Spurs bounce back with impressive road win against Clippers…
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The Cleveland Cavaliers secured their first home win of the season behind 32 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists from LeBron James against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Point guard Kyrie Irving added 27 of his 32 points in the second half as Cleveland’s ‘Big Three’ dominated with Kevin Love putting up 22 points to seal the win.
It was an important game for the championship favourites, particularly for James after he endured a miserable second home debut against the New York Knicks to tip off the season last month.
However, he insisted prior to the game that he owed one to the fans to put in a much improved performance, and this time he delivered.
Anthony Davis responded with 27 points and 14 rebounds for the Pelicans but he conceded that they broke down defensively and gave too much to the Cavs, although they did exploit their rivals’ weaknesses on the defensive end too with Ryan Anderson scoring 32 points.
Staying in the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Bulls bounced back from their shock loss to the Boston Celtics at the weekend with a win over the Detroit Pistons.
Derrick Rose returned to score 24 points and add seven assists in 32 minutes of action after missing four of the previous five games due to sprained ankles.
His impact was key in the game and Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau will be desperate to see him stay healthy and continue to lead the team towards the top of the East.
Meanwhile, the Indiana Pacers ended a six-game losing streak with Roy Hibbert scoring 29 points and grabbing five rebounds in their win over the Utah Jazz.
AJ Price and Lavoy Allen also chipped in for Frank Vogel’s team, but it will undoubtedly continue to be a struggle for them this year without key players as they improve to 2-6.
Over in the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs stunned the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center with a closely fought win as doubts had emerged following their early season malaise.
Kawhi Leonard had 26 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals in the win, with Blake Griffin leading the stat line for the hosts with 23 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
Leonard has conceded that he is still struggling with conjunctivitis, but his vision didn’t appear to be too badly impaired as coach Gregg Popovich drew up plays for him to tie his career high points scoring.
Tim Duncan had 18 points and 11 rebounds while Tony Parker scored nine of his 13 in the fourth quarter as the Spurs (3-3) finished the game on a 14-3 run to snap a two-game skid and pick up their first road win of the season.
NBA Results:
New Orleans Pelicans 111-118 Cleveland Cavaliers
Utah Jazz 86-97 Indiana Pacers
Atlanta Hawks 91-85 New York Knicks
Detroit Pistons 91-102 Chicago Bulls
San Antonio Spurs 89-85 Los Angeles Clippers
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