Love scores 38, James ejected as Cavs beat Heat

CLEVELAND — 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 Cleveland Cavaliers extended their longest winning streak since 2015 to nine games by downing the Miami Heat 108-97 on Tuesday night.

Love had his way with every defender Miami put on him, finishing 10 of 16 from the field and 14 of 17 on free throws. He scored 22 in the first quarter and the Cavs 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 the Cavs leading by 23. It was the first time James was thrown out in 1,082 career games.

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 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 teamleading 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.

Blake Griffin has a sprained left knee and could miss up to eight weeks for the Los Angeles Clippers. The team said that an MRI revealed a medial collateral ligament sprain, but there is no other structural damage.

Former NBA player Ben Gordon was arrested on suspicion of robbery in Los Angeles after police said he punched an apartment manager and pulled a knife. Gordon, 34, went to a building Saturday where he rented two apartments and demanded his security deposit from the manager, police spokesman Tony Im said. Gordon played 11 years with the Bulls, Pistons, Hornets and Magic, averaging 14.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He won the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2005 as a Chicago rookie.