Irving scores 23 to help Cavaliers to 91-77 win over Rockets

The Spurs extended their home winning streak to 23 games to begin the season. This could be an National Basketball Association finals preview so it should be a very good game.

“We just played better defense in the second half”, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

The Spurs started the game sluggish, allowing the Cavs to score 32 points in the first quarter, the most they’ve allowed in the opening quarter this season.

This time, no dice, as Parker limited Irving to four points on 2 of 7 attempts in the first half.

Finding a way to beat San Antonio at home means unlocking the combination that will open the Spurs’ vaunted defense. “We could have executed better, but it’s tough to do against San Antonio”. It gave us so many mismatches. Forward David West (13) and guard Manu Ginobili (10) were the only other San Antonio players in double figures. So all together, it was a heck of a win because we gave away the first quarter.

LeBron James led the Cavs with 22 points, hitting 9 of 17 shots.

Houston had 18 turnovers which led to 19 points for the Cavaliers and was outrebounded 49-40. Cleveland shot just 39 percent, 23 percent from 3, but grabbed 17 offensive rebounds.

Jordan Clarkson led the Lakers with 22 points, Lou Williams added 21, while Julius Randle finished with 14 points and nine rebounds and D’Angelo Russell finished with 14 points in the defeat for Los Angeles. When they left Cleveland, James and Johnny Manziel were in business together.

Jan 14, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker (9) drives to the bask … “I’ve got a long way to go”.

“I thought we stopped moving the ball as well as we were early”.

While the Spurs were holding the Cavs to just 18 points in the second, Parker was putting them back in the game, taking it right to the Cavs for 12 points in the quarter.

“It definitely helps that Kawhi and LaMarcus are here and playing great”, Parker said. That’s not easy to do, and he still was aggressive offensively. “So, Tony was great at both ends”.

The Cavaliers led 46-35 at halftime.

On the season, Cleveland has an Eastern Conference-best 27-10 record. The Spurs finished 1-1 against the Cavaliers last season.

Russell Westbrook got the 23rd triple-double of his career to lead Oklahoma City Thunder to a 113-93 win over Minnesota Timberwolves. Will they be able to do it again in this Thursday night game?

He also noted that those 54 seconds came in the first 54 seconds of a fourth quarter against the Clippers.

San Antonio’s streak of dominance at home is nearly as impressive. Like LeBron, it’s not certain that Kyrie will suit up for the trip finale as he continues to return to form after missing the first quarter of the season.

“Can’t they send somebody else out here?”

“It’s just the confidence I have in him and he has the confidence in his self”, James said.

If you ask anyone who follows the NBA, they will likely say there are about four teams with a realistic chance of winning the NBA Championship this season. Next up is Boston, which won 33 straight at home in 1986-87, and the Portland Trail Blazers, who had 34 in a row in 1977-78.

After what happened in San Antonio on Thursday night, no one would have blamed the Cavaliers if they lost Friday night.