Cavs’ Lue to lead East in All-Star game

LeBron James is someone who this team can trust, especially in times of major adversity.

The Cavs needed a shake-up and one was provided by Griffin, who sensed the talented team was not as connected as it needed to be in order to win a championship in Cleveland, the title James covets most.

Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle called the Houston Rockets’ firing of Kevin McHale 11 games into the 2015-16 season “preposterous”, and he went even further in criticizing the Cavs’ decision to axe Blatt on Friday.

Goodwin led the Suns with 24 points and Phoenix won for the second time in 17 games.

Cleveland still had to hold off a run by the Timberwolves, who cut a 15-point lead to 94-91 midway through the fourth quarter.

“It’s only been two games, but to get my first head coaching win, it means a lot”, he said.

But on a Saturday night in which Tyronn Lue was supposed to inject that very ingredient into the Cavaliers in his head-coaching debut after taking over for the fired David Blatt, the Bulls enjoyed the last laugh with a 96-83 triumph at Quicken Loans Arena.

Thompson had 19 points with 12 rebounds, and Dellavedova scored 18 points as Cleveland had six players in double figures.

Lue has experience with incredibly talented teams and has coached during successful seasons, but none of those teams were home grown. “And I believe that if you’re in shape, it makes you tougher mentally and physically and you can do things harder and you things better and you don’t give into fatigue”.

With just seconds left in the third quarter, Matthew Dellavedova hit a three-point shot that gave the Cavaliers three total points from their bench to that point. He helped thwart some of Andrew Wiggins efforts, made clutch three-pointers, and had the play of the game with a lob to Timofey Mozgov. But Lue said the two actually became good friends and remain close today – but only after “probably four to five years after we hated each other” following that Finals play.

“This is what coach wants”, James said.

NOTES: Timberwolves PF Kevin Garnett missed Monday’s game with right knee soreness. “Something that Coach Lue wants us to do and we’ve all got to accept it”. “Every time I go to Philly I get booed”. The players celebrated Monday by presenting Lue with the game ball following the victory, the first of what he hopes will be many more to come.

Minnesota Timberwolves’ Nemanja Bjelica, left, from Serbia, drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers’ Iman Shumpert in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Jan. 25, 2016, in Cleveland. He is listed as day to day. If he wants us to play faster and you want to be out on the floor, you can’t get exhausted. Washington’s Otto Porter returned after missing four games with a sore right hip and scored 15.

The Timberwolves assigned power forward Adreian Payne to the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst later expounded upon James’ desire to be coached by a “former player” like Lue later in the day, but did add that LeBron reportedly wasn’t consulted before the final decision was made.