Kyrie Irving to rest as Cavaliers visit Blazers

“It seems like they’re all lacking a little on confidence”, Hornacek said. “That forced us to play out of any kind of rhythm”.

The Bucks concentrated on stopped DeRozan and Lowry, but couldn’t contain the rest of the Raptors.

It might be hard to imagine them having similar problems against a woeful team that has been awful defensively, like the one they face Monday night when they visit the Phoenix Suns, but that’s just what happened in their last outing. “… Obviously we gotta get guys back in shape, back into the flow”.

“I think I was being very tedious when I was coming back against Philly and NY”.

That game is James’ only loss in his last 13 against the Suns, and he’s averaged 33.0 points in his past nine in Phoenix.

“You throw this one in the trash and get ready for Phoenix”, said James. “Momentum drifted on our side”. That means we weren’t aggressive and we didn’t foul them and we didn’t make them uncomfortable.

“Any game from this point, being out for as long as I was, is going to be tough to sit out from”, he said. Allen Crabbe scored 21 of his career-high 26 points during the first half to lead the Blazers (12-20) to their most lopsided win of the season. Scola and Ross each had two in the surge. “Nothing good we did tonight, besides the 3rd team”. “We played well for three quarters, three and a half quarters, then took our foot off the gas”. He finished with 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three-point range.

Still the Cavs, who have a four-game advantage over the surging Atlanta Hawks for the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference standings, have plenty of reasons for optimism. The Bucks went cold for nearly four minutes during that decisive stretch. It should be noted Crabbe also outscored Cleveland by himself in the first quarter.

Crabbe made 7 of 12 shots from the field, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range, to stake Portland to a 63-34 halftime lead.

“You don’t want to put any excuse on what’s going on here”. Milwaukee led 79-76 at the end of the third. But somehow they scored 44 points in the paint – 19 more than their season average. CJ McCollum had 16 points, six assists and four rebounds. He has been cleared to practice.

Clippers 109, Jazz 104: SALT LAKE CITY – Playing without an injured Blake Griffin (left quadriceps tendon), J.J. Redick scored 25 points and Paul Pierce had 20 to lead Los Angeles. Against the Raptors, he had two in the first half and one in the second. Less than 30 games into the season, an otherwise normal game has suddenly taken on some serious importance for both squads.