Love injured as Cavs down Kobe, Lakers 120-111

Kyrie Irving scored a season-high 35 points and James added 29 for the Cavs, who feared Love had re-injured his surgically repaired left shoulder in the first half.

Notes: Cavaliers forward Kevin Love left the game in the first half and did not return. The play looked harmless, but shortly after Love walked into the locker room nursing his left arm.

BOSTON – Former Huskies star Isaiah Thomas had 36 points and 11 assists, including a fade away jumper that sent the game to an extra period, to help the Boston Celtics overtake the Los Angeles Clippers 139-134 in overtime.

This is the final game prior to the All-Star break, which will give the Cavs time to assess the seriousness of the injury.

NEW ORLEANS – Anthony Davis capped a 19-point night with a running left-handed hook and 3-pointer in the final minute, and New Orleans beat Utah to snap the Jazz’s seven-game winning streak.

Anderson Varejao started in place of Love for the second half Wednesday.

Guard Lou Williams scored 28 points and guard Jordan Clarkson had 22 for the Lakers.

“I was told it could be a number of things, one being my stuff is anchored down pretty tight in there, and it will always kind of be like that”, Love said. “I was just wishing that it wasn’t popped back out”. But from a players’ perspective, it doesn’t matter who you play. While his shooting has been inconsistent after transitioning from a starter to bench player, Russell brushed off his critics by saying, “LeBron gets criticized”.

It allowed everybody to focus on the non-rivalry between Bryant and James. “It’s hard to put into words how much I appreciate it”.

When he was in high school and on the verge of becoming a household name, James met Bryant before playing against Carmelo Anthony in an All-Star game in Philadelphia. Irving had 27 points in 26 minutes at that point, while James had 26 in 30.

Bryant and James defended each other at times, and on a couple of sequences seemed to enjoy one of their final matchups.

“I feel terrible, my ankles, knees, everything”, Bryant said.

Bryant and James once seemed on a collision course to meet in the NBA Finals, but the matchup never materialized, disappointing a basketball world wanting to see the greats go head-to-head with everything on the line. “I texted him a few days ago, so it’s not what people want to think”, he said. Cavaliers G Matthew Dellavedova missed his fifth game with an injured left hamstring…. LeBron James followed with 29 and Tristan Thompson had 15.