James sets mark, but Spurs snag win
LeBron scores 28, becomes youngest to 30,000 career points
LeBron James became the youngest player ever with 30,000 career points, but LaMarcus Aldridge scored 30 points to lift the host San Antonio Spurs over the slumping Cleveland Cavaliers 114-102 on Tuesday night.
James had 28 points while becoming the seventh member of the 30,000-point club, yet he couldn’t keep the Cavaliers from dropping their 10th in 13 games.
Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray — friend and mentee of James — had 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals in his second start since replacing a healthy Tony Parker. Murray soared for a tip follow and then rose to disrupt James’ driving layup, which led to a 3-pointer by Danny Green that gave the Spurs a 105-94 lead with 4:20 remaining.
Murray’s effort helped San Antonio push past Cleveland in a battle between teams entangled in turmoil.
The Spurs denied reports that injured superstar Kawhi Leonard is unhappy with how the team is handling his right quadriceps tendinopathy and wants to be traded.
After missing his first two midrange jumpers and a pair of free throws, James made two driving layups and a 20-footer, and then rose above Danny Green for a 19foot jumper with one second remaining in the first quarter to reach the mark. The shot put Cleveland up 29-25.
At 33 years and 24 days, James is the youngest player to get 30,000. Bryant was 34 years and 104 days when he got there.
• Frustrated by their recent poor play in a season when their NBA title hopes seem to be slipping away, the Cavaliers held an emotional pre-practice meeting in hopes of clearing the air.
“We aired any grievances we had and we’re going to move forward,” said center Kevin Love, who regretted that the meeting was leaked publicly. “Hopefully we’ll be better for it, we have been in the past.”
Chaos is nothing new for the Cavaliers, who have had similar blowups in recent years yet managed to overcome any differences and went to the Finals the past three years.
Love has been in the middle of controversy before, and after he missed two days with an illness, it was presumed he was involved in Monday’s discussion.
“Did I feel like a target?” he said at Tuesday’s shootaround. “I think everybody, most people, were a target. We’re trying to figure this thing out. People hold themselves to a very high standard on this team and we’re a team that can compete at the highest level. So, for us, it’s not about me.” LAKERS 108, CELTICS 107 >> Kyle Kuzma scored 17 of his 28 points in a phenomenal fourth quarter, and surging Los Angeles sent Boston to its fourth consecutive loss. Jordan Clarkson scored 22 points in the sixth consecutive home win by the Lakers. Kuzma hit five 3-pointers and dominated down the stretch before Kyrie Irving (33 points) and Marcus Smart, who added 22 points, led the Celtics back.
KINGS 105, MAGIC 99 >> Garrett Temple scored 19 of his career-high 34 points in the fourth quarter to lift Sacramento over Orlando. Evan Fournier led the Magic with 22 points. Aaron Gordon added 16 and Jonathon Simmons had 14 for Orlando, which struggled to score in the final quarter. THUNDER 109, NETS 108 >> Russell Westbrook made a go-ahead layup with 3.3 seconds left to help Oklahoma City rally from a 15-point second-half deficit and beat Brooklyn.