of back and forth. I’m just glad we just came out with the win.”
James committed six turnovers and missed 6 of 8 free throws but closed in on 30,000 career points, Thomas scored 21 and came through in crunch time, and the Cavs got their fourth win in 13 games.
■ At Boston, Joel Embiid celebrated his first NBA All-star selection with 26 points and matched a career best with 16 rebounds for Philadelphia, which won for the sixth time in seven games. Boston, which had won three straight over the 76ers, rested All-star guard Kyrie Irving (sore left shoulder).
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At Houston, Eric Gordon scored 30 points for Houston, which made 17 of 39
76ers 89, Celtics 80 — Rockets 116, Timberwolves 98 —
3-pointers. League scoring leader James Harden returned after a seven-game injury absence and had 10 points and seven assists in 26 minutes for the Rockets.
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At Portland, Ore., Damian Lillard had 26 points and eight assists and Jusuf Nurkic 19 points and a season-high 17 rebounds for Portland, which won its fifth straight home game. Victor Oladipo and Darren Collison scored 23 points each for Indiana.
Trail Blazers 100, Pacers 86—